- Critic Score
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80Mraz is an entertaining smartass. [Feb 2006, p.98]
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70Deceptively hard to resist.
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70Trite? No, uplifting.
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67The white-boy funk routine wears thin fast, but the overbearing Broadway-style ballads are even worse.
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60While he lacks a killer song here, Mraz is cute enough to keep his Lemonheads-lite ballads bubbling along. [Feb 2006, p.74]
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60Impressive at times... The problem isn't style--it's substance. Mraz's songwriting chops leave plenty to be desired. [Aug 2005, p.114]
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60He certainly pushes the right commercial buttons. [Mar 2006, p.108]
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What makes this glossy album more charming than cloying overall is the totally unselfconscious way he throws himself into these showy and technically stunning performances. [Aug/Sep 2005, p.111]
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60There's an overriding sense of preciousness that permeates "Mr. A-Z," and a few instances ("O. Lover," "The Forecast") where his homages to '70s AM radio sneak over into copies.
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60Fortunately, producer Steve Lillywhite is on hand to clean things up, giving even the most bumbling lyrical experiments, such as "Wordplay" and "Geek in the Pink," at least the illusion of a newfound maturity.
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60It's shallow but sweet, light-hearted pop indulgence, like the love child of Elton John and Jamiroquai auditioning for Simon Cowell.
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But if many of his overheated lyrics crash, let the black box show that even his most banal efforts are ridiculously hummable. [29 Jul 2005, p.66]
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For those who enjoyed the wise-ass undercurrent of his debut, this will be a delight. For those who enjoyed "The Remedy (I Won't Worry)," there will be too much narcissistic tomfoolery here to make this enjoyable. For those who never understood the appeal of Jason Mraz in the first place, Mr. A-Z will make them realize that they've really been taking John Mayer for granted.
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Qualifies as cruel and unusual cuteness.... It's as if Jimmy Fallon and David Gray had a baby, suckled by Edie Brickell and diapered by the Spin Doctors.
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30Mraz apparently has some skill, and maybe if he gives up on showing that skill off, his next record could be a respectable one.
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User score distribution:
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Positive: 41 out of 50
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Mixed: 2 out of 50
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Negative: 7 out of 50
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JoeyP9
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LenT.10
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NewMrazFan9This guy is amazingly talented. So poetic in his songwriting. And he sings like no other. One of the nicest pop albums I've heard.