Music Tuesday: Maroon 5, John Legend & The Roots

Posted September 21, 2010 by J Matthew Cobb in Features

In this week’s MUSIC TUESDAY: Maroon 5 and John Legend & the Roots deliver their latest works of art.

Every Tuesday is a special day for music lovers. This Tuesday is more exceptional.

Two highly-anticipated albums, one from L.A.’s pop/rock quintet Maroon 5 and the other – a collaboration effort from soulman John Legend and versatile band The Roots, land in music stores nationwide and plan to make their ascension on the music charts.

On Maroon 5’s third album, Hands All Over, the band assembles an album full of gloss and poise by hiring ‘Mutt’ Lange (AC/DC, Shania Twain, Def Leppard) as the sole producer and with two singles (“Misery”/#19, “Give a Little More”/#86) successfully anchored on pop radio. While the group welcomes their melodic return to what made them phenoms on Songs About Jane, they also delivers a few bonus experiments that will definitely boost their swag levels. Pop-country trio Lady Antebellum joins in on “Out of Goodbyes” and then there’s a songs that’s akin to the whole Peter Gabriel ’80’s sound (“Just a Feeling”). A Deluxe Version of the album finds frontman Adam Levine singing a live cover of Alicia Keys’s “If I Ain’t Got You” and an acoustic version of their hit single “Misery.” If everything plans out correctly, and with their takeover of media resources like Ellen, The Today Show and Late Night with David Letterman, Maroon 5 is the group to beat this week.

Wake Up! brings John Legend and the Roots together for a stellar update on social and political message songs of the ’60’s and ’70’s; reviving familiar songs like Harold Melvin’s “Wake Up Everybody,” Marvin Gaye’s spiritual salve “Wholy Holy” and some overlooked gems including thew infectious “Hard Times.” The purpose of the album was originally designed to celebrate Sen. Barack Obama’s crowning achievement in becoming the first black to become President of the United States, but a year passed and more songs went into the mix. Now an entire album worth of material has been constructed and the album now has new meaning. With a downtrodden economy, a sour political landscape, uncanny climate changes and with the morale of the U.S. resting in limbo, Wake Up! is poised to bring America back to a level of consciousness for love, peace and revolution.

For the music purist, check out the vinyl versions of both albums – now in 140/180 gram and with a single gatefold cover. Yes, vinyl is back in stride again.

For more info/details:
www.maroon5.com
www.johnlegend.com

So are you heading to the stores to get any of these albums?
What do you think about this week’s favorites?