album review: Bruno Mars, “Unorthodox Jukebox” (2012)

This post comes about after I read a blog post over at Bishop and Warlord.

I rather enjoyed Bruno Mars’ debut album – “Doo-wops and Hooligans”, released in 2010 – and his sophomore is edgier and more exciting.

His versatility vocally and musically is applausable, his voice much stronger and clearer.

The album cover of “Unorthodox Jukebox” is rather amusing, a gorilla tinkering with a jukebox.

Speaking of gorillas, the third track in the album, “Gorilla”, is…risqué.  It’s a song about sex; the lyrics are racy, the beats are sexy and suave, but it’s such a sinfully good track.

I’m addicted to the first track, “Young Girls”. It’s the perfect first track that pulls you in, his lamentations about the ‘bright-eyed honeys’ he’s addicted to.

It’s easy to tell with the song that Bruno Mars has a high vocal range, but he doesn’t overpower us with his prowess. He knows when to keep it subtle and when to kick it into high gear.

The album has diversity in musical styles and genres: we get disco in “Treasure”, a ballad in “When I Was Your Man”, reggae in “Show Me”, and soul in “If I Knew”.

There’s plenty of heartbreak, found in “When I Was Your Man”, a smooth, piano ballad of love lost and regrets.  It has the same poignant broken-heartedness that he was howling at in “Talking to the Moon” from his first album

In “Natalie”, he’s pretty furious at some crazy, greedy girl who wiped out his bank account. He’s not ashamed to say that when he gets her, he’ll get her good:  “payback’s gonna come your way, you’ll be begging me please please please, and I’ll look at you and laugh laugh laugh”. Reminds me of Blondie’s haunting tones in “One Way Or Another”.

The deluxe edition of “Unorthodox Jukebox” includes a few bonus tracks, such as demos of “Young Girls” and “Gorilla”.

I sure do hope he gets another Grammy for this, though!