Coming up this June, it will be 23 years since the bandMaroon 5released their debut album,Songs About Jane. Hailing from Los Angeles, California, the group led by well-known frontmanAdam Levinebegan under the name Kara’s Flowers in the mid-90s while they were still in high school. After quiet, independent beginnings, the musiciansrebranded themselves as Maroon 5 and droppedSongs About Janein 2002; the record was re-released in 2003 to great commercial success.
As someone who remembers whenSongs About Janecame out, buoyed by the strength of singles like “Harder to Breathe,” “Sunday Morning,” and “She Will Be Loved,” it’s strange to think that the album now has over two decades of age under its belt.Songs About Janehas matured well in all of this time as a pop-rock piecethat’s still able to punch in the same weight class as the radio-ready currents. Revisiting it again, however, has only made me ponder why Maroon 5 has been unable to match or eclipse its quality in the 23 years since then.
Levine has certainly made a name for himself as an all-around entertainer, butSongs About Janeraises the question of what could have been for the band outside the power of a handful of singles. What could have beenif there had been more attempts to take those singles and createalbumsinstead?The talent has clearly been there from the start. Here’s all 12 examples of that power onSongs About Jane, ranked from worst to best.
12Sweetest Goodbye
Track 12 - 4:30
Getting to the finisher, “Sweetest Goodbye,” onSongs About Janeis a bittersweet closer that could have used a bit more heavy-handedness to convey the emotional climax of a relationship on the rocks or a romantic crossroads. Will the spice of this connection persist with implied physicality, oris the creep of conclusion on the way?
While “Sweetest Goodbye” does have a certain charming lite-funk vibe to it with a lingering yearning to match, artists like Prince have captured the meat of this state of mindwith more bone-bearing effectiveness. The tone is a fitting complement toSongs About Jane, but almost blends in too well for a sweeping final statement.
11Shiver
Track 3 - 2:59
One of the more select rock-tinged tracks onSongs About Jane, “Shiver” has a fun, over-top groove that hides Levine beneath lusting for a woman physically that he can’t connect to emotionally. Like a dog on a leash, he can’t stop thinking about her and being with her even though things don’t go any further, andhe can’t get inside her heart (so he chooses her skin instead).
“Shiver” has a fun, over-top groove that hides Levine beneath lusting for a woman physically that he can’t connect to emotionally.
For being an earlier track on the album, “Shiver” has more of a loosely connective feeling that almost seems like a throwaway track in the broader scheme of the tracklist, especially compared to the upright switch in mood found in the following track, “She Will Be Loved.” That song hasa more sobering look at the lingering of lovethat goes much further under the surface.
10Not Coming Home
Track 11 - 4:21
Witha rock/hip-hop fusion backbeat laid into trippy psychedelic guitar overlays,“Not Coming Home” feels like a successor to earlier track “Shiver,” except Levine’s narrator has finally gotten over the woman who had him so brutally infatuated. He’s finally found the strength to have some backbone, reject his barefoot vulnerability that’s placed him in such a bad place, and move on.
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Much like “Shiver,” “Not Coming Home” has a mood of casual comeuppance that doesn’t quite hit the highs of the more emotionally laid-bare tracks onSongs About Janebutfits well into the live concert arrangement in which it’s recorded.This isn’t a thinker so much as a feeler, and it succeeds well in that regard.
9The Sun
Track 6 - 4:11
Songs About Janedoesn’t lack for fun and appealing pop-shaped scenery, and that only continues with the gleaming swing of “The Sun.” The song feels likeit’s walking down with Levine as he reminisces and thinks about a relationshipwith a girl he keeps falling in and out of with her. He’s saddened but is reminded that a brighter future is still to come.
It’s the most contemplative side of Levine that succeeds the best on this album, and while “The Sun” is on the lighter side of that spectrum (no pun intended), it functions brilliantly as a pop landscape.Songs About Janewas at least a sign of what was to come for how well Maroon 5 would docarving out various pop-related sounds.
8This Love
Track 2 - 3:26
“This Love” was the second single fromSongs About Janeand was one of Maroon 5’s biggest early hits, and it’s easy to see why. While repetitive radio play and time have dulled its emotional edge a bit, this was the band and Levine at their best, creating another strong, lasting pop song.
This was the band and Levine at their best, creating another strong, lasting pop song.
Written about the real-life end of Levine’s relationship and his strength to move on from the chaos within it, “This Love"has a strong hook that doesn’t leave the listener alone in its appeal.It thrives in the better of the upper half ofSongs About Janeand has a slightly erotic sheen that lasts well past the sell-by date. Youfeelthis window of connection closing.
7Tangled
Track 5 - 3:18
While most of the love and relationship songs onSongs About Janereflect on the relatable sides of connection, heartbreak, and loss, “Tangled” takes the typical formula and switches the mirror to the perspective of an abuser in a bad relationship. It’sdark, thumping rock beat almost feels wrong to find it quite so charming, but it fits the story inside the lyrics quite well.
It’s really the charm that acts as one of the major winning threads inside the tracks ofSongs About Jane. That and Levine’s versatile voice are the perfect guide to what makes this a cohesive album, rather than just a set of songs.
6She Will Be Loved
Track 4 - 4:17
While “She Will Be Loved” has dimmed slightly in appeal due to persistent radio play over two decades (much like “This Love”), there’s still something to be said about the song’s tale of a narratorwho watches a girl he cares for be hurt over and over again, wanting her to be with him instead. It might be a tad bit too close to a modern-day “friend zone” stereotype in some ways, but “She Will Be Loved” still has an affable sense of sensitivity.
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The song also shows just how much Maroon 5 can thrive in the quieter moments, not needing to be led by overproduced arrangements. This is a prime example of pop music with capable instrumentation, not just digital buildup.
5Secret
Track 9 - 4:55
Speaking of capable instrumentation, “Secret” has a slow-building jazz-club-pop vibe built on the back of a plucked acoustic guitar framework, mysterious piano notes, and pumping percussion. Itnever once feels claustrophobic from arrangement or instrumentation, but it feels rather as secluded as the longing lyrics.
The whole thing gives “Secret” a flavor of eroticism that’s more about the act of doing and feeling rather than thinking and evaluating the actions. The song is subtle in its approach and intent, but thatmakes it all the more underrated.
4Harder To Breathe
Track 1 - 2:53
Unlike the closure of the final track, “Sweetest Goodbye,” which seems to give the mission statement ofSongs About Janea bit of an underwhelming wrap-up, the opening song, “Harder To Breathe,“feels like a spark plug to a new band’s introduction. While it might not be a precise indicator of the music to come, “Harder To Breathe” has a fresh rock face accompanied by Levine’s immediately appealing and intriguing vocal ability.
“Harder To Breathe” has a fresh rock face accompanied by Levine’s immediately appealing and intriguing vocal ability.
It’s funny in a way that the song feels so fresh and a way to bring a rush of energy to the start ofSongs About Jane, when the band wrote “Harder To Breathe” aboutthe pressure they were feeling to create more music for this debut record. I’d say that under the circumstances, Maroon 5 more than rose to the occasion of creation.
3Must Get Out
Track 7 - 3:59
WhileSongs About Janecertainly has more than its fair share of balladry, I think it’s best exemplified on the slower, methodical track “Must Get Out.” While some of the other takes on love and relationships on this record can be more simply pop-leaning and in-the-moment fleeting, “Must Get Out” feelsthe most developed and maturely maudlin.
In the lyrics, Levine laments the issues his narrator is having in his relationship and thinks that leaving the city the pair are living in will help to resolve the problems they’re both feeling. For being as young as the band was while writing songs like these, there’s a sudden and affecting weariness that makes “Must Get Out” feel all the more profound. Will their problems be helped by leaving, orare these just distractions from their inevitable doom? It leaves a perfect sadness.
