Songs About Jane (CD - 2002)

Maroon 5: Adam Levine (vocals, guitar); James Valentine (guitar); Jesse Carmichael (keyboards, background vocals); Mickey Madden (bass); Ryan Dusick (drums, background vocals).

Additional personnel includes: Jon O'Brien (programming); Mystic, Rashida Jones (background vocals).

Principally recorded at Rumbo, Can Am, The Hook Studios, Los Angeles, California.

Personnel: Adam Levine (vocals, guitar); Ryan Dusick (vocals, drums); James Valentine (guitar); Jesse Carmichael (keyboards).

Audio Mixers: Mark Endert ; Matt Wallace ; Michael Barbiero.

Recording information: Can Am Records, Los Angeles, CA; Rumbo Recorders, Los Angeles, CA; The Hook, Los Angeles, CA.

Illustrator: Gregg Gordon.

Photographers: Chris McCann; Neil Zlozower.

Though on first listen it may be tempting to describe Maroon 5 as simply an American Jamiroquai with more developed songwriting skills, the comparison really only scratches the surface of the quintet's diverse sound. Throughout SONGS ABOUT JANE, leader Adam Levine and his band deftly combine a distinctive old school R&B/disco/electro vibe with the best elements of chart-topping melancholy popsters like Train, Matchbox 20, and the Dave Matthews band. On many tracks, Levine's vocals bear an uncanny resemblance to Stevie Wonder's golden pipes, and the combo does its best to match the Motown genius's unerring sense of endless groove. An ambitious goal indeed, but Maroon 5 acquits itself admirably throughout, in the process creating an unusually successful, completely natural-sounding and eminently danceable stylistic synthesis. minimize