It Won't Be Soon Before Long is the second studio album by American pop rock band Maroon 5. It was released on May 16, 2007, by A&M Octone Records, as the follow-up to their debut album, Songs About Jane (2002). The name was inspired by a phrase the band adopted to keep themselves motivated while on their tour.
The album debuted at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200, selling around 430,000 copies in its first week.[6] It is the first to feature drummer Matt Flynn. The band's former drummer, percussionist and background vocalist Ryan Dusick, who officially left the band in 2006 due to serious wrist and shoulder injuries, was credited as the "Musical Director".[7]
Background
During the recording sessions for It Won't Be Soon Before Long, the band not only recorded the 12 songs on the album, but also an additional 7 tracks. The extra songs were featured as B-sides to the album's singles, and later on The B-Side Collection. The band stated in interviews that the album has a different feel to it from their 2002 debut album Songs About Jane. The songs are not all based on one specific relationship, as in Jane, and also have a different sound than their first album, being more electric and drawing inspiration from such artists as Talking Heads, Michael Jackson and Prince. Guitarist James Valentine stated that the goal was to make the songs sound more "up-tempo" than the ones on their previous record.[8] A review written prior to the album's release described the songs as having a very retro feel.[9]Adam Levine explained that this record is a little more self-confident and powerful lyrically: "...you can dance to it, there's a little more attitude."[10]
According to Levine, working with other artists had influences on the album: "Kanye West and Alicia Keys are amazing talents, in totally different ways. Just seeing such amazing people working in the studio. I definitely took things away from them."[11]
The chorus of "Nothing Lasts Forever" is the same as the one used in the Kanye West single "Heard 'Em Say", which features Adam Levine, with exclusion to the line: "...the distance between us makes it so hard to stay...".[12]
Commercial reception
It Won't Be Soon Before Long debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 albums chart, selling 429,000 copies in its first week of release. It Won't Be Soon Before Long sold 102,000 copies digitally, breaking a record set the week before when Linkin Park's Minutes to Midnight (Machine Shop/Warner Bros.) moved 84,000 via that format to debut at No. 1. The latter album slips to No. 2 this week with 198,000, a 68% sales decline. In December 2007, the album ranked number one for iTunes top best selling albums of 2007.[13]
In the UK, it became their second album to reach the number one spot, but their first to debut atop the UK Albums Chart. In Australia, it peaked at number five, lower than their first studio album Songs About Jane, which peaked at number one in 2004. It peaked at number two on the Canadian Albums Chart and New Zealand, number three in Ireland, Japan and Mexico, number five in Australia and Taiwan, and number six in Italy, Spain and Switzerland.
It Won't Be Soon Before Long was certified Gold in Ireland, Italy and New Zealand, platinum in Australia, Canada, Japan and the UK. 2× Platinum in the US, and 3× Platinum in South Korea. It was certified Diamond in Colombia and Mexico.
Critical reception
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Initial critical response to It Won't Be Soon Before Long was positive. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has received an average score of 66, based on 14 reviews.[14]
AllMusic rated the album 4.5 stars out of 5, commenting that the production of the album "is so immaculate that it glistens".[3]Billboard rated it 4.5 stars. This album was #32 on Rolling Stone's list of the Top 50 Albums of 2007.[24]
The second single, "Wake Up Call", was released on July 17, 2007.[26] It peaked at number three in the Belgium region of Flanders, at number six in Canada, and eight in Italy. It became a top-twenty hit, peaking at number nineteen in Australia and the United States.
"Won't Go Home Without You" was released as the third single on November 19, 2007.[27] It peaked at number 48 in the Billboard Hot 100. As of June 2014, the song has sold 1,647,000 copies in the US. The song became the first Maroon 5 single to fail to chart in the UK top 40, only peaking at number 44 on the UK Singles Chart.
The fourth single, "If I Never See Your Face Again" was re-recorded to feature singer Rihanna, and released digitally on May 2, 2008,[28] to promote the June 2008 re-issue of the album, impacting mainstream radio stations on May 15, 2008. It achieved moderate chart success on singles charts around the world. In the United States, the song peaked at number 51 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart on July 26, 2008. It peaked at number 10 on the Adult Pop Songs chart; number 30 on the Pop Songs chart and 21 on the Hot Digital Songs chart. The song was nominated for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals at the 51st Grammy Awards.
"Goodnight Goodnight" was released on August 21, 2008, as the album's fifth and final single. A music video premiered on Yahoo! Music, the same day.[29][30] It was directed by Marc Webb and featuring actress Candace Bailey, playing the love interest of Adam Levine. The video is based on a "before and after" story which leads Levine and Bailey to a beautiful love story. The song appeared on The CW's fall 2008 advertisement.[31] The band also performed the song in the television series CSI: NY, where they guest star in the episode "Page Turner".[32]
Promotional single
"Can't Stop" was the album's first promotional single, released in 2007.[33] It was the first song from the album performed live, being debuted during shows in early 2005.[34] The song was later featured in CSI: NY, Moonlight and So You Think You Can Dance.[35][36]
It Won't Be Soon Before Long was reissued in expanded form on June 29, 2008, in Australia and July 8, 2008, for the rest of the world via A&M/Octone. The package included a bonus DVD with four music videos and a full concert recorded on June 13, 2007, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The reissue contained the original 12 tracks plus five B-sides: "Infatuation", "Miss You Love You", "Until You're Over Me", "Story" and "Losing My Mind". Also added onto the track list is "If I Never See Your Face Again", Maroon 5's then-newest single featuring Rihanna.[45] The Australian and UK versions included one more track, a remix of "Wake Up Call" by Mark Ronson featuring Mary J. Blige.
In Australia, the CD was only available as the "Special Edition", and the DVD was not included as the Limited Edition featured a DVD. The UK version also does not include the DVD.
CD
Standard 12 tracks
Worldwide edition
No.
Title
Length
13.
"If I Never See Your Face Again" (featuring Rihanna)
3:22
14.
"Infatuation"
4:27
15.
"Miss You, Love You"
3:10
16.
"Until You're Over Me"
3:17
17.
"Story"
4:27
18.
"Losing My Mind"
3:21
UK and Australian edition
No.
Title
Length
13.
"Until You're Over Me"
3:17
14.
"Infatuation"
4:27
15.
"If I Never See Your Face Again" (featuring Rihanna)
Mark Endert – production (tracks 2 and 12), co-production (track 4), additional keyboards (tracks 1–2 and 4), audio mixing (1–2 and 4), recording engineer (1–2 and 4), music arranger (4), drum machine (1–2 and 4)
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.
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