Maroon 5 Pays Tribute to Late Manager with New Album ‘Jordi’
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Maroon 5 just released their seventh studio album Jordi to pay tribute to the band’s former manager, Jordan Feldstein, who passed away from a heart attack in 2017. Feldstein, the older brother of actor Jonah Hill, will always have a very special place in Adam Levine’s heart.
“This album is named after our manager,” Levine wrote on Instagram. “We built this thing together. A piece of me will always be missing. The loss is tragic in ways I’m still learning how to cope with. All I can do is keep him with me and honor him in the best way I know how. I miss him every single day.”
Maroon 5’s Album ‘Jordi’ is a Mixed Bag Full of Hits, a Newer Sound
Jordi features some interesting musical collaborations that are a bit different than the Maroon 5 albums we all grew up with. The title track is the radio hit “Beautiful Mistakes” featuring Megan Thee Stallion. It’s catchy and the music video proves that Levine does not age. He performed this song on The Voice this season, leaving many disappointed that Megan did not join him.
Another song on the album, “Lost,” is a very unique song. It starts off with just a drum beat before launching into a song that almost sounds like it belongs to Coldplay. The arrangement of the song gives it so much dimension. It makes you want to stick around and listen until the end. Yet another, “One Light” featuring Bantu, also has very simple lyrics, but is still melodic enough for you to not skip the song.
The song “Remedy” with Stevie Nicks was expected to be one of the highlights of the album. The fact that Nicks does not have her own solo part and just sings along to the chorus is a little disappointing. “Echo” featuring Blackbear falls a little flat against the stronger collaboration with H.E.R. on “Convince Me Otherwise.”
Two Songs with Late Rappers Are Major Highlights on the Album
The real highlight of Jordi is the “Memories Remix” featuring late rapper Nipsey Hussle along with YG. “Memories” serves as a tribute to Feldstein and is all about remembering people you’ve lost and celebrating them. Nipsey was murdered in 2019 in Los Angeles and his posthumous feature on Jordi is equally heartbreaking and a way to honor his memory.
Late rapper Juice WRLD is featured on the song “Can’t Leave You Alone.” He died from an accidental drug overdose in 2019. His verse on the song is very short but is the perfect way to round out Jordi. The song is completely transformed by his feature and makes it feel like more of a radio hit.
Overall, this album has a few hits and some other misses but makes a couple of things clear. Maroon 5 has well moved past their Songs About Jane era and has moved on to a fusion of soft rock and pop. Regardless of what kind of music they make, fans will always be there to support the band that achieved mainstream success in 2002.
