Jason Mraz Waiting for My Rocket to Come
by Stephen Lin, Editor in Chief
February 10, 2003 + Boston, MA
Stop reading, and go buy the CD!
 Jason Mraz is SO good that it literally makes me want to cry, because people just shouldn't be THAT good. He's soooo good, in fact, that I think you shouldn't even bother reading the rest of this review. Just go out and buy the CD right now and experience it for yourself. You'll probably be able to pick it up for $8-10, as he hasn't hit it big yet. (And I guarantee you, that in a few months, Virgin Megastores will be trying to sell you Waiting for My Rocket to Come for $18-20. You might as well be an early adopter and avoid the inflation AND be the cool kid on your block who heard of him first.)
Speaking of hearing of him first, I simply can't believe I hadn't heard of Mraz until two weeks ago. One of my musician/kung fu buddies apparently heard him on the radio through a sleep induced stupor. The radio performance was so good, my friend actually got out of bed and wrote Jason Mraz's name down before slipping back into unconciousness. He knew immediately that Mraz's style would be right up my alley.
I can't stress enough how good he is.
Mraz is literally the best songwriter and vocalist I've heard in quite a while. Songs like "You and I Both" (download MP3 from JasonMraz.com), "Tonight (Not Again)" (download MP3 from JasonMraz.com), "Curbside Prophet" (download MP3 from JasonMraz.com), and "I'll Do Anything" (stream video from JasonMraz.com) are all positively stunning. The songs are so ridiculously clever, well-written, and well-delivered.
As a student at the College of William & Mary in Virginia (back in 1992), I was practically issued a Dave Matthews bootleg as as part of my freshman orientation package. Hearing Matthews for the first time blew me away. I immediately knew that I had just stumbled across something very special. That's exactly how I feel now about Mraz's music.
Musical Youth
Folks who dig Dave Matthews, John Mayer, and Jack Johnson will probably like Jason Mraz. While the Dave Matthews influence is clearly evident, there are other prominent pieces to the puzzle. The guy covers Elton John, Etta James, and Bob Marley at his live shows. His bio lists Björk, Michael Jackson, and Sir Mix-a-lot as some of his musical inspirations. I've heard him compared to everything from Tracy Chapman and Sublime to Don McLean and Jim Croce. The bizarre assortment of artists listed in this paragraph ought to at least make you curious.
This curiousity ought to lead you to do a few things:
Sample some of his studio and live work... very different in feel, yet both equally good! (And yes, I know it sounds like I want to bear his children -- regardless of how unappealing and physically impossible that may be -- but Mraz really is the most promising thing I've heard in a loooong while. I haven't listened to anything else for the last 120 hours.) |
