My Amazon Reviews: Maroon 5 "V"

Effortless pop, Expertly delivered
4 Out Of 5 Stars

Better than the overproduced "Overexposed," "V" is Maroon 5's return to making candy-floss pop. I mean that as a compliment. As many bands that try to make this kind of music, few succeed at it quite the way Adam Levine and the boys do. Want more proof? Just think of Adam's TV stint on "The Voice," where assorted contestants vie for the opportunity to make this kind of music (with the odd country or soul belter mixed in for variety) and remind yourself that the show has yet to turn out a viable star. If it was that easy, they'd all have sales of the magnitude Maroon 5 have achieved.

For one thing, Maroon 5 know their way around a killer hook. Both "Maps" and "Animals" have hooks so big they belong in butcher shops and Adam's blue eyed soul delivery (and falsetto) make them stick to your ear canals. He also knows how to deliver one for the ladies, as the ballad "Unkiss Me" shows. The big piano ballad with Gwen Stefani, "My Heart Is Open" is a wonderful pairing, although "Moves Like Jagger" wins the duet contest by virtue of its snappiness. Yet Maroon 5 provides the fizz that pops in the 10's decade that it needs to stand above the fray.

I'll add an extra recommendation for the deluxe version of "V" in that two of the three songs are actually worthy of the couple extra bucks. There's the surprisingly bare bones version of the 90's one hit wonder Marcy Playground's "Sex And Candy." Then there's the Levine Oscar nominated solo track "Lost Stars," which Levine recorded for the movie "Begin Again" which he had an acting role in. They round out "V" and make it an album to rival Maroon 5's better entries.

     

My Amazon Reviews: Train "Bulletproof Picasso"

This Train Keeps A'Rollin'
3 Out Of 5 Stars

Picking up where "Highway 37" left off, Train keep up their winning streak with "Bulletproof Picasso." Pleasing pop rock, a variety of styles and Pat Monahan's easy on the ears voice. From a far back place, he cries out "hey baby" on the opening "Cadillac Cadillac," like he's vying for your attention, and he keeps it for the album's 12 songs. They also keep the harmonies intact, especially the opening to "Angel In Blue Jeans," which is downright soulful.

There's even some toying with country western, as the typical country topic "I'm Drinking Tonight" finds him pining for a lost love. What's the way out? "The only thing stronger than you is whiskey...poison's the cure." Reminded me a little of Chris Isaak's high lonesome, just without the falsetto. Speaking of falsettos, Pat gives his some running room on "Give It All," which veers in the direction of Maroon 5. There's plenty of romance and life lessons to go around, especially on the make up song "Baby, Happy Birthday," where a chastened Pat sings his heart out for forgiveness. Or the sweet acoustic "Don't Grow Up So Fast," this time sung as a reminder of parenthood to keep the growing years precious in your hearts.

Still, there's lots of playful and catchy material here. The bubbly duet with Marsha Ambrosius, Wonder What You're Doing For The Rest Of Your Life" even has the band in giggles at the start. While I think "Highway 37" has the edge as the better album, "Bulletproof Picasso" mines the veins from party to pathos and keeps the Train comeback ride alive.

     

My Amazon Reviews: Train "Drops Of Jupiter"

Fifth Planet Out
4 Out Of 5 Stars

For their second album, Train broadened their sound out to a more contemporary sound, losing the alternative leanings of their debut and adding rock that was more reminiscent of Counting Crows than the rootsier vein of the debut. The tightening up paid of in a big way, when "Drops Of Jupiter" and its title song went top ten and the album sold almost three million copies in 2001. This comes in on two levels; Pat Monahan is an effective pop songwriter, and the eclectic mix of instruments (a mandolin here, a vibraphone there) helped the songs stand out when mixed with the usual radio fare. It's one of many elements that made the stately single almost omnipresent when it hit the top 40 and started getting massively played.

But Train is more then just power ballads and guitar strumming. They've got a knack for poppier rock hooks (helped along by producer Brendan O'Brien, whose credits range from Pearl Jam to The Black Crowes, whose work does get some echoes here), the kind that turn into ear-worms with ease. This is not to confuse Train with a true rock band, when they try to actually rock (on "Respect"), it's not entirely convincing. The other unfortunate thing is the band is kind of faceless. Did you know Train has multiple top ten albums? Probably not. But the good thing is that, even with an album as even and decent sounding as "Drops Of Jupiter" is, Train got better as the albums progressed, even managing a comeback when many pundits had written them of. "Drops of Jupiter" is a good starting point if you want to find out how Train managed to be both massively popular and yet under the radar at the same time.

     

My Amazon Reviews: Train "California 37"

When You Move Me, Everything Is Groovy
5 Out of 5 Stars

Proving that "Save Me San Francisco" was no fluke, Train roll on with their career's second act with "California 37." They've matured into a first class pop band, wielding hooks alongside an often bizarre sense of humor. Kind of like Maroon 5, but without the teen-idol thing going on. They're even smart enough to self-reference their surprising comeback on the opening song by giving lead singer Pat Monahan the opportunity to give both a history of his life and the evolution of Train in under four minutes, but to thank the band's fans and then do it all without the least bit of irony. "This'll Be My Year" alone would put the album at 4 stars just for compositional value alone.

However, "California 37" has plenty of other charms. There's the twisted "50 Ways to Say Goodbye," in which Monahan cuts down an ex-lover by singing "How could you leave me on Yom Kippur?" The mariachi inspired horns on "Drive By" (a great single, by the way), lift that song into a fun and unusual direction, and the title track again turns to Train's fans and thanks them for being there when the band wasn't in the spotlight.

Relationships are also put to the test, song-wise, including "You Can Finally Meet My Mom," sung as a plaintive love song with a straight face. Country singer Ashley Monroe sings along in a duet about old flames getting back together in "Bruises," made ironic by the fact that both parties are coming down from bad relationships. Train keeps making these very standard sounding pop songs that have crispy tops, so the temptation to call "Highway 37" perfect is awfully close. I'm giving it the benefit of the doubt. At the very least it's a 4.5 just on the unconventionality of the lyrics and the fact that I've been listening to it for over a year without getting tired of it.

     

My Amazon Reviews: Various Artists "Now That's What I Call Music 43"

Oh How I Miss K-Tel
3 Out Of 5 Stars

I only own a few of these "Now That's What I Call Music" sets, and usually it has to have a song on it that I either refuse to buy an album for, or that there's a song you can't get anywhere else. The 43'rd disc in this series fits that bill on two counts. First, Carly Rae Jespen, who has one hit wonder written all over her, has "Call Me Maybe." The catchiest song of the summer, followed only by Goteye's "Someone That I Used To Know," is here. I doubt that I'd ever buy an album by her (or One Direction, here with "One Thing" and their by the numbers BoyBand TeenPop), so the appearance on a compilation is worth it.

The second is Maroon 5's "Payphone," which is catchy as all get out, but ruined by a useless Wiz Kalifia rap. On this set, the rap is gone as are the superfluous profanities. It's a rare case where the radio edit is better than the original, something that drives me crazy as an album buyer.

So what's left? There's the giddy punk-pop of Neon Trees' "Everybody Talks." The heard on a commercial "Midnight City" by M83. An obligatory country entry by the tolerable Luke Bryan, "Drunk On You." I also likes Ellie Goulding's "Lights" and (so shoot me) Jusitn Beiber's "BoyFriend." The rest is just poptunes state of the 10's, which means heavy on the synthed out beats (Usher), candy rap (Pitbull, with a rap from "Men In Black III") and stuff to do aerobics to. Your tastes, and therefore, results of satisfaction, will vary.

     

My Amazon Reviews: Maroon 5 "Overexposed"

Over Everything,
3 Out Of 5 Stars

The irony of titling their new album "Overexposed" must have been lost on Adam Levine and Maroon 5. The album is overproduced, over-compressed and over-just-about-everything. Like so many bands in the current pop zeitgeist, they decided that they needed to conform to current popular production memes, which means having a guest rapper-of-the-moment (Wiz Khalifa, adding bonus profanities to "Payphone"), auto-tune, writer/producers of the now (Max Martin, Ryan Tedder) and multiple other steps that rob the band of any of their previous individual qualities. Take Adam out of the equation, and this would be another generic, over-compressed/produced pop-album.

The saving grace is Adam, who's white-boy soul is on a par with Daryl Hall at this point. Given the material he has to work with, he milks every hook and croon he can. Good numbers like "Lucky Strike," "Lady Killer" and even the obscenity laced "Payphone" stick like rubber cement. I'll make a quick point to say that I'm not a prude, but for a band that seemingly prides itself on their pop craftsmanship, the swearing in "Payphone" and "Tickets" just seems more gratuitous than effective, like the band has to prove how hard they are. But when you're capable of making really good light funk that hits its groove like "Fortune Teller" and "Doin' Dirt," you don't need to prove you're anything but a great pop band.

Which is what, ultimately, Maroon 5 is. "Overexposed" hits all its marks seemingly without effort, with craftsmanship that most any other band would sell their bubblegum machines for. Adam's unique voice gives the band enough identity to cut through the generic sounding production here, and when they horn-pump Prince's slinky "Kiss" (a bonus track on the deluxe version), they demonstrate that they're above the cookie-cutter sound that plagues this album.

     

My Amazon Reviews: The Fray "Scars and Stories"

Don't Be A Frayed of The Scars
3 Out Of 5 Stars

The Fray seem to have finally found their footing as a band. The debut seemed undecided with they wanted to be Coldplay or Maroon 5, then they toughened up for Fray 2, and on "Scars and Stories," they pick at their inner U2. While that may have to do with The Fray touring with Bono and Company, lead singer Isaac Stern is pushing himself lyrically and earnestly, trying to give the band an identity. "Scars And Stories" moves the band forward in a good way.

Granted, The Fray aim straight for the commercial bulls-eye. The songs are lush and tightly produced by Brandon O'Brien (Pearl Jam, Aerosmtih), giving the band a much needed edge. However, 'edge' to The Fray means fine-tuned harmonies and near perfect song structure. The opening single "Heartbeat" cold easily have been a Coldplay outtake, but that means it's a consistently pleasing single. Same with the chants on "1961," where "it won't be the same again..." - kind of ironic that the band's parents were likely kids in the year in question. It does mean that nostalgia for a good pop hook is a priority for these guys.

"Scars and Stories" is decent pop-stuff. It's the best of their albums so far, and there's visible growth in what The Fray has to offer. The cover has the band racing across a field, towards what only the future will reveal. But if they can come up with songs as good as "Heartbeat" or the catchy and folksy travelogue "48 to Go" or the beautiful lullaby closer "Be Still," they may still find their way into greatness.