Jason Mraz  "Mr. A-Z"

I’m not a Jason Mraz fan. At least, this morning I wasn’t. His debut album was fun enough. It had that acoustic sound and witty wordplay that all the college kids were into at the time. I never really thought much of it to be honest. I listened to his songs on the radio, I’d watch the videos on MTV and VH1, but I never would’ve even thought to listen to his album. When I saw that his new album released today, I felt like this would be a good album to review. So, for better or worse, I booted it up. Soon after my jaw dropped, my emotions welled up inside of me, my foot started tapping, a smile crept across my face, and I realized that Jason Mraz is a genius.

If you were leaning towards writing this album off without a listen, I don’t blame you. There are so many Dave Matthews clones out there that it makes my head hurt. The fact that people will skip over this album for that reason almost makes me ill. Jason Mraz himself pokes fun at the style of music in the lead single “Wordplay”. It’s a great way to introduce people to the album, as it makes them realize that he’s not taking himself too seriously. More importantly, it leaves you completely unprepared for the emotional content of this album.

Feel and atmosphere aren’t words that all music fans grasp, especially just the casual ones. But, the fact is this album has one of the best atmospheres I’ve heard in a long time. The album starts out hopeful and thoughtful, gets a bit silly, gets very introspective, dips into some heavy romance, then ends on a great note of optimism for all of mankind. At the end of it, you don’t feel like you’ve listened to a collection of songs, you feel like you’ve spent a long night learning who Jason Mraz truly is. He’s the kind of guy we all want to be. Funny, witty, deep, thoughtful, intelligent and most importantly, talented. The music on the album follows the atmosphere, flowing seamlessly from acoustic pop to almost hip hop style tracks to full beautiful orchestration later on. Anyone else trying to make this album would’ve failed. It would’ve been a jumbled mess. A train wreck of styles and ideas. That’s where Jason Mraz’s genius comes into play. He takes what should be a train wreck and turns it into a masterpiece of an album that touches on nearly every emotion and style of music anyone really cares to hear.

I’m not one to gush about albums and artists. Sure, I do it from time to time, but the fact is, this album is worth it. The kind of album that turns a bad day into a good one and a lonely night into a thoughtful one. Jason Mraz solidifies himself as a true talent and a true star with this album. I can’t wait to see what this guy comes up with next.

FIVE OUT OF FIVE STARS

Music Review Index