Posted on 01/12/2009
The bridge between Maroon 5 and hip-hop isn’t very long after all. Their hit, “This Love,” drew attention from Kanye West, who not only remixed it, but got lead singer Adam Levine to be on Late Registration. Moreover, Mary J. Blige appeared with Mark Ronson, on a remix of “Wake up Call,” which was featured on a Deluxe Edition of It Won’t Be Soon Before Long. Perhaps their success with cross-genre artists sparked inspiration for their latest release, Call & Response, a remix album featuring the likes of legendary dance/trance producer Tiesto, a surprising appearance from Ali Shaheed Mohammad, and a very necessary collaboration with Pharrell. Even if it is slightly obscure, C&R proves to be one of the year’s best releases, period.

For songs that are already top notch and extremely addictive, these producers have crafted a new sound without taking a mixtape approach or taking Maroon 5 out of the equation completely. The David Banner produced “Wake up Call” greatly exemplifies the diversity in Levine’s voice and Maroon’s rhythm. The seamless flow continues on The Cool Kids remix of “Harder to Breathe,” with Chuck and Mickey contributing a fury of drums and lending sufficient verses to accompany the Levine a cappella.

?uestlove makes subtle changes to “Sunday Morning,” and that might be the most beautiful part of the production. Plenty of small, clever maneuvers make all the difference in the world, and this song is a testament to ?uest’s overlooked style. Ali Shaheed drastically changes up the tempo to “Better That We Break” to make it more soulful and less depressing. All of the elements dripped over the cut make it burn, including the split second cymbal hits throughout the cut. Straight heat.

Even DJ Premier’s contribution, “Secret,” and Just Blaze’s climatic “Makes Me Wonder,” are forgettable in comparison to some of the elite tracks. It is the classic Neptunes sound, which completely makes over the already tremendous “She Will Be Loved,” that gets an asterisk next to it. Paul Oakenfold also delivers a beauty with “If I Never See Your Face Again.” Clearly, he has mastered the craft of production in his genre and regardless of what type of music you like this song is incredibly hard to hate.

This album has a real authentic feel to it. The only downfall would be that some songs get more than one remix devoted to them, taking away from other possible vocal arrangements. Still, it is obviously well crafted and well planned out. The beauty of C&R is the production’s ability to change the entire emotion and feel of a song to a point where it is elevates the caliber and performances of the artists involved, as opposed to keeping it monotonous and “regular.” This album truly has the ability to remain a frequent play in the deck of a hip-hop fan, pop fan or rock fan. The fact is this: Maroon 5’s Call & Response is good music at it’s finest.

- Sean Deezill