So Bruno Mars new album has a lot of mixed reviews.
Bruno Mars just released his third studio album (I know, it seems like he has a lot more than three albums worth of music) and it’s been a few years since Unorthodox Jukebox came out in 2012 and between then and now the only thing he’s really released was Uptown Funk. I’d imagine everyone else was anticipating this album the same as I was, but a lot of people seem kinda let down.
There were reviews on both ends of the spectrum, but there was kind of a lot on the bad side, especially considering that this is Bruno Mars we’re talking about. As I went through the reviews on iTunes (this is the only place where I read the reviews) I did notice a theme in a lot of the negative ones. A lot of people are saying that they “miss the old Bruno,” accusing him of abandoning his music to be more trendy, and comparing it to Uptown Funk because of how popular it was, and I have something to say in respond.
In the case of the “I miss the old Bruno,” I just have to ask, do people realize that artist can make different genres of music? I know usually that artist stick to one kind of sound when it comes to making music, and sure maybe a lot of artist do make music just for the radio but I don’t think that’s what’s happening here. I think the singer is experimenting with his sound. I’ll agree this sounds somewhat different compared to his older albums, but that doesn’t mean it’s bad. It’s described as “Retro R&B” by iTunes, and that’s what it is, nothing wrong with that.
A lot of people are saying it sounds too much like “Uptown Funk,” which OK, when I listened to the lead single and watched the video for 24K Magic I agree, they are definitely comparable, but I don’t really see anything wrong with that. I mean when you think about how well that single did (it spent 14 consecutive weeks on Billboard’s Top 100, is certified diamond, and made $10,000 a week on Spotify streams only) and it technically isn’t even Bruno Mars’ single, it’s Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars, you can see why he would adventure in that direction.
I also noticed people saying that Bruno Mars is so talented that this is a disappointment. Maybe people were listening to a different album than I was, but it’s still the same voice and you can hear it in every song. He still sounds great. The instruments are still just as good. The only thing is that I guess you could say the song writing seems a little less personal when you compare the lyrics of some of these songs to older ones, but considering how much music he writes for other artist that it’s safe to say he hasn’t lost his touch for songwriting.
Since so many people are saying Bruno is trying to make trendier music, I just have to disagree. I can’t really think of anything that sounds like this album, no current artist comes to mind when I listen to this album. It sounds different than most music on the radio, but maybe that’s only me. This album is old-school, just not old-school Bruno Mars
A lot of the other complaints centered around the profanity on the album. My response to that is as simple as Bruno Mars is 31, he is a grown man and I think he’s allowed to use explicits on his own album. Besides, they offer a clean version.
As much as I love Bruno Mars classics like Grenade, It Will Rain, and When I Was Your Man but he can’t sing about it raining sadness all the time. He probably wants something fun to sing during his concerts, to be able to dance with his fans without being stuck behind his piano the whole time and that’s the opportunity he gave himself here. I think he deserves to be able to make a feel good album without people calling him a sellout.
Simply put, leave my man Bruno alone to explore.