By Chrissy Dill, Staff Writer

Lyrics like “your salty skin and how it mixes in with mine, the way it feels to be completely intertwined” and “shivers that ya give me keep me freezing all night, shudder” speak for themselves: Maroon 5’s new album “Hands All Over,” released Sept. 21, is filled with sexy lyrics that have rhythms and beats that will stay in your head for months.

If you are a Maroon 5 fan, you already know the band has the tendency to have steamy lyrics, with almost every song having lyrics with traces of sexuality, and “Hands All Over” is no different. The first track is the band’s hit single “Misery” which made its appearance on the airwaves in June. This song is classic Maroon 5 with a light pop sound with a darker message, as the title suggests.

The track “Give A Little More” is the second single from the album and hit the radio in August. This song is a perfect example of Maroon 5’s very prominent influence in their music: a blend of love and lust in lyrics that is impossible to resist. Lead vocalist Adam Levine sings, “I’m not falling in love with ya… ‘til I get a little more from you, baby,” making girls a sucker for his falsetto voice, which is a perfect blend with the band’s mixture of funk, jazz and pop sound.

Though Maroon 5’s lyrics usually involve more lust than romance, Levine does have a soft spot as he sings “though I don’t understand the meaning of love, I do not mind if I die trying,” in the song “How,” one of my personal favorite tracks in “Hands All Over.”

Though it’s sincerely difficult for Maroon 5 to top their first album, “Songs About Jane” released in 2002, the group does an outstanding job of keeping their reputation as an awesome band protected with “Hands All Over.” Levine’s vocals are flawless, hitting notes in all the right places and complementing the talent of instrumentalists Jesse Carmichael (keyboards, guitar), Mickey Madden (bass), James Valentine (lead guitar) and Matt Flynn (drums).

“Hands All Over” is a great example of Maroon 5’s great vocal and instrumental ability. Their music appeals to both males and females, although Levine captures the hearts of women with his attractive voice. They even throw in a tribute to Alicia Keys with their own rendition of “If I Ain’t Got You,” with lyrics like “some people want it all, but I don’t want nothing at all, if I ain’t got you, baby.” They also compose a soft duet with country music group Lady Antebellum called “Out Of Goodbyes.” My personal favorite tracks include: “Stutter,” “Never Gonna Leave This Bed” and the title track “Hands All Over,” one of the steamier songs with lyrics like “love is a game you say, play me and put me away, put your hands all over me.”

What makes “Hands All Over” different from Maroon 5’s other albums (“Songs About Jane” and 2007’s “It Won’t Be Soon Before Long”) is its adaption of more rock and pop sound and instrumentals. As is the case with most bands growing with popularity, albums get better and better each year, making fans aware of their unique sound. The classic songs like “She Will Be Loved” and “This Love” are well known to any rock/pop music fan, as the track list of “Hands All Over” will be in a matter of time.

Though Maroon 5’s album “Hands All Over” has proven to uphold their reputation for lyrics filled with love, lust and heartache, everyone wonders if their music is as good in person as it is on the CD. I can answer this question by saying: absolutely.

Maroon 5, with OneRepublic as the opening act, performed a concert at the Superpages.com Center in Dallas on Oct. 21 to promote their new album “Hands All Over.”

I’m a fan of OneRepublic. Not a huge fan, but I really enjoy their music, so I was excited to hear they were opening for Maroon 5, one of my favorite bands of all time. Let me just say, the vocals of lead singer Ryan Tedder were completely unexpected by me. Tedder has outstanding talent, jumping from the piano and belting impressive notes, to standing playing guitar, to jumping right into the first two rows of the roaring crowd giving people high-fives left and right. I was not expecting such an amazing show from these guys, but I would love to see them again.

Soon after the amped up crowd was finished applauding the very well-received OneRepublic, who saved their best-known piece “Apologize” for last, getting the crowd on their feet, Maroon 5 was making their appearance. With the crowd deafening, Adam Levine began the night with the first words of their hit single “Misery,” singing “so tired of breaking it that you won’t let it bend…”

Maroon 5 did a great job of mixing sounds from their earlier days and the recent sounds of their “Hands All Over” album. They included their own version of Tina Turner’s “What’s Love Got To Do With It.” Levine’s voice, which sounded very similar as it does on the CD, had the crowd roaring all night.

The band did a great job of switching up from slow, romantic tunes to more upbeat songs that had the audience downright moving as if they were on a dance floor. The sounds of Maroon 5 were impossible not to move and dance to. Their performance of one of their first, most-loved songs “She Will Be Loved” was a very sweet touch to the night’s show.

There was not a dull moment the entire performance of Maroon 5. Aware that he was in Texas, Levine even threw in a funny remark, saying “OK, guys, I’m sorry but I gotta say this… F*** the Yankees!” This, of course, got plenty of cheers and laughs.

Overall, Maroon 5 put on an amazing show that kept the crowd excited the entire night, never losing interest in Levine’s amazing ability to hit notes that could be heard all over Dallas, making girls’ hearts melt for the artist who “strategically” shed his baby blue button-up shirt towards the middle of the concert. Levine definitely knew how to work the crowd in his favor.

I would definitely recommend watching a Maroon 5 concert to a friend. It was a lot of fun and OneRepublic was absolutely amazing, serving as the best possible opening act for the talented band. Five being the best grade, I would give the concert a solid 5, being the best concert I’ve seen to date. If you have to opportunity to watch Maroon 5 or OneRepublic, take it! You will not be sorry.

Photo from coverlandia.us