A Journey Through Vintage and Vivacious Music

Unorthodox Jukebox (2012)

1. "Young Girls"
Beginning things off is this moderate hit single off this album. "Young Girls" ia an anthem about the girls in Bruno's life that not only drive him crazy but push him over the edge! I love the production of the song and Bruno's vocals shine as he sings about the irresistibly nature of the opposite sex and their striking vanity. This is definitely a superb opener to the album as it continues to show Bruno's style is only getting with each album!
(A-)

2. "Locked Out Of Heaven"
A successful lead single off the album and  one of the funkiest modern day tunes to come out in recent years.  "Locked Out of Heaven" is another genre bending mix of vintage 70s soul/rock and contemporary dance music. It really is a brilliant song and one of my favorites from Bruno as she sings about the temptation and lust the woman in his life brings out of him; making him feel not so innocent and worthy of God's Kingdom. It's such a clever and carefully written song and the beat is just organic!!! Definitely worth all of it's popularity and a highlight on the album! :)
(A)

3. "Gorilla"
I'm getting a strong Prince vibe from this song that is almost chilling!! It's 80s pop/rock and R&B done oh so right.  I love the production as it just oozes retro cool with a beat that steamy and stunning all at the same time.  Once again, Bruno can do no wrong with mixing old school structured song with contemporary lyrics.  Adding to the Prince package sound is Bruno's high pitch screaming as he sings he and his lover will be making love like Gorillas. WOW!!! That's some intense sexing right there my friend. Anyway, this is overall a great song!!!
(B+)

4. "Treasure"
While "Locked Out of Heaven" is a funky trip down memory lane, "Treasure" is its more superior successor. Possibly my favorite Bruno Mars song to date, "Treasure" is a disco get down full of glistening theatrics and smooth grooves.  What I love so much about Bruno's style of retro-pop is that he not only makes these classic eras of music sound so authentic but he makes them so accessible to a whole new generation consumed with techno-pop/EDM.  "Treasure" is just such a heartwarming good time; feeling like it could be played during the days of Saturday Night Fever and today's most recent electronic dominated music. The only crime here is it's far too short!!! A song that makes you want more is just as good as a song can get in my book! :)
(A+)

5. "Moonshine"
Ooooo, this song feels like it is channeling 80s alternative rock/pop and once again, it feels so genuine in it's production and delivery; sending you on a trip to a time of synth music and dramatic presentation to music. The song's lyrics are also well written with Bruno singing about being taken to a place that him and his lover can just escape and be together.  I really adore this one as it really sets the right mood for two lovers willing to come together for a night of genuine romanticism. :)
(A-)

6. "When I Was Your Man"
In this sorrowful yet highly successful piano ballad, Bruno almost tearfully sings of the woman who got away and is now with another.  I love the simplicity of the song as it's another strong showcase of Bruno's vocal capabilities and they are definitely strong. He captures the heartbreaking and soul shattering nature of the situation.  This is just an incredibly beautiful song that will capture your heat even if you never truly experience some serious regret when it came to a former relationship. I know I do! :_(
(A+)

7. "Natalie"
Wow!!! This was wonderfully unexpected with a production that feels gritty and gorgeous all at the same time.  Bruno sings through a rapid folk beat about a woman who not only stole his heart but his money as well.  The song is extremely catchy and I really love the instrumentation to this song; so unique and fun to listen too. Another highlight for me from the album!
(A)

8. "Show Me"
Wow, Bruno really loves his vintage reggae as he delivers a sensual Caribbean beat and smooth vocals.  Bruno is eager for his woman to show him how much she wants it tonight. Well! lol This song kind of reminds of a song Rihanna would have done on one of her early albums like "Music of the Sun" and "A Girl Like Me".  But as a song by Bruno, it's pretty okay, just being decent for me; nothing special. Nice beat though!
(B-)

9. "Money Make Her Smile"
More vintage rock??? O_o I'll gladly take it! "Money Make Her Smile" though feels kind of messy for me.  I feel like Bruno was channeling the likes of Rick James and that era of music but there are parts of the production that feel a bit irritating; especially that pulsating beat that comes in briefly every now and then.  Doesn't make the song bad, just annoying at times.  The beat switches toward the end to a more ratchet beat but nothing about the melody is catchy or fun to sing along too. It's no wonder this was left toward the end of the album.
(C)

10. "If I Knew"
Awwww, I love this song!!! It's just so sweet; feeling like a song from the days of the 50s/60s doo-wop and blues.  Bruno sings of wanting to be young again as he reminisces about how the relationship fell apart and how he could have gone back and changed things. I just love the vintage beat and the background vocals there to assist Bruno sing his heart out. Once again, though, this is far too brief for me; clocking in at a little over 2 minutes. But it's a sweet sentimental song to end the album on. :)
(A-)

Well, I'm glad it didn't take long for Bruno to make his follow-up to a pretty awesome debut like "Doo-Wop & Hooligans".  If anything the album is a superior look into the cold blooded soul and old school influences that Bruno loves to delve into.  Apparently for his debut album, the record label forced him to make some last minute changes to the project he was not happy with and during the development of this album, he had more freedom to work with and to showcase more of his style. And it shows!!! "Locked Out of Heaven" and especially "Treasure" are incredibly authentic to their era of music.  They're effortlessly energetic and riddled with funk as well as cool.  Bruno really knows his way around older forms of writing and lyricism but making them contemporary and accessible to an audience not familiar with it at all; which is so refreshing! :) Especially this era of music so dominated by dance-pop/Euro-pop/EDM.  The album, like his first before it, explores themes of sex, love and heartbreak; sometimes you'll be dancing with complete joy and the next you'll be crying your eyes out like someone just broke your heart for the first time and I love every minute of it.  "Unorthodox Jukebox" proved to be even more successful than his debut; landing at #2 on the Billboard 200 charts with first week sales of 192,000 copies sold as well as going on to sell over 6 million copies worldwide. As for accolades, the album won a Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Album as well as for Record of the Year and Song of the Year for "Locked Out of Heaven".  But besides the numerous nominations and praise it received, it really is a great successor to "Doo-Wop & Hooligans", if not better.  I definitely like the throwback journey I went through listening to it as it was full of so much stunning soul and fantastic funk! :)


"Returning to music world with a superb second album, "Unorthodox Jukebox" is almost criminally good as Bruno, once again, mixes old school grooves with modern day styles to make an LP that will easily crossover through a good number of generations from the foxy 1970s to the electronic 2010s!"
(A-)