The Music Note

Given the choice, I much prefer listening to music with a full band, compared to acoustically.  I do enjoy acoustic music, but for me it's just not the same as the excitement of hearing a full band, whether it be on a studio recording or in a live performance setting.  However, there are a few acoustic albums that I have found myself listening to a lot lately. The Silver Seas'  Chateau Revenge! - Blue Edition  is a re-recorded and instrumentally stripped down version of their original Chateau Revenge! album. What I really like about this alternative track-by-track rework of the original recording is that the majority of the songs take a refreshingly unique approach to the acoustic genre, with a fair few of the tracks sounding completely different to that of the original studio album.  This is by no means a criticism of the original album which remains my favourite release of theirs, I just think this alternative version offers some very interesting arrang...

I should begin this post by admitting that I am not a fan of Jason Mraz's latest album Love Is A Four Letter Word .  Aside from two or three tracks, this album just hasn't captured me in the way the previous three studio albums (which I still listen to regularly) have.  Though the huge commercial success of 'I'm Yours' gave Mraz much deserved recognition which was long overdue, it also appears to have shaped this album. It seems that with Love Is A Four Letter Word , Mraz has found a formula that works and stuck with it, as the easy listening influences of of 'I'm Yours' runs throughout the album.  I may be biased as I've never liked 'I'm Yours', but all the same I feel the quirky lyrics and varied genres that made the first three albums - particularly Waiting For My Rocket To Come and Mr. A-Z  -  so unique are severely lacking on Love Is A Four Letter Word . Despite not exactly loving the latest album, I was still excited to see Mra...

I'm super excited for Jason Mraz's fourth studio album Love is a Four Letter Word, which is released in the UK on the 16th and in the US on the 17th April. Other than the first single, I Won't Give Up and The Freedom Song (from the Life Is Good EP),   I have avoided listening to any recordings or previews of the songs as I want to wait to hear the completed studio versions.   I really enjoyed the new tracks on the Life Is Good EP; if these songs are an indication of what's to come on Love is a Four Letter Word, fans should be excited. Last week Mraz announced a world tour, which kicks off on 8 June in South Korea, and runs right through to 1 December, with a date at London's o2 arena. Tickets go on sale this week.  Click here for the full list of dates!