Songs About Jane

Songs About Jane
Studio album by Maroon 5
Released June 25, 2002 (2002-06-25)
Recorded 2001–02
Studio Rumbo Recorders
(Los Angeles, California)
Genre
Length 46:06
Label
Producer
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

Songs About Jane is the official debut studio album by American pop rock band Maroon 5, released on June 25, 2002 by Octone and J Records. The album became a sleeper hit with the 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".

Songs About Jane was re-released on October 14, 2003 becoming a huge international success. It topped the album charts in Australia, France, New Zealand, the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom, and reached the top 10 in 17 other countries. At the end of 2004, the album reached the top 10 of the US Billboard 200 chart. It had sold nearly 2.7 million copies by the end of 2004, and over 5.1 million copies in the U.S. by August 2015.[4] It has sold over 10 million copies worldwide as of 2015.

Background

All but one member of the band 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 showcase 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,[5] 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.[6]

Release and reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[7]
Robert Christgau[8]
PopMatters(unfavorable)[9]
Rolling Stone[3]
The Village Voice(favorable)[1]

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. In 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.[10] In Australia, the album did not chart on the End of Year Charts until 2004, where it reached No. 6. The album reached 5.1 million sales in the United States in August 2015.[4]

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."[7] 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?"[9]

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" 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 from the album, "This Love", won the band their first Grammy Award, for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals 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. The single's accompanying music video proved to be popular as well, but had to be edited from its original version 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, the same chart position of previous single and breakthrough hit, "This Love".[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 song was the one that got the band signed to Octone Records, with its executive Ben Berkman calling it "genius".[13]

The fifth and final release from 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.

Other songs

"Sweetest Goodbye" was featured in the 2003 British romantic comedy film Love Actually.

"Woman", a song recorded during the Songs About Jane era, was featured in the 2004 superhero film Spider-Man 2.

"Secret" was featured in the 2005 American romantic comedy film The Wedding Date.

Track listing

Standard edition

All songs written and composed by Adam Levine and Jesse Carmichael, except where noted. 

No. Title Length
1. "Harder to Breathe"   2:55
2. "This Love"   4:26
3. "Shiver"   3:01
4. "She Will Be Loved" (Levine, James Valentine) 4:17
5. "Tangled" (Levine) 3:19
6. "The Sun" (Levine) 4:11
7. "Must Get Out"   4:36
8. "Sunday Morning"   4:06
9. "Secret"   4:55
10. "Through with You"   3:01
11. "Not Coming Home" (Carmichael, Ryan Dusick, Levine) 4:24
12. "Sweetest Goodbye" (Levine) 4:31
Total length:
 46:05

* The version of "She Will Be Loved" on CD 1 of the 10th Anniversary Edition 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, distributed by Universal Music.[15]

Personnel

Credits for Songs About Jane adapted from AllMusic[16] and the album's liner notes.

Maroon 5

Additional personnel
  • Chris McCann – photography
  • Bobby Carmichael - photography
  • Posie Muliadi – assistant engineer
  • Rashida Jones - backing vocals ("Tangled", "Secret" and "Not Coming Home")
  • Mystic - backing vocals
  • Mark K. Schoenecker - horns
  • Matt Wallace – producer, mixing, percussion
  • Danny Wright – assistant engineer
  • Alan Yoshida – mastering
  • Leon Zervos – mastering
  • Neil Zlozower – photography

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2002–04) Peak
position
scope="row" Australian Albums (ARIA)[17] 1
scope="row" Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[18] 7
scope="row" Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[19] 8
scope="row" Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[20] 22
scope="row" Canadian Albums (Billboard)[21] 3
scope="row" Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[22] 2
scope="row" Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[23] 2
European Albums Chart[24] 4
scope="row" Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[25] 2
scope="row" French Albums (SNEP)[26] 1
scope="row" German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[27] 5
Greek Albums Chart[28] 2
scope="row" Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)[29] 36
scope="row" Irish Albums (IRMA)[30] 1
scope="row" Italian Albums (FIMI)[31] 10
scope="row" New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[32] 1
scope="row" Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[33] 3
scope="row" Polish Albums (ZPAV)[34] 4
scope="row" Portuguese Albums (AFP)[35] 5
scope="row" Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[36] 9
scope="row" Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[37] 4
scope="row" Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[38] 12
scope="row" UK Albums (OCC)[39] 1
scope="row" US Billboard 200[40] 6
scope="row" US Digital Albums (Billboard)[41] 3
scope="row" US Top Catalog Albums (Billboard)[42] 1
scope="row" US Top Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[43] 1

Year-end charts

Chart (2004) Position
Australian Albums Chart[44] 6
UK Albums Chart[45] 4
US Billboard 200[46] 15
Chart (2005) Position
Australian Albums Chart[47] 13
UK Albums Chart[48] 54

Decade-end charts

Chart (2000-09) Position
UK Albums Chart 30

Certifications

Region Certification Sales/shipments
Argentina (CAPIF)[49] Platinum 40,000x
Argentina (CAPIF)[49]
Re-release		 2× Platinum 80,000x
Australia (ARIA)[50] 5× Platinum 350,000^
Austria (IFPI Austria)[51] Gold  
Belgium (BEA)[52] Gold 25,000*
Brazil (ABPD)[53] Gold 50,000*
Canada (Music Canada)[54] 3× Platinum 300,000^
Denmark (IFPI Denmark)[55] Platinum 50,000^
Finland (Musiikkituottajat)[56] Gold 19,571[56]
France (SNEP)[57] 2× Gold 150,000*
Germany (BVMI)[58] Platinum 300,000^
Greece (IFPI Greece)[59] Gold 15,000^
Italy (FIMI)[60] Gold 50,000*
Japan (RIAJ)[61] 2× Platinum 400,000^
Netherlands (NVPI)[62] Platinum 80,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[63] Gold 7,500^
Norway (IFPI Norway)[64] Gold 25,000*
Portugal (AFP)[65] Gold 20,000x
Russia (NFPF)[66] Platinum 20,000*
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[67] Gold 50,000^
Sweden (GLF)[68] Gold 30,000^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[69] Gold 20,000x
United Kingdom (BPI)[70] 6× Platinum 2,019,827[71]
United States (RIAA)[72] 5× Platinum 5,100,000[4]
Summaries
Europe (IFPI)[73] 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 2 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. 1 2 3 Hoard, Christian (11 May 2003). "Review: Songs About Jane". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 18 June 2009.
  4. 1 2 3 Keith Caulfield (August 7, 2015). "Billboard 200 Chart Moves: Maroon 5's 'V' Becomes Band's Fifth Million-Selling Album". Billboard. Retrieved August 7, 2015.
  5. ↑ Matt Wallace > Credits from allmusic
  6. ↑ Moss, Corey. "Maroon 5 Aspire To Inspire Sexuality, Crying". MTV News. Retrieved 21 February 2013.
  7. 1 2 Wilson, MacKenzie. "Review: Songs About Jane". AllMusic. Retrieved September 8, 2014.
  8. ↑ Christgau, Robert. "Consumer Guide Album – Maroon 5: Songs About Jane". RobertChristgau.com. Retrieved October 15, 2013.
  9. 1 2 Thompson, Jason. "Review: Songs About Jane". Popmatters. Retrieved 18 June 2009.
  10. ↑ E! - News E! Online. Retrieved on 05-22-2007. Archived March 21, 2006 at the Wayback Machine
  11. ↑ Sullivan, Caroline (December 5, 2003). "Maroon 5, Songs About Jane". London: The Guardian. Retrieved 21 February 2013.
  12. 1 2 Lamb, Bill. "Maroon 5 Songs: The Top 10 Best Hits". About.com. Retrieved 21 February 2013.
  13. 1 2 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. ↑ "Australiancharts.com – Maroon 5 – Songs About Jane". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2013-04-12.
  18. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Maroon 5 – Songs About Jane" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 2013-04-12.
  19. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Maroon 5 – Songs About Jane" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 2013-04-12.
  20. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Maroon 5 – Songs About Jane" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 2013-04-12.
  21. ↑ "Maroon 5 – Chart history" Billboard Canadian Albums Chart for Maroon 5. Retrieved 2013-04-12.
  22. ↑ "Danishcharts.com – Maroon 5 – Songs About Jane". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2013-04-12.
  23. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Maroon 5 – Songs About Jane" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 2013-04-12.
  24. ↑ "Chart Search Results - European Top 100 Albums 2005-02-12". Billboard.biz. Archived from the original on August 15, 2012. Retrieved August 16, 2012.
  25. ↑ "Maroon 5: Songs About Jane" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 2013-04-12.
  26. ↑ "Lescharts.com – Maroon 5 – Songs About Jane". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2013-04-12.
  27. ↑ "Longplay-Chartverfolgung at Musicline" (in German). Musicline.de. Phononet GmbH. Retrieved 2013-04-12.
  28. ↑ "Internet Archive Wayback Machine". Wayback.archive.org. 2004-10-29. Retrieved 2012-07-28.
  29. ↑ "Top 40 album DVD és válogatáslemez-lista – 2004. 31. hét" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved 2013-04-12.
  30. ↑ "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 35, 2004". Chart-Track. IRMA. Retrieved 2013-04-12.
  31. ↑ "Italiancharts.com – Maroon 5 – Songs About Jane". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2013-04-12.
  32. ↑ "Charts.org.nz – Maroon 5 – Songs About Jane". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2013-04-12.
  33. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Maroon 5 – Songs About Jane". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2013-04-12.
  34. ↑ "Oficjalna lista sprzedaży :: OLIS - Official Retail Sales Chart". OLiS. Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 2013-04-12.
  35. ↑ "Portuguesecharts.com – Maroon 5 – Songs About Jane". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2013-04-12.
  36. ↑ "Spanishcharts.com – Maroon 5 – Songs About Jane". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2013-04-12.
  37. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Maroon 5 – Songs About Jane". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2013-04-12.
  38. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Maroon 5 – Songs About Jane". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2013-04-12.
  39. ↑ "2004-08-28 Top 40 UK Albums Archive". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2013-04-12.
  40. ↑ "Maroon 5 – Chart history" Billboard 200 for Maroon 5. Retrieved 2013-04-12.
  41. ↑ "Maroon 5 – Chart history" Billboard Digital Albums for Maroon 5. Retrieved 2013-04-12.
  42. ↑ "Maroon 5 – Chart history" Billboard Top Catalog Albums for Maroon 5. Retrieved 2013-04-12.
  43. ↑ "Maroon 5 – Chart history" Billboard Top Heatseekers Albums for Maroon 5. Retrieved 2013-04-12.
  44. ↑ "ARIA Charts - End of Year Charts (2004)". Retrieved May 4, 2013.
  45. ↑ "End of Year Album Chart Top 100 - 2004". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 16, 2015.
  46. ↑ "Billboard 200 Year-end Albums: 2004". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved October 16, 2015.
  47. ↑ "ARIA Charts - End of Year Charts (2005)". Retrieved May 4, 2013.
  48. ↑ "End of Year Album Chart Top 100 - 2004". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 16, 2015.
  49. 1 2 "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.
  50. ↑ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2005 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved August 16, 2012.
  51. ↑ "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
  52. ↑ "Ultratop − Goud en Platina – 2005". Ultratop & Hung Medien / hitparade.ch. Retrieved August 16, 2012.
  53. ↑ "Brazilian album certifications – Maroon 5 – Songs About Jane" (in Portuguese). Associação Brasileira dos Produtores de Discos. Retrieved August 16, 2012.
  54. ↑ "Canadian album certifications – Maroon 5 – Songs About Jane". Music Canada. Retrieved August 16, 2012.
  55. ↑ "Danish album certifications – Maroon 5 – Songs About Jane". IFPI Denmark. Retrieved August 16, 2012.
  56. 1 2 "Maroon 5" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved August 16, 2012.
  57. ↑ "French album certifications – Maroon 5 – Songs About Jane" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved August 16, 2012.
  58. ↑ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Maroon 5; 'Songs About Jane')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved August 16, 2012.
  59. ↑ "Greek album certifications – Maroon 5 – Songs About Jane" (in Greek). IFPI Greece. Retrieved August 16, 2012.
  60. ↑ "Musica: Songs About Jane dei Maroon 5 disco d'oro" (in Italian). Adnkronos. July 28, 2004. Retrieved August 16, 2012.
  61. ↑ "Japanese album certifications – Maroon 5 – Songs About Jane" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Retrieved 31 August 2012. Select 2005年12月 on the drop-down menu
  62. ↑ "Goud & Platina - Maroon 5 - Songs about Jane" (in Dutch). NVPI. Archived from the original on December 29, 2008. Retrieved August 16, 2012.
  63. ↑ "New Zealand album certifications – Maroon 5 – Songs About Jane". Recording Industry Association of New Zealand. Retrieved 16 August 2012.
  64. ↑ "Norwegian album certifications – Maroon 5 – Songs About Jane" (in Norwegian). IFPI Norway. Retrieved August 16, 2012.
  65. ↑ "Top Oficial AFP - Semana 17 de 2005" (in Portuguese). Artistas-espectaculos.com. Archived from the original on November 20, 2010.
  66. ↑ "Главная / "ЗОЛОТО" И "ПЛАТИНА" / International 2004" (in Russian). 2m-online.ru. Archived from the original on January 24, 2009. Retrieved August 16, 2012.
  67. ↑ "Spanish album certifications – Maroon 5 – Songs About Jane" (PDF) (in Spanish). Productores de Música de España. Retrieved August 16, 2012. Select the "Chart", enter ' in the field "Year". Select ' in the field "Semana". Click on "Search Charts"
  68. ↑ "Guld- och Platinacertifikat − År 2004" (PDF) (in Swedish). IFPI Sweden. Retrieved August 16, 2012.
  69. ↑ "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards (Maroon 5; 'Songs About Jane')". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 16, 2012.
  70. ↑ "British album certifications – Maroon 5 – Songs About Jane". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved August 16, 2012. Enter Songs About Jane in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Select Platinum in the field By Award. Click Search
  71. ↑ Jones, Alan (September 8, 2014). "Official Charts Analysis: Sam Smith sales can't hide dismal week for albums". Music Week. Intent Media. Retrieved May 20, 2015.
  72. ↑ "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
  73. ↑ "IFPI Platinum Europe Awards – 2004". International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved August 16, 2012.

External links

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