Boy bands are not renowned for their longevity. In some cases, fruit flies live longer. However, this is certainly not the case for three times GRAMMY Awards winners, Maroon 5. Formed in1994, by lead singer/songwriter Adam Levine, and original band members, Jesse Carmichael, Ryan Dusick, and Mickey Madden, while they were still at their LA high school, the band released its 7th album,’ Jordi’ in June. It is dedicated to the band’s former manager, Jordan Feldstein, who died in 2017. Feldstein managed the band for around 15 years and oversaw its rise to universal fame. Indeed, the band’s triple-platinum hit ‘Memories’ included in the new album, is Levine’s pop ‘elegy’ to his childhood friend.
The new album combines a collection of the band’s winning-formula, catchy songs but some ‘big gun’ guests feature to try to beef up and broaden its offering. Some of these collaborations work better than others. The band’s first single off the album, ’Beautiful Mistakes’ features red-hot rapper, Megan Thee Stallion. But it seems that even Thee Stallion has been tamed temporarily to fit in with the band’s sweetly, sanitised sound. As for the legendary Stevie Nicks’ contribution on ‘Remedy’, her voice is swept along and almost drowned out in the swirl of the surrounding mix. American singer, Blackbear brings some interest and relief to the rather monotone ‘Echo’ but overall the echo effect in the song sounds more like a pop version of someone yodelling. ‘Convince Me Otherwise’, featuring H.E.R. works well, and ‘One light’ has a guest appearance from upcoming Zimbabwean artist Bantu, who brings some African beat to the party.
However, too many tracks sound too similar and the energy and hard-hitting hooks of hits such as ‘Payphone’, ‘Moves Like Jagger’ and ‘Sugar’ are missing. So how has the album gone down with M5 fans? Well, that’s also a mixed bag. Some of the band’s 50 million-plus Spotify listeners can’t get enough: ‘…if you don’t like this tune (Beautiful Mistakes) you need to take a COVID test as you have no sense of taste.’ While for others Jordi is: ‘Worst album ever and I’ve been a hardcore Maroon 5 fan from the beginning.’
However, with over 75 million album sales, 400 million singles sold worldwide, and more gold and Platinium certifications from around the world than walls to stick them on, Mr. Levine and the rest of the M5 team will not be too concerned. With a reported net worth of $120 million, it seems that Levine’s 20 year plus melody-making money machine rolls on.
‘Jordi’ tracklist – available in Standard and de-luxe versions.
De-luxe playlist:
- “Beautiful Mistakes” feat. Megan the Stallion
- “Lost”
- “Echo” feat. blackbear
- “Lovesick”
- “Remedy” feat. Stevie Nicks
- “Seasons”
- “One Light” feat. Bantu
- “Convince Me Otherwise” feat. H.E.R.
- “Nobody’s Love”
- “Can’t Leave You Alone” feat. Juice WRLD
- “Memories“
- “Memories (Remix)” feat. Nipsey Hussle & YG
- “Button” [feat. Anuel AA, Tainy]*
- “Lifestyle” (Jason Derulo feat. Adam Levine)*
“JORDI” is out now: https://Maroon5.lnk.to/JordiAlbum For more, visit: Instagram: https://Maroon5.lnk.to/Instagram Facebook: https://Maroon5.lnk.to/Facebook Twitter: https://Maroon5.lnk.to/Twitter TikTok: https://Maroon5.lnk.to/TikTok Sign up for updates: http://smarturl.it/Maroon5.News
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