We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things.

We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things. is the third studio album by Jason Mraz, released on May 12, 2008.[1] The album peaked at number three in the Billboard 200, making it Mraz's highest-peaking album at the time. Mraz took the name of the album from a work by the artist David Shrigley.[2]

We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things.
Studio album by
ReleasedMay 12, 2008
Recorded2007–2008 at:
Kensaltown Recording Studios
(London, England)
Little Big Sound Studio
(Nashville, TN, USA)
Casa Nova Studio
(Oceanside, CA)
GenrePop, folk, blue-eyed soul, jazz
Length50:49
LabelAtlantic
ProducerMartin Terefe
Jason Mraz chronology
We Steal Things.
(2008)
We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things.
(2008)
Beautiful Mess: Live on Earth
(2009)
Singles from We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things.
  1. "I'm Yours"
    Released: February 12, 2008
  2. "Make It Mine"
    Released: August 8, 2008
  3. "Lucky"
    Released: January 13, 2009
Alternative cover
Limited edition cover

Background and production

Progress of the recording of the album has been documented on the YouTube series "Crazy Man's Ju-ju" which contain clips from San Diego and London, where most of the album was made. "I'm Yours" was the first single from the album and was made available on iTunes, Zune Marketplace and Amazon.com on February 12, 2008. The album features collaborations with James Morrison on the track "Details in the Fabric" and with Colbie Caillat[3] on the track "Lucky".

The album was preceded by three EPs released at monthly intervals for a limited time. We Sing. was released on March 18. We Dance. was released on April 15. The third installment, We Steal Things., was released as part of a digital bundle through iTunes, JasonMraz.com and AtlanticRecords.com on the release of the album on May 13, 2008.[4] Up to March 17, 2010, the album had sold 1,491,736 copies in the US and was certified Platinum by the RIAA.

On November 18, 2008, the album was re-released with the name We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things. Limited Edition. The re-released album is a three disc set that includes the original 12-track CD, the second disc includes the three EPs all on one disc, and the third DVD includes an unreleased full-band concert Live at the Highline Ballroom in New York, a 30-minute documentary titled "Here We Are" and a preview to Mraz's "a thousand things." Polaroid book. The packaging also includes a 20-page CD booklet with full lyrics and additional artwork.

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Make It Mine"Jason Mraz3:08
2."I'm Yours"Jason Mraz4:02
3."Lucky" (with Colbie Caillat)Jason Mraz, Colbie Caillat, Timothy Fagan3:09
4."Butterfly"Jason Mraz5:00
5."Live High"Jason Mraz4:12
6."Love for a Child"Jason Mraz, Martin Terefe, Sacha Skarbek4:05
7."Details in the Fabric" (featuring James Morrison)Jason Mraz, Dan Wilson5:45
8."Coyotes"Jason Mraz3:38
9."Only Human"Jason Mraz, Sacha Skarbek4:02
10."The Dynamo of Volition"Jason Mraz3:36
11."If It Kills Me"Jason Mraz, Martin Terefe, Sacha Skarbek4:33
12."A Beautiful Mess"Jason Mraz, Mona Tavakoli, Chaska Potter, Mai Bloomfield, Becky Gebhardt5:37
iTunes bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
13."Make It Mine" (live: London Sessions)Jason Mraz3:30
14."Life Is Wonderful" (live from Amsterdam)Jason Mraz4:35
Limited edition bonus tracks (Disc 2)
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."I'm Yours" (From the Casa Nova Sessions) 4:47
2."Live High" (From an Avocado Salad Session) 4:03
3."If It Kills Me" (From the Casa Nova Sessions) 5:01
4."A Beautiful Mess" (From a Raining Jane Session) 5:15
5."Make It Mine" (From the Casa Nova Sessions) 3:24
6."Butterfly" (From the Casa Nova Sessions) 5:11
7."Only Human" (From the Casa Nova Sessions) 4:48
8."The Dynamo of Volition" (From an All-Night Session) 4:23
9."Love for a Child" (From the Casa Nova Sessions) 3:53
10."Coyotes" (From a Girl in New York Sessions) 4:19
11."Man Gave Names to All the Animals" (From the Gospel Collection Sessions)Bob Dylan4:18
12."Mudhouse/Gypsy MC" (Live from Amsterdam) 7:00
Tour edition (Bonus tracks)
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
13."I'm Yours" (From the Casa Nova Sessions) 4:47
14."Mudhouse/Gypsy MC" (live in Amsterdam) 7:00
15."Man Gave Names to All the Animals" (From the Gospel Collection Sessions)Bob Dylan4:18
16."Life Is Wonderful" (live in Amsterdam) 4:35
Tour edition (DVD)
No.TitleLength
1."I'm Yours" (Recorded at the Paradiso in Amsterdam on July 9, 2007 by Fabchannel) 
2."Here We Are (Documentary)" (a film by Jarrod Allen, Produced by Jason Mraz) 

The Latin American and Spanish re-release of the album includes a Spanish version of the song "Lucky" which was recorded by Mraz and the Mexican singer Ximena Sariñana.[5]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic60/100[6]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[7]
Blender[8]
Entertainment WeeklyB+[9]
Entertainment.ie[10]
MSN Music (Consumer Guide)[11]
PopMatters[12]
Yahoo! Music[13]
Slant[14]
Sputnikmusic[15]

The album, overall, gained mixed to positive reviews. Commenting on the album's "pleasantly lightweight jams", "beachy guitars", "R&B horns" and "playful scat singing", Entertainment Weekly gave the album a B+.[16] In an overall positive review, Billboard said, "Mraz emerges even bolder than before on an album loaded with strings, horns, formidable grooves and a dozen songs dripping with mantra-like positivity."[17]

AllMusic wrote, "The nice thing about the soulful shimmer of We Sing is that it's so slick that it's easy to ignore the gibberish spilling out of Mraz's mouth and just enjoy the sunny, easy sound."[18]

PopMatters wrote that "the album sounds great, and Mraz knows what he is up to. Less clear, I think, is whether the razzle-dazzle wordsmith who loves his Eminem records is ready to truly enter the marketplace as a serious vocalist and a sober songwriter", giving the album a positive rating of seven out of ten overall.[19]

Giving the album two-and-a-half out of five stars, Blender concluded that whether "pondering his parents divorce or describing intricate and delicate sex acts, Mraz's tasty tenor remains a modestly classy pleasure. But he's lost crucial cool."[20]

Even less flattering, Uncut magazine said that "listening to [the album] is like being followed home by a puppy — initially cute and guilelessly affecting, but rapidly irritating".[21] Writing for The Big Issue, Lianne Steinberg stated that "listening to this album is akin to being woken from a comfortable deep sleep by a circus clown with a water pistol full of warm urine", singling out the "terrible lyrics and hamfisted rhymes" for their "hilarity".[22]

Personnel

  • Jason Mraz – lead vocals on all tracks, guitar on all tracks

Additional personnel

Charts

Certifications

Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[65] 2× Platinum 140,000^
Canada (Music Canada)[66] 2× Platinum 160,000^
France (SNEP)[67] 3× Platinum 300,000*
Germany (BVMI)[68] Gold 100,000^
Japan (RIAJ)[69] Gold 100,000^
Netherlands (NVPI)[70] Gold 30,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[71] Gold 7,500^
Portugal (AFP)[72] Gold 10,000^
Singapore (RIAS)[73] 2× Platinum 20,000*
Sweden (GLF)[74] Gold 20,000^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[75] Gold 15,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[76] Platinum 300,000^
United States (RIAA)[77] 3× Platinum 3,000,000^
Summaries
Europe (IFPI)[78] Platinum 1,000,000*

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone

References

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  2. Blair, Tom (November 2008). San Diego Magazine. CurtCo/SDM LLC. p. 46.
  3. iTunesLive – iTunesLive London Sessions Archived February 19, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  4. Via Atlantic Records – Jason Mraz releases/Tour talk!
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  7. "Allmusic review".
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  9. Wood, Mikael (May 9, 2008). "We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved January 17, 2018.
  10. Murphy, Lauren (December 24, 2008). "Jason Mraz - We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things". Entertainment.ie. Retrieved January 17, 2018.
  11. Christgau, Robert (August 1, 2008). "Consumer Guide: August 2008". MSN Music. Retrieved January 17, 2018.
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