![]() We Steal Things.” It includes two of Mraz’s biggest hits - “I’m Yours” and “Lucky” (the latter featuring Colbie Caillat) - and remains his biggest-selling release with sales of nearly 5 million. Terefe produced Mraz’s 2008 album, “We Sing. Nine of the 10 songs on “Mystical Magical Rhythmical Radical Ride” were co-written by Raining Jane, the four-woman Los Angeles band Mraz first collaborated with in 2007. I was trying to understand how great dance music was made.” I found myself listening to Nile Rodgers’ records with Chic, Giorgio Moroder’s ‘Flashdance’ soundtrack album, Donna Summer and The Bee Gees. But making this album, I didn’t really study those albums by him or Boz. “So, yeah, Michael has always been an influence. Probably the first song I ever danced to was something on his ‘Thriller’ album, when I was 4 or 5, and was asking my family what dancing was and where the beat was. ![]() “Michael? I definitely had his posters on my wall growing up. “Boz probably subconsciously - I’ve got a few of his records,” Mraz said. ![]() To cite one case in point, the slinky grooves, sleek instrumental work and deftly executed higher-register lead vocals on “Feel Like Dancing” evoke the music of Boz Scaggs and Michael Jackson in their respective primes. Because I try to generate experiences I haven’t had yet, or want to have, and songs can help.”įor at least half the selections on “Mystical Magical Rhythmical Radical Ride” - whose title comes from the lyrics to “Disco Sun,” a song on the album - Mraz takes a deep dive into the music of the 1970s and early 1980s. And that’s how a song like ‘I Feel Like Dancing’ finds its way through my subconscious and lands on the page. ![]() “How would I rate my dancing? Right now, about 3 out of 10. And thematically, I noticed that what was missing from my shows - year after year - was that I didn’t have enough up-tempo songs that could turn the show into a dance party for my audience and myself. So, sonically, that’s what our effort was. “I always really wanted to make a dance-pop album, but not an electronic (dance) album that leaned on computer programs and drum machines,” he said. Speaking recently from his Oceanside farm home, Mraz - who married Christina Carano in 2015 and recently announced their divorce - stressed that he specifically sought to make a pop album that embraced old-school music values. The liner notes for “Mystical Magical Rhythmical Radical Ride” dedicate the album to “Mama June.” Mraz wasn’t getting any younger, she noted, so he should do a pop album “before it’s too late.” He concurred. He also credits his mother, June Tomes, for encouraging him to make an overtly pop-oriented album. Middle-age is not the only factor that inspired Mraz to write and record new songs specifically designed to encourage him - and his listeners - to party down and shake their collective booty. “So, there’s this feeling of: ‘I’m not really in the little kid category any more - or the older group. In music, those categories are dominated by young people, 18-28, and always have been. Here I am, making a pop album and dance album. “The cons, as you get older, are that I’m not really in the youth category anymore. As a young person, I cared about: ‘Do I fit in? How do I look?’ There was a lot of vanity in my youth. “I don’t stress as much about how I look or surface-level things, like fashion. “The older I get, certain worries and stresses just sort of fade away,” Mraz said. But for a veteran artist who has been in the public eye for more than 20 years as music trends constantly change - sped-up songs on TikTok, anyone? - feeling secure about your position can be challenging. The pros and cons of aging can differ from person to person, as Mraz readily acknowledged.
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