Search - Maroon 5 :: Hands All Over

Crisp and clean and alot of generic

thespoon73 | 10/08/2010

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Mutt Lange has a knack for making it all sound effortless. He knows the formula and can turn out tunes with that "fresh from the farm" feel. This is a good and bad thing. For years he spent glossing up the hits for Shania Twain but you don't have to look far into the Twain cataloge to see that the content is about as deep as a puddle.

"Man! I Feel Like A Woman!" "Don't Be Stupid, You Know I Love You!"

Not exactly profound word play. But the man is a radio friendly hit-machine with those not searching too deep for quality.

But, I digress. Lange didn't write the songs on Hands All Over but he might as well have. With the exception of a few tunes, everything has been done before and done better. HAO is really all over the place. The lack of any cohesion isn't the problem, though nothing fits together. The downside for me was the overwhelming corniness.



"Misery" has a catchy hook, perfectly crafted for radio but something screams "This Love 2010". I like it for what it is - radio friendly.



"Get Back In My Life" is Squeeze-revisited. Squeeze circa 1985. Bouncy, lively and only missing the cheeky delivery of Glenn Tilford.



"Out Of Goodbyes", featuring Lady Antebellum, starts out like a weeper and ends in a wimper. What should be a harmonious blending of vocals turns monotone fast.



"Hands All Over" tries really hard to be an anthem. The lyrics are really cheesy and, diehards might not agree, it lacks any sex appeal M5 fans come to expect. With a title like that, I sort of expected the signature "obscure dirty".

This isn't a hand on a thigh. It's a pat on the head.



"Last Chance"...seriously? The lyrics are just oh-so-bad.

"I bet that he could give your everything/Stability and diamonds rings/All the things I do not have/I know you can't handle that."



"I Can't Lie" is growing on me but it sounds dated. I've heard this before, much like "Get Back In My Life". Only this time, it's more Motown then Brit pop. I could hear Smokey Robinson singing this. In 1965.



"Never Gonna Leave This Bed" could've been recorded by Journey. Of course, it would've been a little faster and far more passionate.



"Stutter" sounds like a novelty tune in the same vein as "Stacy's Mom" by Bowling For Soup. I expect a video of all the boys, leaning on a wall, snapping their finger in unison while wearing Ray Bans and leg warmers.



"Give A Little More" is perhaps the best song on the album. Adam Levine's voice is flawless. This is HAO's "Makes Me Wonder". A little funky, a little sexy and alot catchy.



"No Curtain Call" (available on the deluxe edition) is my second favorite song on the album. No sure why this wasn't part of the original 12 tunes selected because it should be. It's far more captivating than alot of the songs that made the original cut.



The acoustic verison of "Misery" (available on the deluxe edition) is a huge letdown. This is where Lange's production comes in. Acoustic usually feels a little more free-form, a little edgier. This acoustic tale doesn't feel acoustic at all; like it's not instruments but a generic digital recording. A music bed you would hear in a commercial for Pringles.



Lastly, the cover of Alicia Keys "If I Ain't Got You" is lovely and safe. Levine's voice is in fine form. It's a straight forward cover. No special M5 infused flavor. I'm not a Keys fan, so I have to say M5's cover is far superior to her yelling/singing.



All and all...a bit of a letdown. There are a few sparkling gems but missing is that signature M5 smirk. Like your privy to the inside joke. With "Songs About Jane" and "It Won't Be Soon Before Long", I felt like we got into the mind of the band and for 45-50 minutes, hung out. HAO is all formula with little payoff.



3 stars for Adam Levine's voice and the few tunes that deliver the happy ending."

Sounds exactly like old Maroon 5

Alan Hogan | USA | 10/08/2010

(2 out of 5 stars)

"Die-hard Maroon 5 fans are going to absolutely love this album.



But everyone else can walk away knowing this is almost exactly the same as the last album, It Won't Be Soon Before Long.



Hands All Over is another helping of Maroon 5's boring take on power-pop, filled with the same chord progressions, the same sounds, the same Levine oo-oo-ooohs, the same clichéd, boring, lyrics about a different one-dimensional woman each track.



If this were the first album from a new band, I'd say it was "promising." But this is the third studio release from an artist that has been in the national spotlight, getting Clear Channel plays daily, for eight years now. It more of the same just isn't enough."