Published March 7, 2003, in the Kansas State Collegian

Review by Matthew Webber

On singer/songwriter Jason Mraz's official Web site (www.jasonmraz.com), he says, "I'll be anyone's clown." Part joke, part musical mission statement, the quote both encapsulates and belittles Mraz's burgeoning talent.

Although Mraz can write the occasional funny tune, most of the songs on his major label debut "Waiting for My Rocket to Come" are more heartfelt than hilarious, more poignant than pointed.

To think of Mraz as the coffeehouse Weird Al or the comedy club James Taylor is to think of him as some kind of anomaly. Mraz is more analogous to fellow singer/songwriters like Dave Matthews or John Mayer who take their craft more seriously than they take themselves, artists who remind us that "well-written" and "fun" are not mutually exclusive.

Although most singer/songwriters who play original songs and the occasional cover tune at open mics emulate Matthews, most of these players are waiting for a rocket that will never come.

Mraz, however, got lucky (or else he's got mad skills), as John Alagia, who has produced songs for both Matthews and Mayer, produced Mraz's album.

His rocket may soon arrive: He has appeared on Conan O'Brien and been profiled on VH1.com.

Mraz's songbook is a wonderland. Like Mayer, he understands the importance of being earnest. He's young enough to be idealistic and old enough not to be naive.

He's clever enough to namedrop Jane Jetson and Kool & the Gang in one song, "I'll Do Anything," in which he boasts as if he's Jay-Z or somebody: "So step on up to the plate get a date with Mraz/See you better act fast because supplies they never last."

True to his hip-hop identity, he's already squashed a beef with Mayer, and he lists Sir Mix-A-Lot as an influence.

He's a "Curbside Prophet" who sings about girls, his obvious love of wordplay and, um, girls.

His voice sounds more like David Gray's than Matthews'/Mayer's, but with a Virginia-native-transplanted-in-California accent. I can hear a tone of hope, like he's playing on his curbside for tips.

He sounds like me, like a guy in the background at O'Malley's or Radina's, singing songs that sound like his dreams.

To some, he'll just sound like any other dude. To others, this is why they'll revere him.

If his rocket never comes, at least he got the chance to chase it.