Bruno Mars has never shied away from helping himself to old songs, without asking.
As Earth Wind and Fire’s Maurice White once told me about Mariah Carey, “She doesn’t jump sample, she takes the whole buffet.”
For “The Romantic,” Bruno has already got a hit out of sounding like Leo Sayer with his new song, “I Just Might.” Sayer’s “You Make Me Feel Like Dancing” is invoked rather strongly.
Most of “The Romantic” sounds like something you know but you can’t put your finger on, exactly.
But a couple of other tracks really stand out.
One is called “Cha Cha Cha,” which lifts the percussion and horns from the O’Jays hit, “Backstabbers.” The writers of that song, Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff, must be steaming.
Another one, called “Something Serious,” can actually be sung along to Santana’s “Evil Ways.”
Carlos Santana didn’t write “Evil Ways.” It’s a cover of the original, recorded by Willie Bobo, and written by Clarence “Sonny” Henry. All these years, since 1969, when “Evil Ways” is played, the publishing royalty goes to Sonny Henry.
But now “Evil Ways” has been used for “Something Serious.” I’d like to ask, is Bruno Mars serious? This one is worse than the others.
Bruno has done it before. He has a hit called “Locked out of Heaven,” which sounds like an amalgam of songs written by Sting for his group, The Police. When “Locked Out of Heaven” begins, you’re almost certain it’s a Police song you’ve forgotten.
Mars’s originality comes from his voice– which is superior — and his presentation, which is charismatic. But songwriting is not his forte. He does have good ears.
