:: Maroon 5 - Call and Response remix album

Maroon 5

Before famous bands decided to make remix albums, the idea of repackaging old songs was confined to greatest hits CDs, often regarded with disdain if the singer was under the age of seventy. But now no longer the case, the remix album, has, for better or worse, been embraced by every singer, from pop to rock, who now thinks that we, the dedicated fan, want or even need an album made up entirely of old songs resurrected with a slight hip-hop beat. The latest to jump on this rather tired band wagon is Maroon 5 and their ‘new’ album Call and Response. Now unless you are predisposed to hate remix albums on principle, you might want to give Call and Response a guarded look…but beware…approach with caution and a very open mind. Overlooking the dodgy little sticker that says “18 Greatest Hits Re-imagined” (re-imagined being a nice synonym for re-hashed), Call and Response actually has some respectable names attached to it including Pharrell, Mary J Blige and Paul Oakenfold. The stand-out remix is definitely “Sunday Morning”. A sweet song to begin with, it has been elevated to fantastic heights by Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson and James Poyser. Adam Levine's voice was always better suited to slow, romantic ballads and the sweeping electric guitar in the background adds a folksy vibe that's hard not to sway to. Infused with a brilliant violin riff and some smooth back-up singers, “Sunday Morning” is a gorgeous track. Other songs that are actually better off with the remix fix are “This Love” and “Harder to Breathe”. Ignoring the lyrics, “This Love” could almost be mistaken for a never-heard-before track courtesy of industry masters C “Tricky” Stewart and Sean K. Totally transformed by a piano solo and vocal intro, “This Love” goes from an ok original to a poetic and fresh remix with a hip-hop beat and electro vibe. “Harder to Breathe”, is on the other hand, and excuse the pun, a much harder track. Roughed up by a cutting electric guitar melody, “Harder to Breathe” comes complete with a rap bridge by The Cool Kids and a seriously earth shaking drum beat. Now don't be fooled, Call and Response has some good tracks, but the majority are below par and some are actually repeated, as if Maroon 5 were stupid enough to think we'd want to hear the same track remixed ten times. “She Will Be Loved” is deafeningly bad with its ill fitting RnB tempo and “If I Never See Your Face” featuring Rhianna is a dodgy dance track that kills the original and replaces it with a cookie cutter beat. In all, Call and Response is a little disappointing. Sure some tracks are better off as remixes but the majority simply reinforce the rule: if it ain't broke don't fix it.