Bruno Mars Unorthodox Jukebox

Release date: 14-12-2012

2012 EU vinyl LP edition, =Singer/songwriter/producer/musician Bruno Mars returns with Unorthodox Jukebox, the highly anticipated follow-up to his platinum certified breakthrough debut and Album of the Year Grammy nominated Doo-Wops & Hooligans. As its title suggests, Unorthodox Jukebox once again sees Mars melding a multitude of musical approaches to create his own distinctive sound.

Tracks
A1 Young Girls
A2 Locked Out Of Heaven
A3 Gorilla
A4 Treasure
A5 Moonshine

A1 When I Was Your Man
A2 Natalie
A3 Show Me
A4 Money Make Her Smile
A5 If I Knew

Pretty much the biggest pop star in the world right now whose name isnt Adele Bruno Mars is ubiquitous and prolific with it

Both with and without his songwriting/production crew The Smeezingtons Mars has had a hand in hits by Cee Lo Green Sugababes Justin Bieber Adam Lambert and Alicia Keys and has scored a clutch of UK and US number ones under his own steam all in just a couple of years on the scene Either hes the new Smokey Robinson or hes spreading himself so thin hell be a chirpy pop gauze by 2013

Well hes not quite seethrough yet Its soon plain that Unorthodox Jukebox lacks the immediacy of 2010s DooWops & Hooligans theres no Marry You here and certainly no global charttopper like Just the Way You Are

But its appealing generally engaging and all shot through with the confidence of a man who must feel hes got the hit parade Midas touch Bar the odd misstep he probably wont have a rude awakening

Those stumbles are Show Mes wan facsimile of Musical Youths Pass the Dutchie one of 2012s more unlikely influences and the sugary early 80s funk of Treasure which is lathered in so much slap bass it starts to sting

Speaking of Sting ouch his spectre is all over first single Locked Out of Heaven in the clipped Message in a Bottle chords and Mars yelping staccato delivery But thats about the only time Mars allows his own identity to be subsumed

Otherwise hes equally cosy fronting saucy semirock belter Gorilla You get your legs up in the sky with the devil in your eyes and sprinting on the spot to the unhinged electrosoul of the Diploproduced Money Makes Her Smile

The latters some respite from maudlin My baby wronged me / I wronged my baby stuff in Natalie and When I Was Your Man but theres room for both in Mars repertoire Rock soul RnB and starryeyed pop hes across it all

Matthew Horton