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Maroon 5: It Won't Be Soon Before Long

Sophomore albums are difficult to do well and many bands have suffered from the sophomore album curse. That curse is one of the reasons that the second album is so hotly anticipated from any band, but when that band is Maroon 5 and the first album was as good, and as successful, as Songs About Jane that anticipation can become a frenzied delirium. So it's no wonder that they waited five years to give us their second album, or maybe they thought they could cheat the sophomore album curse by first releasing several live albums. Well, from the sound of It Won't Be Soon Before Long, arguably the most fervently awaited album of 2007, it worked.

Perfectly produced, with an effortlessly smooth sound, distinctive, lusty, falsetto vocals and consummate, harmonious musicianship, this is one album that has been given a glossy, lustrous finish. And with that burnished glow, Soon is a fabulous pop-rock album. It is completely accessible, boy-next-door funk with a dark, sultry edge. 

Some of the highlights of the album include, the one-two knock-out punch and soulful Maroon 5 on couch dance grooves of opening tracks, "If I Never See Your Face Again" and "Makes Me Wonder" followed by the fastest track on the album "Little Of Your Time". Meanwhile the wild "Kiwi" is drenched in wet, erotic imagery layered on by Levine with lyrics like "I wanna give you something better/ Than anything you've ever had/ A stronger and a faster lover/ The world will disappear so fast."

And what about romantic ballads dripping with sentimentality and barely constrained sexual desire? They are present and in fine fettle with "Won't Go Home Without You" and "Nothing Lasts Forever" two fine examples of the regret-filled heartbreak that no one does as sensually as Maroon 5. "Goodnight Goodnight" is reminiscent of Jane with the melancholy guitar hook and lyrics "I'm sorry, I did not mean/ To hurt my little girl/ It's beyond me, I cannot carry/ The weight of a heavy world". What could be more poignantly heartbroken?

And the final track, a standout showstopper, "Back At Your Door"; the only track on Soon not written, or contributed to by Levine, written solely by Jesse Carmichael (keyboards, backing vocals). It's a sweet, meandering, bluesy, heartache-filled ballad that finishes Soon with a sad-eyed, over-the-shoulder smile.

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