Lopez Blogs

Maroon 5ive ~ It Was Over Before Long: Choosing songs for your second album is like way hard. Or any album to be fair. And much like Kylie, increasingly Maroon 5 left overs are being fudged onto b-sides or international versions of the album. It’s no secret that IWBSBL is one of my favourite albums of the year and that I pretty much worship the ground that Mr Levine walks on. So the collection of extra tracks to bolster my M5 folder on the computer is most welcome. The Way I Was is a luxurious little deep piano jam that relies on it’s heavy percussion and Adam’s distinctive vocal to drive it forward. The Story has an 80s metal guitar riff running through it, yet has a sweet melodic quality to it and an upbeat message about dreams coming true (not often found in M5’s bittersweet catalogue). Infatutation doesn’t quite work as well and comes off as something Shayne Ward would pounce on as evidence that he is down with the r’n'b lovin’ kids as well, while Until You’re Over Me isn’t much better. It’s back on track, however, with the sparse Prince-esque Figure It Out, a nice little ditty that leaves you wanting more. Losing My Mind is a lovely piano led tune that sadly isn’t a cover of the Liza classic (how ace would that be) which is rather beautifully about stalking and the crazy things love makes us do. Miss You Love You is a long time fave of fans that showcases the rockier side of the guys and finally turns up in studio version. Plus the remixes of Make Me Wonder are pretty decent too - and the Mark Ronson remix of Wake Up Call works surprisingly well. I look forward to the future MJB collab on her upcoming opus…

1. The Way I Was
2. Story
3. Infatuation
4. Until You’re Over Me
5. Figure It Out
6. Miss You Love You
7. Losing My Mind
8. Lovely Day (from “hoot”)
9. Signed Sealed Delived (with Sly & The Family Stone)
10. Police Akon Smoothie (Live Lounge mashup)
11. Makes Me Wonder (acoustic)
12. Wake Up Call (Mark Ronson remix)