Jason Mraz - We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things [Deluxe Edition]

Artist:

Mraz, Jason

UPC:

075678970092

Description:

Personnel: Jason Mraz (vocals, guitar, keyboards, drums, percussion, programming); James Morrison , Colbie Caillat, Ian Sheridan (vocals); Martin Terefe (guitar, piano, drums); Luke Potashnick (guitar); David Davidson , David Angell (violin); Kristin Wilkinson (viola); John Catchings, Keith Nichols (cello); Carlos Sosa (flute, tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone, horns); Aaron Leibowitz (saxophone); Fernie "Maddog" Castillo (trumpet, flugelhorn, horns); Ra?l Vallejo, Justin Kirk (trombone); Andreas Olsson (sousaphone, synthesizer, programming); Eric Hinojosa (piano, keyboards, synthesizer); Sacha Skarbek (piano, keyboards); Nikolaj Torplarsen, Nicolaj Torp Larsen (keyboards); Mona Tavakoli (drums, background vocals); Kristoffer Sonne, Karl Brazil (drums); Tricia Huffman, Jane Tonnes, Alexis Federowich, Taylor Tay, Gianna Muir Robinson, Lauren DeRose (background vocals).
Audio Mixers: Chris Athens; Tommy Maserati; Tony Maserati; Adam Thompson.
Recording information: Casa Nova, Oceanside, CA; Kensaltown Recording Studios, London, England; Little Big Sound Studios, Nashville, TN; Paradiso, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Sosa Studios.
Author: Rachel Lorrie.
Editor: Andreas Olsson.
Illustrators: Yuan Wu; David Shrigley.
Photographer: Bil Zelman.
Arrangers: Grooveline Horns; David Davidson .
Obsessed with carnality as he is, it was only a matter of time before Jason Mraz realized that it`s better to sound sexy than to blather about it incessantly. This monumental moment arrives on his third album, We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things, easily his sleekest collection of sounds and his only album to contain a suggestion of seduction within its grooves. Actually, We Sing is Mraz`s only album to actually groove, as he sets down his acoustic guitar for much of the album and rides along on smooth rhythms partially indebted to `80s blue-eyed soul by Hall & Oates and Steve Winwood -- in that sense, the album recalls John Mayer`s Continuum -- but he relies more heavily on Thriller, mixing it up with some modern neo-soul that gives this a surprisingly soulful sound. Mraz can glide on these surfaces, leaning on the gentle art of insinuation instead of goosing his paramour, but old habits die hard: it`s only a matter of time before he punctures the seduction by scatting sophomorically, slipping in juvenile come-ons ("You make my slacks tight"), or stuttering manic syncopations on "The Dynamo of Volition." Mraz is also prone to terminal cuteness, drafting in a kids chorus to close out the coda of "Coyotes" and mewling out phrases like "always a goody doer," and while these are often so close-miked and forthright they`re hard to ignore, they`re also just not as prevalent as they were on the icky Mr. A-Z. Also, they`re cleverly camouflaged beneath that gossamer gloss, typified by the quite catchy "Butterfly," whose Quincy Jones-styled horns disguise his mildly queasy oral sex puns. Mraz`s lyrics don`t stand up to such close scrutiny -- something the McCartney-esque, perhaps autobiographical divorce ballad "Love for a Child" ("Was it my mom who put dad out on his ass/Or the other way around") makes plain -- but the nice thing about the soulful shimmer of We Sing is that it`s so slick that it`s easy to ignore the gibberish spilling out of Mraz`s mouth and just enjoy the sunny, easy sound. [Atlantic issued a bonus-laden, two-CD + DVD edition in 2008.] ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Track Listing:

DISC 1:

1. Make It Mine
2. I`m Yours
3. Lucky - (featuring Colbie Caillat)
4. Butterfly
5. Live High
6. Love for a Child
7. Details in the Fabric
8. Coyotes
9. Only Human
10. Dynamo of Volition, The
11. If It Kills Me
12. Beautiful Mess, A

DISC 2:

1. I`m Yours
2. Live High
3. If It Kills Me
4. Beautiful Mess, A
5. Make It Mine
6. Butterfly
7. Only Human
8. Dynamo of Volition, The
9. Love for a Child
10. Coyotes
11. Man Gave Names to All the Animals
12. Mudhouse/Gypsy MC - (live)

DISC 3:

1. Plane - (live)
2. Make It Mine - (live)
3. Geek in the Pink - (live)
4. Dramatica Mujer [Not So Usual] - (live)
5. Dynamo of Volition, The - (live)
6. Beautiful Mess, A - (live)
7. If It Kills Me - (live)
8. Remedy, The (I Won`t Worry) - (live)
9. 1000 Things - (live)
10. Live High - (live)
11. Only Human - (live)
12. Butterfly - (live)
13. I`m Yours - (live)
14. No Stopping Us - (live)
15. Fall Through Glass - (live)
16. Outro - (live)
17. Here We Are: A Mraz Documentary
18. Thousand Things: Book Preview, A

Album Information

Release Date:

11/18/2008

Type:

Performer

Genre:

R&B

Subgenre:

Soul

Label:

Atlantic

Producer:

Kors Eijkellboom; Jason Mraz; Martin Terefe; Jason Mraz; Martin Terefe

Catalog Number:

516492

Original Release Year:

2008

# of Discs:

3

Studio/Live:

Studio

Mono/Stereo:

Stereo

Runtime:

107 : 9

Guest Artist:

Colbie Caillat; James Morrison

Portions copyright 2005 Muze Inc. All rights reserved.