Maroon 5 surprises with a cover of the chill, happy, and uplifting Bob Marley & The Wailers classic, “Three Little Birds.”

Maroon 5 has managed to keep themselves visible in 2018, despite the fact that Red Pill Blues was released in November 2017.  First, Adam Levine and company released “Girls Like You” as a single, adding one of the hottest rappers in the game to the track, Cardi B.  Now, the band trades modern/urban-pop for reggae.  Rather than going original, they go Bob Marley, covering his classic “Three Little Birds.”

Here’s the thing, reggae in the hands of artists who aren’t exclusively reggae or renowned for their reggae chops can be dangerous. Like Latin-infused pop, reggae-pop can be incredibly successful or incredibly cheesy.  Maroon 5 has previously incorporated some reggae, with a pretty big hit, “One More Night,” even if it wasn’t on that Marley level.  After all, to quote Meek Miller, “There’s levels to this sh-”, sigh.

On “Three Little Birds,” Maroon 5 seems to ‘handle business.’ There may even been some young listener, uneducated on the music long before his/her time who thinks this version of “Three Little Birds” is the original – *groans* – think about it!  While the band handles business, it’s safe to say this spirited, solidly executed cover doesn’t trump the original (uneducated kid or not) no matter how successfully Levine channels his inner Marley. And he does do so effectively.

Final Thoughts

Yeah, what more is there to really say? “Don’t worry / About a thing / every little thing’s gonna be alright” – you heard BobAdam.   All in all, as much as I’d like to find something terribly unsatisfactory about this Maroon 5 cover, Adam Levine is truly one of the coolest people ever and he does a pretty ‘bomb’ job with “Three Little Birds.”  It’s a vibe, sure to get you high!

Maroon 5 • Three Little Birds – Single • Interscope • Release: 6.9.18

Photo Credit: Interscope