Posted: Sunday 21st September 2008

Here at Entertainment Focus we strive not to show bias to any artist and aim to evaluate everything on its individual merits. Obviously this can't always be the case and we must say that when it comes to Jason Mraz our judgement becomes a little cloudy. We're not sure whether it's his incredible voice, his sexy geek chic or just his way with words, but something gets us a little over-excited when we hear or see him. As Mr-AZ will be in the UK this week and performing at the Royal Albert Hall on Tuesday 23rd September 2008 we thought we'd look back to Jason's live releases.

As Jason is a fan of performing live, he has released a few live albums and EPs in his time but we've selected 2001's Live At Java Joe's and 2004's CD/DVD release Tonight, Not Again to look back at.

Live At Java Joe's

This 15 track live album was recorded before Jason signed to a major label and contains demo versions of some of the songs that eventually found their way onto his debut major label release Waiting For My Rocket To Come. The album captures the spark and charm that Mraz wowed record execs with and perfectly showcases his love, and impressive ability, for changing his songs around both melodically and lyrically.

The album opens with non-LP track Running, a six and a half minute number that kicks off an impressive acoustic set. Throughout the song, and indeed many other songs on the release, Mraz scats his way through and adlibs to remarkable effect. Highlights on the set include Little You & I, a song Mraz wrote about his cat, Bright Eyes and a medley of the Etta James' classic At Last and popular Mraz track Sleep All Day.

Mraz's signature song, The Remedy (I Won't Worry), doesn't appear here in its full form but the beginnings of it appear as part of the nine minute epic Dream Life Of Rand McNally. In fact McNally is a great example of Mraz's abilities as a musician. The song sounds like he's singing it off the top of his head with Mraz singing lewd things about the Spice Girls and ending with freestyling and scatting.

For the full Jason Mraz live experience this is the definitive release!

Tonight, Not Again

Tonight, Not Again: Jason Mraz Live At The Eagles Ballroom was recorded in 2003 and released in 2004. The album was recorded during Mraz's tour in support of his debut major label release Waiting For My Rocket To Come. The 15-track set comprises tracks from that record alongside previously unreleased tracks and some that have never featured on an album. Opening with Tonight, Not Again the set gets off to a rousing start with Mraz and his band captivating the audience. This live album features a full band throughout and isn't as intimate as the Live At Java Joe's release.

Highlights include the sing-a-long that is You And I Both, the funky and previously unreleased Common Pleasure and of course The Remedy (I Won't Worry). The songs that really stand out on this release are those with Mraz's trademark quirkiness such as Curbside Prophet. It's a delight to hear him recreate the frantic rap-singing and scatting that he is known for.

The vocals for the most part on this release are perfect but there's a hint every now and again that perhaps Mraz was suffering from illness during the recording as he sounds a little hoarse. This doesn't affect the output too much and Mraz is still head and shoulders above the majority of live performers.

This release comes with a DVD that features the visual version of the concert captured on the audio CD. Mraz is a charismatic performer and owns the stage with every song he performs. The crowd clearly love him and he has them eating out of the palm of his hand.

Catch Jason at the Royal Albert Hall on Tuesday 23rd September 2008.