| We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things. | |
| Type: | studio |
| Artist: | Jason Mraz |
| Cover: | We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things Official Cover.jpg |
| Border: | yes |
| Released: | May 12, 2008 |
| Recorded: | 2007–2008 |
| Studio: | Kensaltown Recording Studios (London, England) Little Big Sound Studio (Nashville, Tennessee) Casa Nova Studio (Oceanside, California) |
| Length: | 50:49 |
| Label: | Atlantic |
| Producer: | Martin Terefe |
| Prev Title: | We Steal Things. |
| Prev Year: | 2008 |
| Next Title: | Beautiful Mess: Live on Earth |
| Next Year: | 2009 |
We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things. is the third studio album by American musician 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]
On August 10, 2023, the album was certified 4x Platinum by the Recording Industry Association Of America. https://worldmusicviews.com/jason-mraz-im-yours-becomes-the-most-certified-reggae-song-of-all-time-in-the-us-13x-platinum/
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. In 2016, the album was certified three times Platinum by the RIAA.[5]
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.
In honor of the album's fifteenth birthday, a deluxe version of the album, entitled We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things. Deluxe Edition. was released on September 22, 2023. The version contains 14 new-to-vinyl songs, including demos and a previously unreleased song.[6]
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+.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."[7]
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."
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.
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."
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".[8] 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".[9]
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.[10]
Additional personnel
| Argentine Albums (CAPIF)[11] | 18 |
|---|---|
| Hungarian Physical Albums (MAHASZ)[12] | 12 |
| Australian Albums (ARIA)[13] | 10 | |
|---|---|---|
| Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[14] | 64 | |
| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[15] | 36 | |
| French Albums (SNEP)[16] | 60 | |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[17] | 100 | |
| Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[18] | 32 | |
| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[19] | 64 | |
| US Billboard 200[20] | 68 | |
| US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[21] | 15 |
| Australian Albums (ARIA)[22] | 64 | |
|---|---|---|
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[23] | 31 | |
| Canadian Albums (Billboard)[24] | 20 | |
| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[25] | 29 | |
| French Albums (SNEP)[26] | 15 | |
| New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[27] | 29 | |
| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[28] | 67 | |
| UK Albums (OCC)[29] | 50 | |
| US Billboard 200[30] | 28 | |
| US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[31] | 8 |
| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[32] | 75 |
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