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31 of 41 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
New hooks, new tricks, top notch production, engineering, and mixing, make for another great CD, August 13, 2008
4.5 stars
Here I am, surprised again by the Jonas Brothers. What an outstanding offering.
Before I go any further, I want to explain my ranking system. I'm not comparing this CD to Abbey Road, Dark Side of the Moon, or even Thriller. I'm placing it into its intended category: young boy bands making pop music. Then I assign it a rating, 1-5 stars, based on how well I believe they represented their genre of music.
And boy (pun intended), are they making good pop music.
I came upon the Jonas Brothers last year when I saw their last CD debut in the top 5 on Billboard. As always with a group or performer of whom I'm unfamiliar, I checked them out and saw that they were "Hanson-ish". As Hanson, mostly full grown, had released a terrific and highly underrated CD (Underneath) not too long ago, I was interested to see if Jonas Brothers was another Hanson in the making. I sampled a few tracks, liked what I heard, downloaded it, and instantly loved it. I was, and still am surprised by the maturity evident in their music (if not always their lyrics).
When they announced a new album, so close upon the heels of Jonas Brothers, I was worried that they were moving too quickly, especially as I read that they had been on tour, filmed a movie, and apparently did at least one hundred million different things between then and now.
When they announced that that they would be releasing four singles off the CD prior to its release, I thought they were insane. Most bands have one commercially appealing single, if they're lucky, and if they're phenomenally talented, they'll have several. I hadn't made the jump yet to thinking that the JBs were quite that talented.
The first song, "Burnin' Up" was a great song, musically, though again the lyrics were suspect, and the video (sorry guys) was really, really cheesy. "Pushing Me Away" was a good song, but it didn't elicit the number of listens that "Burnin' Up" did. Still, I thought it was a commercially viable single. The third was "Tonight," and while that wasn't my favorite of the bunch, I still liked it. It has good guitar work, and a strong, driving beat. With that driving beat, though, I was somewhat concerned that they were leaning toward that style. We've seen it on a few of their songs already. "A Little Bit Longer" went a long way toward quelling any concerns I had, as it was very different from anything I've heard from them in the past (I am not familiar with their first CD, and wish it would be re-released). It seemed strange to listen to Nick singing a song about his diabetes, especially with the clichéd line, "you don't know what you've got until it's gone," normally reserved for human relationships, but that strangeness wore off quickly, and I found the song very touching - especially after I found the lyrics online (being a bit hard of hearing, I rely on seeing the lyrics, and often tend to judge music first on the music, second on lyrics - odd because I'm a writer...).
And now the whole CD is here.
My other concern, that they would be releasing the only songs worth listening to, thus making the CD a downer, was blown away with the first chords of BB Good. Really excellent song, amazing beat, silly but fun lyrics, and the guitar work reminiscent of some of the 70s stadium bands like Queen or Journey, with great keyboard accompaniment. And their ability to craft insanely addictive hooks is so evident here. I haven't been able to get the chorus of this song out of my mind all day.
Lovebug, too, was a standout. It had a touch of bluegrass to it, reminding me somewhat of Michelle Shocked combined with the calmer sensibilities of "Anyone Else But You", from the movie Juno. I thought the talking in the song was funny - unlike others, it didn't throw me off, but felt organic.
The rest of the CD is strong too. They've really grown, musically, and that's good to see. They're not relying on old hooks or tricks, and are, for the most part, finding new ones.
Now my concern is that they're over-saturating the market with everything JONAS, especially with the upcoming sitcom on Disney. Flames that burn too brightly when they're first lit sometimes are the quickest to die. It didn't happen to the Beatles, though, or their solo careers, so let's hope it doesn't happen with these guys. They're still very young, and they seem (well, Nick's the leader, and he seems) to have an innate ability to write music people want to listen to. I hope that they're able to stick to what they seem to best at: making great music that's easy to love.
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10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
You can't hate me for my honesty!, October 2, 2008
As quickly as I bought this album, I just as quickly traded it in at FYE. I've only heard of the Jonas Brothers recently & I've never actually heard any of their music until I bought the actual album. I bought the CD on a whim just because the cover art was enticing and I assumed since there was so much hype built around them they couldn't be too bad. How wrong was I. I gave the boys two stars for the simple fact that a few of the songs are catchy and are somewhat decent. On the other side, these boys don't even qualify as a band. They barely play their own instruments (unless you consider strumming the same lame chords over and over actually 'playing'). For three kids who own 29 guitars total so I've heard, they don't spend much time learning to play. They have weak vocals that sound like they're still going through puberty, and the lyrics are almost as painful. This is just another boyband from the creators of BSB & N'Sync. All the real talent remains with the boys backing band who put in all the real work, and whoevers in charge of pimping these kids out. If you're a BAND, why do you need a BACKING band? Just curious. If there IS even an ounce of real musical talent it remains with the youngest brother. It's obvious that Joe is there just for the fact that he's the eye candy, and Kevin, he's just lucky to even be in his position. Whichever reviewer said that these kids should be saving every penny because they won't be around much longer is right, because it won't be long before they're so-called fans fall out of their hormone rage and realize they've been another target of a money making machine and discover some real music.
I have to give these boys their credit where it's due. They know where the money's at, and they'd be a fool not to take advantage of it. In a world where most commercial music is oversexed, this group of "Pure, innocent, Christian" boys know they're every parents dream.
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13 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Possibly the worst thing ever to happen to music, February 24, 2009
Just for fun, I decided to look up the Jonas Brothers on amazon and check out some of the reviews. And for the past hour and a half, I have been doing nothing but laughing myself to death. WOW! I though amazon was supposed to be a place where intelligent people expressed their opinions on music; not a place where teenage girls, middle-aged housewives and homosexual males(you know who you are) can say "oh my gawd the jonas brothers r the most awesomest band ever and joe jonas is so hot i want 2 marry him lol".
I don't ususally say this about musicians, but I can truly say with confience and defiance that I HATE the Jonas Brothers. Nothing makes me mad more than seeing the Jonas Brothers go on some retarted show and have all of the chicks in the audience go absolutely nuts. Also, someone needs to tell these guys that hiring two 300+ lb black guys for bodyguards is such a terrible cliche. I mean, seriously, is this what the music industry has come to?! I believe that this is a dark time not just for the United States but for the music world as well. Untalented retards like Soulja Boy, Katy Perry, and the Jonas Brothers are getting all the glory, while truly talented bands like Iced Earth, Opeth, and Converge are not getting any attention whatsoever(I bet the average female reading this didn't recognize any of these bands; that only further proves my point).
Okay, now that you know my feelings for this band, let's look at the music itself. Well, to be blunt, I can't find any talent here at all. Seriously. If any teenager out there thinks that the Jonas Brothers are truly talented musicians, good for you. But, sooner or later, you really need to grow up and realize what real music is. Next: the lyrics. Again, wow. Let's take a look together, shall we?
"Next time I see you, I'm giving you a high five, cause hugs are overrated just FYI."
"we were out on the floor
and we danced the night away
and she looked at her watch and
said that it was late
and she pulled me aside
and said she couldnt stay
(i really gotta go!)
but i begged her for one more song
let the music play!"
Ahh, the typical day for any popular teenager. How sad to put these into an actual song. Just ridiculous. To me, lyrics are a huge part of music. This is basically making fun of anyone who is truly talented and writes heartfelt and emotional lyrics by saying "haha we're more popular than you and we get more attention than you so were gonna write songs about our life."
This really is an atrocity in every sense of the word. The Jonas Brothers are definetley the band that gets me angry the most. Jonas Brothers fans are truly some of the most retarted(I know I've used that word a lot in this review, but it makes sense) people ever. I'm just so pissed to see that whenever a band like the Jonas Brothers comes along, every teenaged girl in America says "oh my gawd a band filled with cute guys! theyr obviously amazing! i dont care how talentless they are or how unintelligent the lyrics are!" Or something like that. You get the picture.
So, to sum up this load of crap, don't buy it. Don't listen to it if it was the last compact disc left on this Earth. Warn loved ones. Destroy every copy at your local record store.
IN THE NAME OF ALL THAT IS SACRED, DONT BUY THIS!!!!!
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