Actually, maybe you should get that skin problem looked atAfter making two massive guest appearances on B.o.B.'s "Nothin' On You" and Travie McCoy's "Billionaire", Bruno Mars is making his own bid for stardom with his first major single "Just The Way You Are". No, it's not a Billy Joel cover, but the message is similar, if a little less nuanced.
Much has been said about the quality of Bruno Mars' voice, and, on this track, he lives up to all of it. The arrangement backing up his vocals is equally grand, with anthemic drums and piano layered to great effect. The only downside to all of this positive sound is that, when the lyrics are taken into account, the song feels a tad cheesy - overdone around the edges.
Much like this cheese soufflé
Luckily, "Just The Way You Are" has a few musical tricks up its sleeve that keep it from falling into the "forgettable, sappy love song" category. First of all, the song is built around a I-vi-IV-I progression, which makes no use of the V chord; this gives the song a rolling, circular feel. Secondly, a sizable portion of the song contains no backbeat, boldly defying pop radio listener's expectations. These attributes of the arrangement are what keep the song from being too obvious, an important feature of a good song in my book.
In the end, "Just The Way You Are" is a respectable effort, but given Mars' experience in the music industry I expected a little more. That said, I look forward to seeing more of Mars in the future.
Much has been said about the quality of Bruno Mars' voice, and, on this track, he lives up to all of it. The arrangement backing up his vocals is equally grand, with anthemic drums and piano layered to great effect. The only downside to all of this positive sound is that, when the lyrics are taken into account, the song feels a tad cheesy - overdone around the edges.
Much like this cheese souffléLuckily, "Just The Way You Are" has a few musical tricks up its sleeve that keep it from falling into the "forgettable, sappy love song" category. First of all, the song is built around a I-vi-IV-I progression, which makes no use of the V chord; this gives the song a rolling, circular feel. Secondly, a sizable portion of the song contains no backbeat, boldly defying pop radio listener's expectations. These attributes of the arrangement are what keep the song from being too obvious, an important feature of a good song in my book.
In the end, "Just The Way You Are" is a respectable effort, but given Mars' experience in the music industry I expected a little more. That said, I look forward to seeing more of Mars in the future.
But that's another topic entirely
You have a talent for including very relevant pictures with your posts.
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