Songs About Jane

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Songs About Jane
Studio album by Maroon 5
Released June 25, 2002 (2002-06-25)
Recorded Rumbo Recorders
(Los Angeles, California)
Genre Pop rock,[1] alternative rock,[2] blue-eyed soul[3]
Length 46:06
Label J, Octone
Producer Matt Wallace, Mark Endert
Maroon 5 chronology

The Fourth World
(1997)		 Songs About Jane
(2002)		 1.22.03.Acoustic
(2004)
Singles from Songs About Jane
  1. "Harder to Breathe"
    Released: July 9, 2002
  2. "This Love"
    Released: January 27, 2004
  3. "She Will Be Loved"
    Released: July 27, 2004
  4. "Sunday Morning"
    Released: December 2, 2004
  5. "Must Get Out"
    Released: April 5, 2005
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [4]
Robert Christgau [5]
PopMatters (unfavorable)[6]
Rolling Stone [3]
The Village Voice (favorable)[1]

Songs About Jane is the debut album of American pop rock band Maroon 5, released June 25, 2002 on J Records and Octone Records in the United States. The album became a sleeper hit with help of five singles that attained chart success, including the Billboard hit "Harder to Breathe" and international hits "This Love" and "She Will Be Loved". It was re-released on October 14, 2003, and by the end of 2004, had reached the Top 10 of the US Billboard 200 chart. Songs About Jane had sold nearly 2.7 million copies by the end of 2004 and has been certified multi-platinum in sales in several countries. The 10th anniversary edition, Songs About Jane: 10th Anniversary Edition was released after the releasing of their 4th studio album Overexposed.

Background

All but one member of Maroon 5 had been members of a previous Los Angeles band called Kara's Flowers which released an album called The Fourth World in mid-1997 on Reprise Records with little success. Kara's Flowers left Reprise Records in 1999 and with the addition of guitarist James Valentine became Maroon 5.

The band played show case gigs in New York City and Los Angeles. Singer and guitarist Adam Levine credited the interim with influencing the band's new style in an interview with VH1. "During the time between our record deals, I spent a lot of time in New York where I was exposed to an urban and hip-hop culture in a way that had never happened to me in L.A. It turned me on to an entirely new genre of music which has had a profound impact on my song writing."

The band signed with Octone Records, a New York independent label with distribution through BMG and an artist development deal with Clive Davis' J Records. The band recorded Songs About Jane at Rumbo Recorders in Los Angeles with producer Matt Wallace,[7] who had also produced with Train, Faith No More, and O.A.R.. Production was handled primarily by Wallace, with Mark Endert mixing with additional production for "This Love"

All the songs on the album were either written or co-written by Levine while he was living in New York. Much of the lyrics for the album are inspired by Levine's relationship with his ex-girlfriend, Jane. Levine confirmed this, saying there was at least one line in every song about her.[8]

Release and reception

The album has been released with the Copy Control protection system in some regions. After the release of the album in mid-2002, the band toured with Michelle Branch and Nikka Costa. They also toured with Matchbox Twenty and Sugar Ray during some of their shows in 2003. By March 2004, the album had reached the top 20 of the Billboard 200, and had reached the top 10 by the end of the year. Songs About Jane also eventually topped the UK and Australian album charts. Songs About Jane was the seventh best-selling album of 2004 in the U.S., with about 2.7 million copies sold.[9] In Australia, the album did not chart on the End of Year Charts until 2004, where it reached No. 6. As of April 2012, it has sold 4,819,000 copies in the United States.[10]

The album was generally well received by music critics. Christian Hoard of Rolling Stone praised the album for its "vaguely funky white-soul stylings, tunefulness and vocals" and mentioned "Must Get Out" and "This Love" as the album's standout tracks.[3] Allmusic's MacKenzie Wilson called the album an "impressive rebirth" from Kara's Flowers' "indie outfit", stating: "Songs About Jane is love-drunk on what makes Maroon 5 tick as a band ... they've got grit and a sexy strut, personally and musically."[4] Caroline Sullivan of The Guardian commented that the album "isn't as useless as one would hope ... Songs About Jane is pitched at the Busted market, for which their guitar-mashing and surging harmonies eminently qualify them."[11] PopMatters's Jason Thompson, however, panned the album, criticizing Levine's likeness to Jay Kay of Jamiroquai. Calling the album "limp at best", he further added: "There’s simply nothing here to get excited about. And what about that soul that these guys are boasting about, anyway?"[6]

Singles

The first single "Harder to Breathe", released a month after the album, slowly started to pick up airplay which helped spur sales of the album. "Harder to Breathe" had also made the top 20 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles charts and the singles charts in the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand.[12]

The second single releases was "This Love". Maroon 5 won their first Grammy Award, Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals, for this song at the 2006 Grammy Awards. In March 2004, two years after being released, the song reached the top 10 of the Australian and United States singles charts as at March 2004. Its music video had to be edited to avoid being banned from MTV.[13]

"She Will be Loved", the third single from the album, also reached similar chart success, topping the Australian and Belgian charts and peaking at No. 5 in the United States.[12]

"Sunday Morning" was released as the fourth single from the album. It did not reach the chart success of the previous singles but nevertheless garnered positive reviews from critics. It was reported that this single was what got Maroon 5 signed to Octone Records, with its executive Ben Berkman calling it "genius".[13]

The fifth and final release of the album was "Must Get Out". The single failed to chart in the US, and just made the Top 30 in the United Kingdom, Ireland and New Zealand.

Track listing

Standard edition
All songs written and composed by Jesse Carmichael and Adam Levine, except where noted. 
No. Title Length
1. "Harder to Breathe"   2:53
2. "This Love"   3:26
3. "Shiver"   3:01
4. "She Will Be Loved" (Levine, James Valentine) 4:17
5. "Tangled" (Levine) 3:19
6. "The Sun" (Levine) 4:10
7. "Must Get Out"   3:59
8. "Sunday Morning"   4:06
9. "Secret"   4:57
10. "Through with You"   3:03
11. "Not Coming Home" (Carmichael, Dusick, Levine) 4:23
12. "Sweetest Goodbye" (Levine) 4:31
Total length:
 47:06

* The version of "She Will Be Loved" on Disc 1 is the Radio Mix that is used in the music video.

** Bonus tracks on the import release of Songs About Jane, manufactured for and distributed by BMG New Zealand Limited in 2004.

*** In 2012, along with the release of their fourth album, Overexposed, the band released a 10th Anniversary Edition of Songs About Jane in distribution of Universal Music.[15]

Personnel

Credits for Songs About Jane adapted from Allmusic.[16]

  • Cey Adams – art direction
  • Michael Barbiero – mixing
  • Jesse Carmichael – keyboards, group member
  • Ryan Dusick – drums, vocals, group member
  • Mark Endert – producer, mixing
  • Gregg Gordon – illustrations
  • Mike Landolt – engineer
  • Adam Levine – guitar, vocals, group member
  • Mickey Madden – bass, group member
  • Chris McCann – photography
  • Bobby Carmichael - photography
  • Posie Muliadi – assistant engineer
  • James Valentine – guitar, group member
  • Matt Wallace – producer, mixing, percussion
  • Danny Wright – assistant engineer
  • Alan Yoshida – mastering
  • Leon Zervos – mastering
  • Neil Zlozower – photography

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2002) Peak
position
scope="row" Australian Albums (ARIA)[ 1] 1
scope="row" Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[ 1] 7
scope="row" Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[ 1] 8
scope="row" Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[ 1] 22
scope="row" Canadian Albums (Billboard)[ 1] 3
scope="row" Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[ 1] 2
European Albums Chart[17] 4
scope="row" Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[ 1] 2
scope="row" French Albums (SNEP)[ 1] 1
scope="row" German Albums (Media Control)[ 1] 5
Greek Albums Chart[18] 2
scope="row" Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)[ 1] 36
scope="row" Irish Albums (IRMA)[ 1] 1
scope="row" Italian Albums (FIMI)[ 1] 10
scope="row" Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[ 1] 2
scope="row" New Zealand Albums (Recorded Music NZ)[ 1] 1
scope="row" Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[ 1] 3
scope="row" Polish Albums (ZPAV)[ 1] 4
scope="row" Portuguese Albums (AFP)[ 1] 5
scope="row" Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[ 1] 9
scope="row" Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[ 1] 4
scope="row" Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[ 1] 12
scope="row" UK Albums (OCC)[ 1] 1
scope="row" US Billboard 200[ 1] 6
scope="row" US Digital Albums (Billboard)[ 1] 3
scope="row" US Top Catalog Albums (Billboard)[ 1] 1
scope="row" US Top Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[ 1] 1

Year-end charts

Chart (2004) Position
Australian End Of Year Charts[19] 6
Chart (2005) Position
Australian End Of Year Charts[20] 13

Certifications

Region Certification Sales/shipments
Argentina (CAPIF)[21] Platinum 40,000x
Argentina (CAPIF)[21]
Re-release		 2× Platinum 80,000x
Australia (ARIA)[22] 5× Platinum 350,000^
Austria (IFPI Austria)[23] Gold  
Belgium (BEA)[24] Gold 25,000*
Brazil (ABPD)[25] Gold 50,000*
Canada (Music Canada)[26] 3× Platinum 300,000^
Denmark (IFPI Denmark)[27] Platinum 50,000^
Finland (Musiikkituottajat)[28] Gold 19,571[28]
France (SNEP)[29] 2× Gold 150,000*
Germany (BVMI)[30] Platinum 300,000^
Greece (IFPI Greece)[31] Gold 15,000^
Italy (FIMI)[32] Gold 50,000*
Japan (RIAJ)[33] 2× Platinum 400,000^
Netherlands (NVPI)[34] Platinum 80,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[35] Gold 7,500^
Norway (IFPI Norway)[36] Gold 25,000*
Portugal (AFP)[37] Gold 20,000x
Russia (NFPF)[38] Platinum 20,000*
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[39] Gold 50,000^
Sweden (GLF)[40] Gold 30,000^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[41] Gold 20,000x
United Kingdom (BPI)[42] 6× Platinum 1,800,000^
United States (RIAA)[43] 4× Platinum 4,000,000^
Summaries
Europe (IFPI)[44] 2× Platinum 2,000,000*

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone
xunspecified figures based on certification alone

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Wood, Mikael (30 November 2004). "Review: Songs About Jane". The Village Voice. Retrieved 13 June 2010. 
  2. ↑ "Maroon 5 Profile". Metacritic. Retrieved 2012-07-28. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Hoard, Christian (11 May 2003). "Review: Songs About Jane". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 18 June 2009. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Wilson, MacKenzie. "Review: Songs About Jane". Allmusic. Retrieved 18 June 2009. 
  5. ↑ Christgau, Robert. "Consumer Guide Album – Maroon 5: Songs About Jane". RobertChristgau.com. Retrieved October 15, 2013. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Thompson, Jason. "Review: Songs About Jane". Popmatters. Retrieved 18 June 2009. 
  7. ↑ Matt Wallace > Credits from allmusic
  8. ↑ Moss, Corey. "Maroon 5 Aspire To Inspire Sexuality, Crying". MTV News. Retrieved 21 February 2013. 
  9. ↑ E! - News E! Online. Retrieved on 05-22-2007.
  10. ↑ Grein, Paul (2012-05-02). "Week Ending April 29, 2012. Albums: White’s In Good Company | Chart Watch (NEW) - Yahoo! Music". Music.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2012-07-28. 
  11. ↑ Sullivan, Caroline. "Maroon 5, Songs About Jane". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 February 2013. 
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Lamb, Bill. "Maroon 5 Songs: The Top 10 Best Hits". About.com. Retrieved 21 February 2013. 
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 D'Angleo, Joe. "Maroon 5: A Room Of Their Own". MTV News. Retrieved 21 February 2013. 
  14. ↑ Songs About Jane [2 CD 10th Anniversary Edition]. "Songs About Jane [2 CD 10th Anniversary Edition]: Music". Amazon.com. Retrieved 2012-07-28. 
  15. ↑ "Maroon 5 announce "Songs About Jane" 10th Anniversary Edition | Altsounds.com News". Hangout.altsounds.com. 2012-06-12. Retrieved 2012-07-28. 
  16. ↑ Credits: Songs About Jane. Allmusic. Retrieved on 2010-06-13.
  17. ↑ "Chart Search Results - European Top 100 Albums 2005-02-12". Billboard.biz. Archived from the original on August 15, 2012. Retrieved August 16, 2012. 
  18. ↑ "Internet Archive Wayback Machine". Wayback.archive.org. 2004-10-29. Retrieved 2012-07-28. 
  19. ↑ "ARIA Charts - End Of Year Charts". Retrieved May 4, 2013. 
  20. ↑ "ARIA Charts - End Of Year Charts". Retrieved May 4, 2013. 
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 "Discos de oro y platino" (in Spanish). Argentine Chamber of Phonograms and Videograms Producers. Archived from the original on July 7, 2011. Retrieved August 16, 2012. 
  22. ↑ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2005 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved August 16, 2012. 
  23. ↑ "Austrian album certifications – Maroon 5 – Songs About Jane" (in German). IFPI Austria. Retrieved August 16, 2012.  Enter Maroon 5 in the field Interpret. Enter Songs About Jane in the field Titel. Select album in the field Format. Click Suchen
  24. ↑ "Ultratop − Goud en Platina – 2005" (in Dutch). Ultratop & Hung Medien / hitparade.ch. Retrieved August 16, 2012. 
  25. ↑ "Brazilian album certifications – Maroon 5 – Songs About Jane" (in Portuguese). Associação Brasileira dos Produtores de Discos. Retrieved August 16, 2012. 
  26. ↑ "Canadian album certifications – Maroon 5 – Songs About Jane". Music Canada. Retrieved August 16, 2012. 
  27. ↑ "Danish album certifications – Maroon 5 – Songs About Jane". IFPI Denmark. Retrieved August 16, 2012. 
  28. ↑ 28.0 28.1 The first web page presents the sales figures, the second presents the certification limits:
  29. ↑ "French album certifications – Maroon 5 – Songs About Jane" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved August 16, 2012. 
  30. ↑ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Maroon 5; 'Songs About Jane')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved August 16, 2012. 
  31. ↑ "Greek album certifications – Maroon 5 – Songs About Jane" (in Greek). IFPI Greece. Retrieved August 16, 2012. 
  32. ↑ "Musica: Songs About Jane dei Maroon 5 disco d'oro" (in Italian). Adnkronos. July 28, 2004. Retrieved August 16, 2012. 
  33. ↑ "Japanese album certifications – Maroon 5 – Songs About Jane" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Retrieved 31 August 2012. 
  34. ↑ "Goud & Platina - Maroon 5 - Songs about Jane" (in Dutch). NVPI. Archived from the original on December 29, 2008. Retrieved August 16, 2012. 
  35. ↑ "New Zealand album certifications – Maroon 5 – Songs About Jane". Recording Industry Association of New Zealand. Retrieved 16 August 2012. 
  36. ↑ "Norwegian album certifications – Maroon 5 – Songs About Jane" (in Norwegian). IFPI Norway. Retrieved August 16, 2012. 
  37. ↑ "Top Oficial AFP - Semana 17 de 2005" (in Portuguese). Artistas-espectaculos.com. Archived from the original on November 20, 2010. 
  38. ↑ "Главная / "ЗОЛОТО" И "ПЛАТИНА" / International 2004" (in Russian). 2m-online.ru. Archived from the original on January 24, 2009. Retrieved August 16, 2012. 
  39. ↑ "Spanish album certifications – Maroon 5 – Songs About Jane" (PDF) (in Spanish). Productores de Música de España. Retrieved August 16, 2012. 
  40. ↑ "Guld- och Platinacertifikat − År 2004" (PDF) (in Swedish). IFPI Sweden. Retrieved August 16, 2012. 
  41. ↑ "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards (Maroon 5; 'Songs About Jane')". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 16, 2012. 
  42. ↑ "British album certifications – Maroon 5 – Songs About Jane". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved August 16, 2012.  Enter Songs About Jane in the field Search. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Click Go
  43. ↑ "American album certifications – Maroon 5 – Songs About Jane". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved August 16, 2012.  If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH
  44. ↑ "IFPI Platinum Europe Awards – 2004". International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved August 16, 2012. 

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