"Must Get Out" is a song by American band Maroon 5, taken from their debut album, ''

Songs About Jane ''Songs About Jane'' is the debut studio album by American pop rock band Maroon 5. The album was released on June 25, 2002, by Octone and J Records. It became a sleeper hit with the help of five singles that attained chart success, including "Ha ...

'' (2002). Written by the band members

Adam Levine Adam Noah Levine (; born March 18, 1979) is an American singer and songwriter. He serves as the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the pop rock band Maroon 5. Levine began his musical career in 1994 with the band Kara's Flowers, of which ...

and

Jesse Carmichael Jesse Royal Carmichael (born April 2, 1979) is an American musician, best known as the keyboardist and rhythm guitarist for the pop rock band, Maroon 5. He also has a solo project called 1863 and a side project titled Circuit Jerks. Life and ...

, and produced by

Matt Wallace Matt Wallace is an American record producer. He is a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley,music critics Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on ...

, who praised Levine's vocals and the song's hook, considering it a highlight on the album. "Must Get Out" charted inside the top-ten in Netherlands, while reaching the top-forty in other three territories, including the United Kingdom – where it became the band's fifth top-forty hit. The song featured on Maroon 5's live album titled ''

Live – Friday the 13th ''Live – Friday the 13th'' is a live DVD and CD release by Maroon 5. It was recorded on May 13, 2005 in Santa Barbara, California at the Santa Barbara Bowl. The DVD features exclusive interviews with the band and insight into how certain key ...

'' (2005). It is the only single of the album to have an official live music video.

Composition and lyrics

"Must Get Out" was written by band members

and

, while production and mixing was done by

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and set in a common time, with a tempo of 96

beats per minute Beat, beats or beating may refer to: Common uses * Patrol, or beat, a group of personnel assigned to monitor a specific area ** Beat (police), the territory that a police officer patrols ** Gay beat, an area frequented by gay men * Battery ( ...

. Levine's vocals on the song range from the low-note of G3 to the high note of B4. The band's guitarist James Valentine explained that the downtempo song emulates

Andy Summers Andrew James Summers (born 31 December 1942), is an English guitarist who was a member of the rock band The Police. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a band member in 2003. Summers has recorded solo albums, collaborated w ...

and

The Police The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. For most of their history the line-up consisted of primary songwriter Sting (lead vocals, bass guitar), Andy Summers (guitar) and Stewart Copeland (drums, percussion). The Poli ...

. Lyrically, "Must Get Out" expresses a tough period of a relationship, with a dreamy lyrical story, where the band "offers up clever imagery with 'I've been the needle and thread/Weaving figures eights and circles ‘round your head' and frank confessions to today's problems, 'The city's made us crazy and we must get out'."

Release and reception

"Must Get Out" was selected as the album's fifth and final single from the album in Europe, being released on April 5, 2005. Its promotional single features the radio edit of the song, while the commercial single features the song and an acoustic version of the band's breakout hit " This Love". A released in the United Kingdom followed on April 11, 2005.

Critical

"Must Get Out" received positive reviews from most

music critics Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on ...

. In his review for the album, MacKenzie Wilson from

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the dat ...

picked the song as a highlight, writing that the song "slows things down" and noted that "

Levine Levine (French transliteration from Russian) / Levin (English transliteration from Russian Левин) is a common Jewish (Ashkenazi Jewish) surname. Levinsky is a variation with the same meaning (see French version of the article for a full explan ...

is a vocal

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for

Men at Work Men at Work are an Australian rock band formed in Melbourne in 1978 and best known for breakthrough hits such as "Down Under", " Who Can It Be Now?", " Be Good Johnny", "Overkill", and " It's a Mistake". Its founding member and frontman is Col ...

Colin Hay Colin James Hay (born 29 June 1953) is a Scottish-Australian musician, singer, songwriter, and actor. He came to prominence as the lead vocalist and the sole continuous member of the band Men at Work, and later as a solo artist. Hay's music h ...

. Don't wince – it works brilliantly." Wayne Hoffman of ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' also chose the song as a highlight, calling it "gentler".

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most well-known and influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and ...

also highlighted the track, writing: "Broken heart often spurs killer hooks, fond memories occasionally engender likable songs," citing "Must Get Out" as an example. Jason Thompson of ''

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, f ...

'' noted that Jesse Carmichael manages to conjure

The New Radicals ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in E ...

on the song, claiming that it is one of the "plenty of things

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that could be hits." Meanwhile, Christian Hoard of ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its co ...

'' called it a "pretty, down-tempo" song that "sound poised to mount an assault on

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Mayer Mayer may refer to: *Mayer (name) Places * C. Mayer (crater), named after Christian Mayer * Mayer, Syria * Mayer, Arizona, United States * Mayer, Minnesota, United States * Mayersville, Mississippi, United States * Mayerthorpe, Alberta, Canad ...

's college fan base."

Commercial

While not as successful as the other singles from the album, "Must Get Out" experienced moderate success in some European countries. In the Netherlands, the song proved to be one of the band's most successful singles from the album, only behind "This Love" and "

She Will Be Loved "She Will Be Loved" is a song by American pop rock band Maroon 5. It was written by frontman Adam Levine and lead guitarist James Valentine. The song was released on June 21, 2004, as the third single from Maroon 5's 2002 debut studio album, '' ...

", reaching number 8 and becoming the band's third top-10 hit. In Ireland and the United Kingdom, the song became another top-40 hit for the band, reaching numbers 34 and 39, respectively – in the UK in particular, the song was the band's fifth consecutive top-40 single. Likewise, in New Zealand, the song was their fifth top-40 single, though their least successful single on the charts, along with "

Misery Misery may refer to: Fiction * ''Misery'' (novel), by Stephen King * ''Misery'' (film), based on the novel * ''Misery'' (play), based on the novel * "Misery" (short story), by Anton Chekhov * "Misery" (''New Girl''), a television episode * ...

" (2010).

Live performances

Maroon 5 performed the track during their

AOL Sessions AOL (stylized as Aol., formerly a company known as AOL Inc. and originally known as America Online) is an American web portal and online service provider based in New York City. It is a brand marketed by the current incarnation of Yahoo! Inc. ...

, at the ''

Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show. For most o ...

'' and included the song on the 2005's CD/DVD ''

''. They performed the song on ''

The Today Show ''Today'' (also called ''The Today Show'' or informally, ''NBC News Today'') is an American news and talk morning television show that airs weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on NBC. The program debuted on January 14, 1952. It ...

'' on February 4, 2005. It was part of the

encore An encore is an additional performance given by performers after the planned show has ended, usually in response to extended applause from the audience.Lalange Cochrane, in ''Oxford Companion to Music'', Alison Latham, ed., Oxford University Pr ...

on the "

Songs About Jane Tour The Songs About Jane Tour is the debut concert tour by American band Maroon 5. Kicking off in the fall of 2003, the tour promote their debut album, ''Songs About Jane'' (2002). Visiting Europe, the Americas, Asia and Australia, the band played 18 ...

" and was last performed on the

2005 Honda Civic Tour The 5th Annual Honda Civic Tour was a concert tour headlined by the American band Maroon 5. Background Fresh off the heels of their multiple Grammy nominations; the Marketing Factory, Inc. announced the band would headlined the fifth edition of ...

Track listings

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Release history

References

{{Authority control Maroon 5 songs 2002 songs 2005 singles A&M Octone Records singles J Records singles Songs written by Adam Levine Songs written by Jesse Carmichael