I’ve been having the “Album Of The Week” thing going for about 3 weeks now without too much mention of the albums that are there. Ideally, the idea of having an album of a week picture/section is that I do not have to have an explanation everytime that I want to mention why an album is good/recommend it. But I thought I should at least mention why I think it is good.
The first week I had it up, the album was the new Maroon 5 album – It Won’t Be Soon Before Long. When Songs About Jane came out back in around 2004, I thought it was brilliant, with the catchy tunes but with a hint of jazz, especially with Sunday Morning. There were other great songs on the album too, in a variety of different styles and almost different genres. But overall it was a really listenable experience.
When I heard that they were releasing a new album, I was incredibly happy. Although, after listening to it, it is clear that they have changed their style and no longer have such a what I like to call a ‘unique freshness’ where the songs on the album sound fairly different from each other, yet go really well when played one after another, making the listener refreshened after each song as they are not hearing the same thing over and over again! There is less of this on the new album in that the album is very 80s based, especially with the characteristic beats throughout. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing though. It makes the overall album a lot more lively in a ‘Get up and jump’ sort of way. It didn’t stop me from getting into it though, and as a result it was recommended as the album of the week. Have a listen and enjoy!
The second week I recommended John Mayer’s album – Continuum. This is a truly outstanding piece of work that deserves all of the Grammy’s that it received. It is incredibly blues orientated which is a great thing, yet also at the same time it sounds ‘modern,’ something which blues based albums sometimes struggle with nowadays. The modern aspect is clearly due to his recent transition from his more pop-like style of music, but seeing as I haven’t really heard any of that, I shall and wait and hear it before I comment. The sound he produces turns out to be really mellow and easy to listen/chill/revise to. These days (meaning the few months around May/June) I like music that you can listen to whilst revising, as that is what I spend a fair amount of time doing… Back to John Mayer, he is an excellent guitarist, lyricist and singer, all of which are demonstrated in depth throughout the album. I will not be hesitant in exploring any more of his music, especially his live blues album – Try! with the John Mayer Trio!
Finally I’ll get to this weeks album – Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere. Recently I’ve have been getting into a certain Mr. Young. I’ve read in places that this album was really easy to get into, which is definitely is, but nevertheless I listened to Harvest Moon a fair amount before this. To me, this is a really great album where the musicians are just having so much fun, and jamming at pretty much every oppurtune moment. The backing vocals at the chorus, in a really Neil Young or Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young sort of way in Down By The River are just brilliant, as is the huge jam in Cowgirl In The Sand. In fact the whole album is great fun to listen to and as a result, it comes highly recommended!