Mr. A-Z
Jason Mraz's new album Mr. A-Z came out last Tuesday and I've had a chance to listen to it a couple of times already. I haven't had enough exposure to the songs to be able to comment on them seperately, but I will post some quick thoughts of the album as a whole.
- Jason likes to write songs about writing songs and the record label bitch's experience (see the single, Wordplay, for instance).
- Lots of great lyrics. This fulfills the desire for quality lyrics that I was left with after the lyrically-bare (but otherwise excellent) Stand Up.
- Steve Lillywhite is the man. The production quality of this album is excellent. Lillywhite mixes different types of sounds (see Life Is Wonderful) and adds tiny decorations throughout that makes the album not just a recording of studio performances.
- The opera bit on a song whose name escapes me at the moment is very cheesy. I really like the rest of that song but that bit just makes me cringe.
- The eclectic mix of styles is refreshing and there is a good balance of fast and slow (but not too slow) songs. This is one of those albums that can be listened to straight through without getting bored.
Mr. A-Z is a solid sophomore (on a major label at least) studio album that's not as pop-ish as I had expected. Jason has said in interviews that he wants to return to his acoustic roots for his third album and I can't wait to hear what he cooks up next.
