Hands All Over [Repackaged Version] [CD]

First up, let's get one thing clear. Maroon 5 are a superbly talented band. Adam Levine is a great singer, songwriter and guitarist, the musicianship displayed within the band really is second to none.
Since their smash hit debut "Songs About Jane" in 2002 the band has gone on to sell over 15 million albums and achieved multi platinum success in various countries worldwide.

Why then, is "Hands All Over" such a change in direction? Gone are the rock influences of their debut, (they were pretty much gone on their second record anyway) replaced with a mix of pop, funk and R&B.
It's really not a bad record; it's just not the music that Maroon 5 became famous for.
In fact if you missed entirely "It Won't Be Soon Before Long" and you're picking up this record expecting it to sound exactly like "Songs About Jane" then you'll be very disappointed.

With all that out the way then, let's move onto the record itself. Lead single "Misery" is straight up pop with a catchy melody, followed in the same vein by second single "Give A Little More."
They are both the sort of tracks that lend themselves extremely well to mainstream radio; pop fills the UK singles chart at present so Maroon 5 should fit in very nicely.
Beyond that the tone of the record doesn't really change that much, there's no ballad here like "She Will Be Loved" from their debut, the closest you really get is "Just A Feeling" although the lyrics are far too repetitive, or album closer "Out Of Goodbyes, featuring guest vocals from Lady Antebellum.

Depending on which version of the record you've brought will depend on the abundance of bonus tracks you are entitled to, in my opinion "Last Chance" and "No Curtain Call" could have made the final twelve. Beyond that it's a couple of acoustic and live tracks which include the rather decent cover of "Crazy Little Thing Called Love," of course originally by Queen.

It doesn't matter which side of the fence you're on though, both of Maroon 5's previous records are better. I don't expect it to sell quite as well, especially here in the UK.

I've been a Maroon 5 fan from the very beginning, way back when I was an 11 year old girl I saw them on Top Of The Pops performing their debut single 'Harder To Breathe' and I fell for them instantly; Maroon 5 and their music has followed me through my entire teenage life, I'm now a 19 year old woman and I'm still in love with this band!

Drawing from my own experiences of the band I will say this:

Any new Maroon 5 album will be compared to 'Songs About Jane', and the new albums will lose every time. It's not because they aren't as good- in fact I think the music is always getting stronger and more confident- but because 'Songs About Jane' was written out of a very personal passion, and because it was an album that the fans cherished for about five years whilst in wait for the next Maroon 5 album. 'Songs About Jane' has got so much sentimental value that anything new and fresh will never be able to match.

Overall I'm delighted with 'Hands All Over', for me it was a huge reminder as to why I fell in love with Maroon 5 in the first place, 'Songs About Jane' spoke out to me because the music had such a unique personality and 'Hands All Over' is the same, every time 'Misery' would start on the radio I perked up thinking 'now this is my kind of music!' before it even clicked with me who it was!

I also feel that this album is a lot more balanced than 'It Won't Be Soon Before Long', my only complaint with the previous album is that it had a few upbeat songs, followed by a string of downbeat songs and I personally think a few of those could have been replaced with some songs from the B Side Collection. 'Hand's All Over' is a good mix of upbeat and downbeat music that will have you bobbing your head one minute and sitting in deep reflection the next.

There are some truly beautiful tracks on here, 'Never Gonna Leave This Bed' and 'How' are particularly stunning. And as for the upbeat favourites, 'I Can't Lie' is an amazingly uplifting track, and the acoustic songs are wonderful too (Maroon 5 covering Alicia Keys 'If I Ain't Got You' is certainly a winner)!

Which leads me on to the final stunner of this album, Mr Adam Levine! The strength of his writing is shadowed only by the soulfulness of his voice, I won't sit here and pretend that auto-tune doesn't lend a helping hand when literally everyone does it, but no amount of auto-tuning can create passion like that! Besides, from listening to the band's live shows and various other acoustic versions of their songs I seriously doubt the guy even needs auto-tune!

I'm afraid my review is obviously a biased one since it's from a fans perspective, but I imagine that a person discovering Maroon 5 with 'Hands All Over' will feel exactly as I did when listening to 'Songs About Jane'- you will fall in love.

This album seems to have stalled a little in the UK which is a pity as I think it is the guys strongest album so far.The cd if packed with great melodies, fantastic bass lines and solid rythm arrangements not to mention Adam's distinctive vocals.Good to see it climbing the American chart - perhaps when the boys visit these shores early next year interest will be revived.
Highlights have to be the first single Misery - but even better Dont Know Nothing, Never Gonna Leave This Bed, How, and the wonderful Runaway.-There are acouple of ballads which seem a little bland - Just a Feeling is forgetable and the country ballad Out Of Goodbyes seems out of place here.
I have to say I love this record so give it a go its a real grower.