Since Adam Levine and Maroon 5 burst onto the scene in 1997, they’ve been hard to ignore. With songs like this year’s “Moves Like Jagger,” “Payphone” and the current “One More Night,” they’re the kings of rock.
I love Levine’s voice; face it, he’s got the perfect instrument and his role as a judge/mentor on NBC’s “The Voice” has clearly bumped him along. He may be playing the bad boy onscreen, but clearly, he knows exactly what’s he’s doing.
Other band members include Jesse Carmichael (hiatus), Mickey Madden, James Valentine, Matt Flynn, Sam Farrar and PJ Morton, who’s filling in.
The band’s third studio album, 2009′s Hands All Over, which is almost like a double-CD, contained one song, “Curtain Call” that to me, was one of their best ever.
Their best songs, like like “Harder To Breathe,” “This Love” and “She Will Be Loved,” musically, build toward a most satisfying climax. All of their work, especially on the new album Overexposed, feature just exquisite production.
Sure, they’re great, but the production takes it to the next level. In fact, let me go on record as saying their production is among the best out there right now.
On the new release, I also loved “Lucky Strike” and “Love Somebody.” Maybe not the critic’s top choice, but Maroon 5 is making the most scintillating and memorable rock music today.
Down the Rabbit Hole and Back
Dominick Dipietrantonio’s life has turned into a cautionary tale of a musician who came so close, until he stumbled. But this story may yet have a happy ending.
He burst onto the scene several years back with one of the best indie releases I had ever heard. His then-PR man gave me the disc and told me that he was working with, of all people, drummer Dino Danelli, from ’60s supergroup The Young Rascals.
I met Dom and Dino and found them to be perfectly in sync and looked very much forward to their collaboration. Dom did a few gigs at a club in midtown Manhattan that was packed for every show. He had assembled a dynamite band and each of the four gigs I attended was just sensational.
Then disaster struck. He and Danelli parted ways, industry-names like Liz Derringer and Susan Blond were bandied about as the new managers, and then… nothing.
Dom had fallen down the rabbit hole with a debilitating drug habit. A little bit of success can sometimes do that to an aspiring musician. The hangers-on and dope dealers move in. Being a local boy from Long Island, there were plenty of distractions.
But we recently heard from Dom again. He said he’d kicked his habit and rebounded with a series of new recordings.
“I don’t want to sound like a broken record, but as bad as it got, I began to realize how good it had been. From working with Dino to Liz Derringer (who got him an audience with RCA Records), he knew he was on a roll.
“I’m not blaming anyone; what happened happened, but I want my fans to know that I am back on track. I’ve signed with a small indie-label, and I’m being given that second chance. Believe me, I won’t abuse it.”
Names In The News
Jacqueline Boyd, Jerry Lembo, Cory Robbins, Lee Jeske, Tom & Lisa Cuddy, Jon Costa, Randy Alexander, Melissa Daniels, David Salidor; Keith Girard, Mark Bego, Tony Seidl, Wayne Avers, Brian Lowry, Jon Pareles, Bill Adler, Bruce Grakal.
