The Fourth World (album)

The Fourth World is the second studio album and major label debut by the 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.

Following their 1995 self-released album We Like Digging?, Kara's Flowers signed with Reprise Records, teamed up with the people who worked with Green Day and released The Fourth World on August 19, 1997. The band had little success with the album and parted with the record label two years later. They continued to explore different musical styles until finally coming together again with James Valentine under the name Maroon 5.

Single
The lead single, "Soap Disco", was released on 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 airplay on 120 Minutes. The song was included in Volume 50 of CMJ New Music Monthly.

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

Critical reception
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."

Personnel
Kara's Flowers
 * Adam Levine – lead vocals, lead guitar, keyboards
 * Jesse Carmichael – rhythm guitar, backing vocals
 * Michael Madden – bass guitar
 * Ryan Dusick – drums, percussion

Additional musicians


 * 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