Jason Mraz – Mr. A-Z

Artist: Jason Mraz

Title: Mr. A-Z

Label: Atlantic

Rating: 4/10

CORPORATE LINE: MR. A-Z comes nearly three years after the release of Mraz’s breakthrough Elektra debut, the RIAA platinum WAITING FOR MY ROCKET TO COME. While waiting for Jason’s new album to come, fans were treated to the summer ’04 release of the two-disc CD/DVD collection, TONIGHT, NOT AGAIN: JASON MRAZ LIVE AT THE EAGLES BALLROOM – which captures the unadulterated experience of one of his legendary concerts.

Produced by Steve Lillywhite (U2, the Rolling Stones, Dave Matthews Band, Peter Gabriel), MR. A-Z was recorded at Allaire Studios near Woodstock, New York, as well as at Mraz’s home studio in San Diego, California. ‘MR. A-Z is my pseudo-self-titled second album,’ the acclaimed tunesmith declares. ‘This time it’s all Mraz from beginning to end, the alpha and the omega, from the frontal lobe to the reptilian membrane, the A-Z, thus assigning it the nomenclature it naturally desired and deserved, MR. A-Z.’

THE GREAT:
Nothing.

THE AVERAGE:
“Life Is Wonderful” – A pretty song but the lyrics aren’t up to par and the songs gets old fast. It’s not the kind of track that you are going to want to hear over and over again. The biggest problem with this track is that it’s not cohesive.
“Wordplay” – Mraz is seemingly make up the words as he goes—not a song that attracts anyone that wants meaning in a song.
“Bella Luna” – Samba? What is up with Mraz?

THE BAD:
“Geek In The Pink” – Painful to listen to and completely without any reason for existence. Actually the title alone says it all—this is embarrassing.
“Mr. Curiosity” – Mraz tries to do his best to follow the footsteps of Ben Folds—Mr. Mraz is no Ben Folds.
“Plane” – The lyrics are plain awful.

FRANKLY: Jason Mraz has strayed and it doesn’t work. Too many of the songs don’t sound cohesive as a whole. Most tracks are slow and plodding. Nothing about Mr. A-Z reminds the listener of his previous release. Some of the songs are impossible to listen to—not a good quality. What hurts most is that Jason Mraz has a good voice and seems to worry more about singing and rhyming than the quality his lyrics.

+ Rae Gun