Album Of The Day - Jason Marz

Jason Marz is always moving towards change. That we can look at starting from his debut album, Waiting for My Rocket to Come (2002) to his last album, Love Is a Four Letter Word (2012). And two years later, he came back with his fifth album. That promises a different musical movement.

But not really different. Pop rock is still the cornerstone of the songs contained in this album. It's just that, expecting him to perform "badung" as has been shown in his debut album and sophomore, Mr. A-Z (2005), then throw that hope away. Yes! sounds like a sequel of Love Is a Four Letter Word, but with songs that sound more mature and mature.

Album containing songs that present a more calm rhythm, ballad collection and other mid-tempo songs. And this is already indicated with Love Someone. This song is what we can expect and also not from a Jason Mraz. But that does not mean bad. Quite the opposite. Opened with acoustic guitar, Love Someone reminiscent of Mraz's pop-folk-ballad songs. Then the arrangement presents a more thorough pop, though Mraz still sings in his familiar style.

Try to listen to Quiet which sounds a little mixed with the touch of country. Mraz sings quietly while the arrangement brings back the background music with no less mellow. This song is so absorbed that it is difficult not to dissolve in it. There is also Long Drive which despite having an attractive percussion-style drum beat, but the vocal harmonization between Mraz and the background singer makes the song sound so blue.

The album also has other tracks like Best Friend, Sweet Out of My Hands with folk feel, and re-present the country concept in You Can Rely On Me or gloomy ballad A World with You, which makes the heartbreak still sounded melodic ears .

Also check out It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday with the gospel weight that is not surprising considering it's a cover song from G.C. hits. Cameron, (later popularized by Boyz II Men). But Mraz can uniquely incorporate his trademark right into the soul of his song so it sounds like Mraz's full possession, but without betraying the original style of the song.

Longing for old Mraz does not need to worry, because he still presents tracks such as Back to the Earth which puts the ukulele as the main companion instrument, 3 Things that combine soul and folk, and Hello, Your Beautiful Thing featuring Mraz's singing style wriggling that had once become a mainstay.

Indeed many things that became characteristic of Mraz absent in this album. But actually it does not feel weird either. Perhaps Mraz felt he needed to move forward toward his mature side.

The selection of songs with an acoustic format makes Yes! sounds very breezy, let alone supported by deliberate giving a relatively moderate tempo to slow, so the pace Yes! feels slow. The album sounds like a romantic evening soundtrack rather than a friend in a noisy afternoon

However, with segmentation like this, Mraz actually showed his class. He shows his adult side. No more emotional outbursts. The songs chant with a calm and gentle stream. The album also shows musical maturity, where each track is arranged with precise precision, in accordance with the thematic aspects it contains.

Although We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things. (2008) is still the magnum opus of a Jason Mraz, but an album that shows his maturity. A classy and impressive pop-acoustic album. It is a pity to miss, both for loyal fans, as well as lovers of similar music.
Here are the tracklists:

TRACKLIST

1. “Love Someone” 4:16
2. “Rise” 1:29.
3. “Hello, You Beautiful Thing” 3:34
4. “Long Drive” 3:50
5. “Everywhere” 3:24
6. “Best Friend” 3:19
7. “Quiet” 4:18
8. “Out of My Hands” 3:26
9. “It’s So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday” 2:58
10. “3 Things” 2:54
11. “You Can Rely on Me” 3:43
12. “Back to the Earth” 3:46
13. “A World with You” 4:39
14. “Shine” 6:04