I have no choice 'cause I won't say "Goodbye" anymore

Continuing my trip back through the 2005 album charts.

09/01/05 : Songs About Jane - Maroon 5

I know Maroon 5 are very popular (particularly in the US) and I know I've heard quite a few of their songs and could probably sing along to some of them, but I've got a mental blank about them.  I also know I find his voice quite annoying without being able to say why, so I'm interested as to what kind of experience this gives me.

Hmmm - it's a pretty well put together selection of songs which are kinda funky and well performed.  And Adam Levine's voice is a bit annoying, but it doesn't get more annoying as the album goes on so I don't really have anything unpleasant to say about the album.  However, five minutes after the album's finished, I have absolutely no recollection of any of the tracks - and I know there were a couple on there that I knew and quite liked, but until I check on Wikipedia that's all I can tell you (ah yes, they were "This Love" and "She Will Be Loved").  

So it's an odd one - an album I remember quite liking, without being able to remember it.  The only thing that did stick in my mind was that I was perplexed as to why/whether they made "Not Coming Home" a "live" version.  It had the sounds of a crowd on it (all the way through) but I wasn't convinced it hadn't just been added in - either way, it just seemed like an odd thing to do (and it's only on that one track).  I do like the album cover though - it's very stylish.

We're at #4 in the charts this week on their 51st week of an impressive 73 week run, with it having peaked at #1 in its 32nd week (and it had a twelve week run in the top five) - all of which is very impressive for an album that passed me by at the time (and, you could argue, still continues to do so).  The rest of the top five were Scissor Sisters, The Killers, Green Day and Franz Ferdinand and the highest new entry was - no-one, because no-one releases albums in the first week of the year.

Wikipedia tells us the album was initially released in June '02 (only in the US) and didn't really do anything - and was re-released in October '03 and still didn't really do an awful lot.  But "This Love" and "She Will Be Loved" kicked things into gear and got the album released in a load of other places in '04.  And boom!  The critics were mostly nice enough about it with The Guardian amusingly noting that it "isn't as useless as one would hope" - high praise indeed!  Commercially, it was huge with it getting to #1 in Australia, Ireland and France and top ten in a load of countries, including #6 in the US where it shifted five million copies (along with two million copies sold here).  And finally, another random fact from Wikipedia - Rashida Jones sings backing vocals on three of the tracks (and did you know she co-wrote Toy Story 4?).

"Customers also listened to" Train, P!nk, OneRepublic and The Script - a somewhat peculiar mix, but I can definitely see the comparisons with The Script.  I'm somewhat puzzled by this album - I have a vague feeling why people like it or why people could hate it, but I am left with no strong opinion or memory of it.  Which is odd.

02/01/05 - Not his finest effort to end the year
16/01/05 - Another enjoyable revisit

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