Maroon 5 Keys Its Way Into a Smoldering New Direction

It's enough to get a music blogger verklempt with nostalgia. The Maroon 5 from "Songs About Jane" is nothing like the outfit which puts before our ears its first selection from "V", "It Was Always You". From the very start Adam Levine has been unfailingly in his ability to sway crowds to his corner with his pitch perfect soul harmonizing. No letup on the latest. Maroon 5 doesn't allow its supporters to get too cozy with its chosen style slant of the month. "Songs About Jane" contained "This Love" and "She Will Be Loved", pop radio programmers' dream cuts. "It Won't Be Soon Before Long" rang up big sales with "Makes Me Wonder", a Billboard chart-topper pulling off the balancing act between guitar dynamic and keyboard slinky. The gamble paid off. "Wake Up Call" didn't chart as high but what it lacked in marketable punch it made up for in the novelty factor. "Hands All Over", showing the Mutt Lange producer Midas touch, didn't have a lame-ass cut in the bunch. "Overexposed" helped a new generation to ask the question "Who in the hell is Mick Jagger and why does Adam want to have his moves?" "V" is on deck next. "It Was Always You" goes to the synthesizer well with pronounced aplomb. In the early going Jesse Carmichael and PJ Morton float in thin air. I'm taking it to mean we're sampling the keyboardist's version of going unplugged. Regardless of intent both men make their spotlight encounter worth the maximum. Matt Flynn enters the picture on drums a bit later on. There doesn't appear to as much influence coming from the guitar sphere but that doesn't mean you can't make out Mickey Madden's bass or James Valentine's lead guitar if you lean in close enough. So what's my verdict on "It Was Always You"? No punches pulled I declare it's a nifty step up from "Maps" which I found to be too dopey for my liking. It did make my own personal Top 10 list for a few weeks but, compared to the entire catalog's worth of Maroon ditties that got in there, you'd need a map to make out any crowds of people who'd put too much emotional investment in the song. No, you won't get the tingling sensations brought on by the aggressive rocker "Harder To Breathe". You won't be rollicking along the way you could have on "Misery". Live by the keys and try not to die by the keys is Maroon's mantra for this trip to the dance. The keyboard chords do manage an attention grabbing shift from 80s St. Elmo's Fire zone soundtrack adrenaline to darkening everything in the room except for a lone candlelight, allowing us to lose nary a drop of focus on Adam's turn at the mike. He has come to the realization post sweat drenched dream that his woman was never merely a friend. She was (turn on neon light here) "The One". As you could maintain with a vintage wine bottle there's lots of room for the song's cosmic puzzle pieces to bounce around. If you're used to experiencing a total team effort behind a Maroon 5 song you may be scratching your head as to why keyboards occupy most of the air in the room. Past songs appeared to command a greater sense of balance. Fortunately when he's good and stoked enough, Adam Levine could sing the words on a Chinese takeout menu and make them sound like something innovative that no other band gives you ready wrapped. Being the stalwart Maroon 5 fan that I am I'm willing to indulge them their want to move the chess pieces around a bit. "It Was Always You" won't be bumping any of my previous Top 5 Maroon 5 hits from their perches any time soon, but it should be saluted as an agreeable addition to its overall body of work. So long as you hold on to Adam's love-crazed heart for dear life, you won't be steered wrong. "It Was Always You" demonstrates there's always a spot at pop radio for a band savvy enough to understand business parameters yet visionary enough not to allow itself to be trapped inside a suffocating box.