Since September 2010, this blog has recorded the journey of this music junkie as I attempt to listen to all the music in my CD collection. CDs revisited in their entirety from start to finish - no skipping tracks, no shuffle. Compact Discs only - no vinyl, no tapes, no files.
John Mayer has a lot of talent, but he's got the same problem that many creative types have: a lack of focus. He wants to be a pop star, stand-up comedian, writer, hell for all I know he's a painter and sculptor, too. Here, Mayer wants to be a blues artist. He's got the chops to do it and he's backed by a couple of stellar studio artists; they make a great power trio. I guess he's earned a little self-indulgence. This is a good album (a great live album), and I can appreciate Mayer's skills and what he's trying to do here, but I just would really prefer if he'd make the popish stuff that he was first known for. But that's just me (and I readily admit that I may be more than a little jealous of the boy's talent and, more importantly, his dating scorecard).
Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: #34
Tracks: There's not much middle ground or gray area. Like most Mayer albums, the good stuff is really good but the rest is easily skippable, particularly the butchering of Ray Charles' I Got A Woman. The good tunes here are Who Did You Think I Was, Good Love Is On The Way, and the sorta reworked songs from previous Mayer albums, Gravity and Daughters.
Instantly accessible and likable. A good debut which was released before Mayer started taking himself so seriously. This is Mayer the pop artist, not the bluesy guitarist, not the jam-band concert artist, not the worldly activist, and not the stand-up comedian. I prefer him in the pop artist role; when he focuses on pop songwriting, the boy can really write a hook. Back in 2001, he was often described as Dave Matthews without all the jam; he's since outgrown the Matthews comparisons (which were probably unwarranted even at that time). Mayer is probably more of a "greatest hits" artist, but since he hasn't released that CD yet, and this was available on the cheap at a used CD store, this CD got the nod. For me, I considered it to be good, new, pop music aimed squarely at the adult contemporary market (a market I entered when I was about 17 years old). I haven't bought any of his new music in quite a while, though. Have I outgrown the adult contemporary market? Say it ain't so!
Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: #8 (March 15, 2003)
Tracks: Like most John Mayer albums, there are a few singles here that make you hate yourself for liking them. No Such Thing remains Mayer's best song. Also good are Why Georgia, Neon, and 83. I was never wild about the Grammy-winning Your Body Is A Wonderland, but I may have the wrong chromosomes for that. The first half of the the CD is definitely better than the second half, which tends to be more folksy, rainy-day music.
Personal Memory Associated with this CD: When I was attending UH around 2005, my friend and classmate Blake walked with me over to the student center to grab some lunch. There was an attractive undergraduate student sitting alone in the cafeteria wearing a John Mayer t-shirt. Blake dared me to walk over to her and simply say, "Your body is a wonderland" and wait for a reaction. Unfortunately, I didn't have the courage to do that because if I had, I'd have a better story to share here.
Like most John Mayer albums, there are a few singles here that make you hate yourself for liking them. Also like most Mayer albums, this is a fairly inconsistent collection (hence the album title?), but you take what you like and leave the rest. I'm not wild about Mayer's voice, but here he shows that he has some skills at pop songwriting, although he favors mid-tempo songs a little too much. Early in his career, he was compared to Dave Matthews, but here I'd compare him more to Sting or Steve Winwood. This CD received generally positive reviews (Metacritic rates it at 67) and earned Mayer a Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album. Rolling Stone magazine named it the 11th best album of 2006 (in typical Rolling Stone fashion, Dylan tops that list):
Continuum – John Mayer
Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers And Bastards – Tom Waits
Around the time this CD was recorded, Mayer contributed to Herbie Hancock's Possibilities album with the song Stitched Up which, if he had included it here, would have been the best song on the album.
Side note: Mayer should fire his publicist, because his public image isn't impressive. My advice: don't kiss and tell, drop the stand-up comedy and focus on your music because the window for musical success is small and always closing.
Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: #2 (Sept 30, 2006)
Tracks: The keepers here are I Don't Trust Myself, Gravity, Vultures, Stop This Train, and beautifully simple Dreaming With A Broken Heart. I can't decide if I like the cover of Jimi Hendrix's Axis Bold As Love, although I like that it gives Mayer room to show off his considerable blues chops (In the liner notes, Mayer claims that "Eric Clapton knows I steal from him and is still cool with it").
Personal Memory Associated with this CD: This was one of the first CDs I bought after moving to Nacogdoches in 2006. It reminds me of living solo at the Fredonia Hotel and staying up late trying to finish my dissertation, all while trying to transition to a new career. It was a fantastic time in my life.
"It's the kind of record you hate yourself for liking." (Q Magazine, Dec 2003, p.132)
A more complete album than 2001's Room For Squares, this sounds like Bruce Hornsby-meets-Chicago-meets-Dave Matthews. Lots of loops and horns by producer Jack Joseph Puig. Strong pop songwriting strongly rooted in the 1970s, Mayer's got a good voice, but his guitar playing is hardly present at all. That's a shame because it's his strong suit. Still, I like this (along with most white females in their 20's), mainly because I have a soft spot for '70s soft rock. Note: when I praise Mayer's songwriting, I'm only talking about the music, not the lyrics. Remember that I'm normally not much of a lyrics guy; I have no idea what dude is singing about.
Peak on the US Billboard 200 chart: #1 (1 week, Sept 27, 2003)
Tracks: even though this holds together as a solid album, the standout tracks are Clarity, Bigger Than My Body, New Deep, and Home Life. You can skip Come To Back to Bed and Wheel. I'm usually not a fan of ballads or pop songs in 3/4, but I've always liked the song Daughters. I must not be alone as that song won multiple Grammy awards in 2005. I've read that Mayer didn't think Daughters was strong enough to be released as a single, but I think it is the best song on the disc.
Sony's "CD Extra" that appears when the disc is inserted into a computer drive gives one the options of playing the CD, going to Mayer's website, or going to Columbia's website.
Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None. I think I bought this CD for my wife. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
If you believe the gossip columns, Mayer can be a self-centered jerk and is a love-'em-and-leave-'em kind of guy with the ladies, but he sure can play guitar. Also, he's not a bad pop songwriter. I'm sure that middle-aged men don't make up much of Mayer's fan base, but I enjoy his playing and his music. This set, as one would expect, is heavy on songs from 2005's Try! and 2006's Continuum. The 2 CDs are divided into three sections: the first is an acoustic trio set, the next set he plays with the John Mayer Trio, and the third is a longer set with Mayer's regular touring band. This performance was also released on DVD (but aren't all concert CDs accompanied by a DVD these days? The record companies can double their money that way.).
Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: #5 (July 19, 2008)
Tracks:
Acoustic trio set (5 tracks): His versions here of Neon, Stop This Train, and Daughters are all good. He picked songs that would work well with just him and guitar. His new song, In Your Atmosphere, isn't very good and stalls the momentum of the show. Just goes to show that Mayer is capable of writing a stinker every now and then. His cover of Tom Petty's Free Fallin' is okay, but not spectacular; he doesn't bring anything new to the song.
John Mayer Trio set (8 tracks): This group is more blues-oriented. Mayer is versatile, but he's not as good at playing blues as he seems to think he is. It takes courage to cover not one, but two Jimi Hendrix songs. Of those, Wait Until Tomorrow is an excellent cover with lots of energy. The other, Bold As Love, is a fantastic classic song that Mayer absolutely ruins with his pointless spoken-word philosophy about love. He completely misses the point that the music should do the talking. Listening to Mayer's original tunes, I prefer Who Did You Think I Was and Good Love Is On The Way.
Full band set (9 tracks): Starts off with Mayer's anti-war anthem, Waiting On The World To Change, which actually speaks to the apathetic nature of his generation. It's a good pop song, inculded here along with other pop gems Why Georgia, The Heart Of Life, and I Don't Trust Myself (With Loving You). The version included here of the often-covered Ray Charles hit, I Don't Need No Doctor, seems a little sanitized at times, but it is still one of the better versions of this classic. I'm not normally a fan of Mayer's slower tunes, but there's something about Gravity that I gravitate to (bad pun intended). This version isn't as good as the one on Try! but it's still one of the better tracks on this disc.
Personal Memory Associated with this CD: Every time I listen to Mayer's music, I can't help but think of his bit on Chappelle's Show around 2004 or 2005 in a skit called something like, "Can White People Dance?"
