I’d say that Jason Mraz is my favorite artist that I’ve never had the pleasure (nor the funds) to see live in concert. Since 2002, Mraz has lit up the airwaves every other year or so with a catchy tune that sticks with us even on the dreariest of days.
April 17 marked the release of his highly anticipated new album, “Love Is A Four Letter Word.” An enjoyable album, yes, but nothing particularly memorable. In retrospect, I think I had my expectations set much too high as I first listened to it. The melodies were simple and the lyrics offered minor supplement compared to his other albums.
I don’t blame this disappointment on Jason selling out — for the most part, his sound hasn’t changed exceptionally — I think he was just trying too hard to create a hammock-swinging album to the caliber of Jack Johnson’s “In Between Dreams.”
The first single, “I Won’t Give Up,” was a major reason for the album’s eventual letdown. It’s a song full of the reserved charisma that Jason Mraz is known for, of which we all know can be released at any given moment. Unfortunately, the rest of the album never really took the time to light that spark and send me into reminiscence of a song like “No Stopping Us.”
His upcoming concert at Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre will be on September 11th, 2012. As I blogged about earlier in the school year, the Bon Iver concert I attended last Sept. 11th was the best experience of my entire life. And while I highly doubt that this concert will top it, it certainly has the potential if he mixes in a healthy dose of his older tunes.
Nevertheless, I guess we will find out. Some of my fondest memories include dancing around under a tattered and torn blanket like a loon — on a school night — in my friend Elizabeth’s bedroom to Jason’s live concert, “Jason Mraz’s Beautiful Mess — Live On Earth.” Couldn’t pass up a possible reprise of that incident, now could I?
But never fear, if you don’t agree with my review, I have vowed to continuously listen to “Love Is A Four Letter Word” until Sept. 11th rolls around, allowing it to highlight the varying highs and lows of my life — maybe it will grow on me. One can only hope.
If you’ve got any questions, comments, concerns, hatemail you’ve been dying to dish out, or dire need of a friend to go to the Jason Mraz concert with, feel free to contact me and maybe we can work something out.
