The Fourth World (album)

The Fourth World is the second (first professionally released) studio album by the Los Angeles band Kara's Flowers, who later achieved greater success under the name Maroon 5. The album contains 11 tracks, plus one bonus track on the Japanese edition.

The Fourth World
Studio album by Kara's Flowers
Released	August 19, 1997 (1997-08-19)
Genre	Alternative rock[1] power pop[2] pop rock[3]
Length	41:49
Label	Reprise
Producer	Rob Cavallo
Kara's Flowers chronology
We Like Digging? (1995) The Fourth World (1997) Songs About Jane (2002)
Alternative cover
Japanese cover
Singles from The Fourth World
"Soap Disco" Released: July 22, 1997

The band, which had previously self-released an album called We Like Digging? (1995), signed with Reprise Records and released The Fourth World album on August 19, 1997.[4] However, the band had little success with the album and parted with the record label a year later.

The band continued to explore different musical styles until finally coming together again with James Valentine under the name Maroon 5.[5]

On January 24, 2020, a limited edition of the album was released, with a marbled blue vinyl.[6]

Singles

The only single released from the album was "Soap Disco", released July 22, 1997. A music video was produced for the single, depicting the group walking through a park and performing in an orange and green room. A storm appears at the end of the video. The video was directed by Mark Kohr (who has directed music videos for Alanis Morissette and Green Day). The video made an airplay on 120 Minutes.

The band made an appearance from the television series Beverly Hills, 90210, where they performed the song in the episode "Forgive and Forget".[7]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[8]
Entertainment Weekly	B+[9]
Pitchfork	3.5/10[10]

Giving the album a B+, Tom Lanham with Entertainment Weekly said the "optimistic, lyrically awkward kids spend 10 more happy tracks turning the tables on lethargic slacker cynicism, with Green Day producer Rob Cavallo bridling all that youthful zeal."[11]

Track listing

Standard edition

All tracks are written by Adam Levine, except where noted.

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Soap Disco"		2:40
2.	"Future Kid"		4:44
3.	"Myself"		3:05
4.	"Oliver"		2:38
5.	"The Never Saga"	Levine, Carmichael	3:58
6.	"Loving the Small Time"		3:32
7.	"To Her, with Love"		2:52
8.	"Sleepy Windbreaker"	Levine, Carmichael	3:05
9.	"Pantry Queen"	Levine, Carmichael	3:46
10.	"My Ocean Blue"		3:11
11.	"Captain Splendid"	Levine, Carmichael	5:59
Total length:			39:30

Japanese edition bonus track

No.	Title	Length
12.	"Buddy "Two Shoes" Wilson" (Levine, Carmichael)	2:29

Personnel

Kara's Flowers

• Adam Levine – lead vocals, lead guitar
• Jesse Carmichael – rhythm guitar, vocals
• Michael Madden – bass
• Ryan Dusick – drums, percussion

Additional musician

• Roger Joseph Manning, Jr. – keyboard

Production

• Mark Agostino – engineer, second engineer
• Ken Allardyce – engineer
• Billy Bowers – engineer, second engineer
• David Campbell – arranger
• Rob Cavallo – producer
• Adam Day – guitar technician
• Jerry Finn – engineer, mixing
• Tony Flores – engineer, second engineer
• Barry Goldberg – engineer, second engineer
• Brandon Harris – engineer, second engineer
• Steve Holroyd – engineer
• Billy Kinsley – engineer, second engineer
• Bob Ludwig – mastering
• John Srebalus – engineer, second engineer

See also

• 1997 in music

References

1. "Kara's Flowers – We Like Digging? (1995)". Retrieved May 25, 2018.
2. Buss, Bryan. "Kara's Flowers - "The Fourth World"". AllMusic. Retrieved July 19, 2020.
3. ”buss”
4. VH1.com: Kara's Flowers Artist Page Accessed August 18, 2007.
5. allmusic: Kara's Flowers Accessed August 18, 2007.
6. "Kara's Flowers – The Fourth World: Limited Edition". The Sound of Vinyl. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
7. "Adam Levine's First Band, Kara's Flowers, Appeared on What '90s Drama?". Wetprint. Retrieved August 10, 2018.
8. AllMusic review
9. [link http://www.ew.com/article/1997/08/15/fourth-world/]
10. Moll, Susan (January 2005). "Kara's Flowers: The Fourth World". Pitchfork. Archived from a dead link on November 2, 2005. Retrieved July 29, 2018.
11. Lanham, Tom (1997-08-15), "The week". Entertainment Weekly. 392:74