The Musical Downfall of Maroon 5 & Adam Levine
The first time I ever heard “Harder to Breathe”, I was probably 4 or so. I loved it. It’s one of the songs I actually credit to turning me into a girl who loves rock music. (Imagine how I felt when I realized that there was music that rocked even harder!)
Moral of the story: Maroon 5 was one of the bands that I loved from a very young age. My mom used to play the album, Songs About Jane, in the car, and I remember loving the music from the backseat.
I feel as though I should specify, however, as I am someone who loves Maroon 5 from approximately 2002 - 2011, or what I like to call, their Golden Years. The biggest issue I have with Maroon 5’s current music is that is lacks any kind of depth or emotional meaning. Whereas Songs About Jane and Won’t Be Soon Before Long had lyrics that came from a place of emotion and feeling, their new music feels as though it is carefully assembled in order to fit into a neat space on the Top 40 Charts.
In an article written by Joel Stein for Time Magazine in 2014, guitarist James Valentine is quoted saying, “'I would love for us to make a record more like Songs About Jane, five guys in a room jamming together.'”₁ So, why don’t they? Answer: ego.
Moral of the story: Maroon 5 was one of the bands that I loved from a very young age. My mom used to play the album, Songs About Jane, in the car, and I remember loving the music from the backseat.
I feel as though I should specify, however, as I am someone who loves Maroon 5 from approximately 2002 - 2011, or what I like to call, their Golden Years. The biggest issue I have with Maroon 5’s current music is that is lacks any kind of depth or emotional meaning. Whereas Songs About Jane and Won’t Be Soon Before Long had lyrics that came from a place of emotion and feeling, their new music feels as though it is carefully assembled in order to fit into a neat space on the Top 40 Charts.
In an article written by Joel Stein for Time Magazine in 2014, guitarist James Valentine is quoted saying, “'I would love for us to make a record more like Songs About Jane, five guys in a room jamming together.'”₁ So, why don’t they? Answer: ego.
More specifically, the ego belonging to one, Adam Levine.
I feel like, rather than refer to them by the band’s name, it would be easier to say “Adam Levine & the six other guys”. It would get the same point across, and in all honesty, it’s a much more accurate depiction of the group dynamic that is present.
However, In order to understand the downfall of the once great pop-rock band, we first have to take a look at their first few album releases:
Songs About Jane, released in 2002, went platinum in 2004. Won’t Be Soon Before Long, released in 2007, debuted at number one on the US Billboard Top 200. Their third album, Hands All Over, is where things get fishy. Originally released in 2010, it got mixed reviews and wasn’t faring particularly well on the charts. So, what are they supposed to do? Release it one year later with a new addition, “Moves Like Jagger”, which topped the Billboard Top 100.
This is where is gets interesting.
Before Maroon 5’s album Hands All Over came out in 2011, the members of the band were responsible for penning their own lyrics. Post-Hands All Over, however, Maroon 5 began purchasing songs penned by others and bringing on loads and loads of other artists to aid in
writing their songs. This, undoubtedly, is part of the reason that their sound changed.
Their fourth studio album, Overexposed, simply feels like it’s trying too hard. It seems to pull from far too many musical influences and styles, and it feels disconnected. It feels more like a series of singles recorded over a long period of time rather than an album with one cohesive style. The songs seem to pull from a variety of styles such as R&B, funk, and techno, but one thing is indisputable, it has a far more ‘pop-ier’ feel, if you will, than any of their previous work.
I feel like, rather than refer to them by the band’s name, it would be easier to say “Adam Levine & the six other guys”. It would get the same point across, and in all honesty, it’s a much more accurate depiction of the group dynamic that is present.
However, In order to understand the downfall of the once great pop-rock band, we first have to take a look at their first few album releases:
Songs About Jane, released in 2002, went platinum in 2004. Won’t Be Soon Before Long, released in 2007, debuted at number one on the US Billboard Top 200. Their third album, Hands All Over, is where things get fishy. Originally released in 2010, it got mixed reviews and wasn’t faring particularly well on the charts. So, what are they supposed to do? Release it one year later with a new addition, “Moves Like Jagger”, which topped the Billboard Top 100.
This is where is gets interesting.
Before Maroon 5’s album Hands All Over came out in 2011, the members of the band were responsible for penning their own lyrics. Post-Hands All Over, however, Maroon 5 began purchasing songs penned by others and bringing on loads and loads of other artists to aid in
writing their songs. This, undoubtedly, is part of the reason that their sound changed.
Their fourth studio album, Overexposed, simply feels like it’s trying too hard. It seems to pull from far too many musical influences and styles, and it feels disconnected. It feels more like a series of singles recorded over a long period of time rather than an album with one cohesive style. The songs seem to pull from a variety of styles such as R&B, funk, and techno, but one thing is indisputable, it has a far more ‘pop-ier’ feel, if you will, than any of their previous work.
On Overexposed, there are far many other song-writers listed than, for example, on Songs About Jane. Adam Levine is listed as the primary song-writer, along with James Valentine, Jesse Carmichael, and Ryan Dusick, all of whom were members of the band during this time, being listed on a few songs as well. On Overexposed however, Levine is still listed as the song-writer for all of the songs, but there are many other outsiders, such as Ryan Tedder, Swedish song-writer Shellback, and former 3OH3! member, Nathaniel Motte. There were also a variety of producers on Overexposed, which also would have contributed to the disjointed feeling of the album. All of Songs About Jane was produced by one person, Matt Wallace. Despite the departure from their previous style and the disjointed nature of the album, it still did relatively well, as it was the tenth best selling album of 2012.₂
It seems like the actual members of the band have been ousted in favor of bringing in third-party songwriters, and while this is intentional or not, it’s clearly taken a toll on the creative direction of their music. I am not disputing that Adam Levine is a great songwriter, but I would argue that he holds his own creative opinion and his desire to make as much money as possible above the opinions of the other members in the band. Which brings us back to the earlier quote from James Valentine stating that he would like to “make a record more like Songs About Jane”, but unfortunately, he falls lower on the hierarchy that is Maroon 5, so he doesn’t get to make that decision.
I understand the concept of doing what you want to do, and quite frankly, not giving a shit what anyone else thinks of it, but Maroon 5’s recent work feels like a sad attempt at staying relevant and drawing as many sales as possible, rather than producing something that can evoke emotion and relatability.
₁: Joel Stein TIME Article
₂:Global Best-Selling Albums
It seems like the actual members of the band have been ousted in favor of bringing in third-party songwriters, and while this is intentional or not, it’s clearly taken a toll on the creative direction of their music. I am not disputing that Adam Levine is a great songwriter, but I would argue that he holds his own creative opinion and his desire to make as much money as possible above the opinions of the other members in the band. Which brings us back to the earlier quote from James Valentine stating that he would like to “make a record more like Songs About Jane”, but unfortunately, he falls lower on the hierarchy that is Maroon 5, so he doesn’t get to make that decision.
I understand the concept of doing what you want to do, and quite frankly, not giving a shit what anyone else thinks of it, but Maroon 5’s recent work feels like a sad attempt at staying relevant and drawing as many sales as possible, rather than producing something that can evoke emotion and relatability.
₁: Joel Stein TIME Article
₂:Global Best-Selling Albums
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