The light funk shuffler “Give A Little More” was chosen as the set’s next single, and the stripped-back performance video appeared to suggest a simpler, back-to-basics approach. It was as if the critics were finally warming up to Maroon 5’s potent songwriting power. However, reviews for the album were generally stronger than those that had initially greeted It Won’t Be Soon Before Long. A later nomination at the following year’s Grammys for Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With A Vocal would give the song the credit it deserved, but it set the Hands All Over campaign off on a shakier footing than had been expected. Its subsequent, inexplicable stalling outside the US Top 10 (at No.14) and a peak of No.30 in the UK seemed at odds with the song’s obvious commercial direction. Hitting radio in June 2010, in advance of Hands All Over’s release, the track received a critical thumbs-up and, alongside a video featuring another one of Maroon 5’s provocative but tongue-in-cheek storylines, started its ascent up the charts. The album’s first single was “Misery,” a collaboration between Levine, guitarist Jesse Carmichael and long-time collaborator Sam Farrar, who was now increasingly working with the band. The strident funk and rock hybrid tone of the previous album – already an evolution from the band’s rockier debut – had been freshly illuminated by a high-energy pop sheen that drew references from Lange’s 80s and 90s heyday, while remaining sharp and contemporary. What emerged, on September 15, 2010, was Maroon 5’s catchiest pop collection to date. If at times it might have felt a touch challenging, it was all to the good of the record that was being created. As two strong songwriters sized each other up across the studio, the friendly but pressured atmosphere pushed both men hard. Levine’s collection of songs was stripped apart and rebuilt, with Lange pushing hard for the hooks and high-fidelity impact for which he is famous. Intrigued by his interest in producing the band, Maroon 5 relocated to Lange’s base, in Switzerland, for two months, but any thoughts that this would be a case of letting the veteran carry the weight of shaping the record were swiftly dispelled. Lange, of course, has worked with everyone from Def Leppard to Britney Spears, and is most celebrated for masterminding his former wife Shania Twain’s record-shattering career.
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