Everyone has heard of Jason Mraz, but mostly through the radio. I'll agree with everybody that his music is fun, upbeat, and really catchy, but how many people have taken the time to go through one of his albums, start to finish? I'm guessing not many. Anyway, as for this album, if you like Jason Mraz you won't be disappointed. It starts out strong with "You And I Both", one of his top radio hits. A great song with clear instrumentals and a feel good groove. Being the solo artist that Jason Mraz is though, this song, as well as everything else, is a vehicle for his vocals. This is not necessarily a bad thing though. Mraz' vocals are really strong on all tracks, and his soulful sound is what, I believe, makes him appeal to a wide radio audience. It also doesn't hurt that Mraz is a fantastic lyricist. He writes some extremely creative lines into every one of his songs, and deftly throws in some pretty complex vocabulary. In one song, he manages to use the word "lugubrious" without making it sound goofy. The ablum continues in much the same manner as "You And I", with the first half of the album bringing a lot of catchy tunes that you can't help but groove to, namely "Curbside Prophet". This is a great track with some really funky southern sounding banjo and slide guitar sounds. Sadly though, this is where the album starts to taper off. Everything else just flows by with out drawing any real attention. The songs aren't bad, it's just that they're mostly ballads and Mraz takes them a little too seriously and loses the fun quality that makes his music great.
Mraz manages to pull things back together with the closer, "Tonight,Not Again", which opens with some mysterious minor guitar riffs that capture your interest right away. Mraz does what he does best with the rest of the song, building intensity in the verses and breaks out in the chorus with some major chords and generally "happy" sounds. It's a good ending to a decent album. What you get out of it is basically a couple radio hits, a few other pretty good songs, and everything else is a bit "meh". To those of you who are already big Jason Mraz fans, go ahead and buy this one for archives sake. But those who, like me, who are casual fans of his radio hits, you're better off with a greatest hits or a live album. Everything on this album worth having will be there.
Standout Tracks:
*You And I Both (Radio Hit
*The Remedy (Radio Hit)
*Curbside Prophet
*No Stopping Us
*Tonight Not Again
Rating: 7/10
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