Maroon 5's music goes more than skin deep

Posted October 22, 200717 yr

By LESLIE GRAY STREETER

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Sunday, October 21, 2007

From the very moment Adam Levine strode onto the BankAtlantic Center stage Saturday night, he was almost too much. But I think he's supposed to be.

Maybe it's that the Maroon 5 lead singer, guitarist and undisputed head hot guy in charge is pretty much the textbook definition of "frontman." Distinctive voice? Check. Confident stage presence bordering on cocky? Double-check. Sort of unexplainable sexual energy kind of charisma that would be almost obscene and arrogant without that aforementioned voice and stage presence?

Oh my. We seem to have run out of checks.

The California band is probably sick of explaining that it is, musically, more than the sum of its cute lead singer and catchy pop song parts. It's musically impressive - newish drummer Matt Flynn busted out a Phil Collins-esque In the Air Tonight drum solo bit during Levine's riff on the sexy Secret, and guitarist James Valentine can go from that song's sultry soul sway to the crunch of Harder to Breathe with minimal fuss or effort.

So it's an old story, but it bears repeating - just because a band is cute and attracts an audience of mostly females doesn't mean it doesn't have good musicians.

The band quickly got to some of the bigger hits, including this summer's pointed Makes Me Wonder, the aforementioned Harder to Breathe, on which Levine impressed as a rockier Robin Thicke, and the easy, wistful Sunday Morning.

But perhaps the most impressive song was the sharp rocker Can't Stop, on which Maroon 5 sounded a lot like The Police, for whom they opened in Miami in July. It was as tight and convincing as their Stevie Wonder-ish stuff, but was completely different and focused with a different energy.

So Maroon 5 probably can't help being hot (well, they could tone it down a little bit). But, honestly, why should it? The fans seem to like the excess, and toning it down probably won't convince the haters. So too much will have to be enough. It certainly was on Saturday.