Virginia exile Jason Mraz grew up listening to Dave Matthews and Agents of Good Roots, local heroes whose frat-friendly influences are much in evidence on his major-label debut. Producer John Alagia (Dave Matthews Band, John Mayer) augments Mraz's SoCal cohorts with Agents' rhythm section, dramatically expanding and polishing songs like "Curbside Prophet" and "You and I Both," which previously appeared in looser, less developed versions on Mraz's self-released live recordings. But fans from the singer-songwriter's coffeehouse years need not despair.
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