#92: John Mayer - Heavier Things (2003)

It's hard to judge Mayer impartially since I've been a fan of his so long. This album shows the potential that he had early in his career and that potential grew up to put out one of the best albums I've ever heard: Continuum. This is Mayer before he really introduced the blues into his music, this is 100% pop radio music. This record propelled him into the public eye and he even had a hilarious TV show - for one episode...

Clarity
It was the second single off the album and Mayer had described the song about the first few moments after you wake up when you don't remember all the problems and worries in your life. The song has very sparse drums provided by Questlove of the Roots. It's one of Mayer's best pop songs.




Come Back to Bed
I really enjoy the guitar on this track even though it really holds back in the verses. The music embodies the feel of the lyrics and vocals. "I'll take back what I said, just don't leave me alone here, it's cold baby - Come back to bed." Much like the rest of the album the content isn't incredibly deep, but it's something everyone can relate to and the stories are told quite specifically and with great depth.

Daughters
It's one of his all time best songs and I still enjoy it every time I hear it (even though the radio still won't stop playing it all these years later). The guitar is eloquent, the lyrics are spot on, and Mayer's vocals seem like the only appropriate and acceptable tone for this song. It's one of those tracks where I'm not sure if I'd like any cover versions because the original is just so well done. The track is sung in a very honest, emotional way - it's captured beautifully.

All in all, it's a good album - nothing great. From this point in his career going forward I feel like he's continually gotten better and better. This isn't a bad album by any stretch and his later works should not diminish what he did in his past, but this album just falls short of the bar I've come to expect of him. There's plenty of really good tracks on here and a few that fail to grab me nine years later.

Tomorrow's album: Buck Owens and His Buckaroos' I've Got A Tiger By the Tail.

#84: Rob Thomas – Something to Be (2005)

This album is much more pop centered than his days with Matchbox Twenty. It’s full of sounds and instruments you’d never hear on his Matchbox records, but the result is the same – it’s still a Rob Thomas sound. Rob’s soulful vocals and incredible songwriting are the centerpiece of his debut album.

This is How a Heart Breaks
The album goes right for the jugular on the first track. Big percussion and a small piano allow Rob Thomas to venture through the jungle to arrive at his first huge pop hook. Even the bridge is well crafted, the piano allows Thomas to almost rap over the top of it, but the big hook is the simple yet incredibly effective guitar solo back to the solo. It may be pop but it rocks.

I Am an Illusion
Coolest opening of any track on the album. It’s just vocals and drums, and it has nothing to do with what’s about to happen – yet it fits. The music is super solid with the horn hits, the bondish bass, and the deep harmonies. Yet it’s Thomas’ vocals that carry the track, he makes it really work. “I’m not real anymore, I am an illusion.”

Street Corner Symphony
It’s John Mayer and Rob Thomas on the same track – how could it not be good? Mayer lays down the blues over the top of big horns and the best feel good track on the album. Actually, it’s the best track on the album. The chorus is full of uplifting lyrics, but it’s the music that provides me with chills. Also, what a guitar solo… Mayer is the man. If Thomas and Mayer recorded an album together I think I’d explode.

All in all, the album is full of incredibly well written tracks. If the recording doesn’t move you then I’m sure it could be rerecorded in a different style to make it more appealing. It’s got a little bit of everything from the pop spectrum. Thomas is without a doubt my generation’s best songwriter and his debut album reflects that. The only complaint I have is that while the music was excellent, it didn’t push any boundaries nor did it push the listener to accept more than what’s already acceptable – not that it should – it’s absolutely beautiful for exactly what it is.

Tomorrow's album: Jacques Brel's Olympia 64.

#60: John Mayer - Continuum (2006)

It's his masterpiece. However, I hope he hasn't peaked yet. Mayer's song writing is at his finest, it's his adult album. Granted, on a personal level Mayer can be kind of a douche bag, but forget his personal life and forget "Your Body is a Wonderland". Regardless about how you feel about the man behind the music, he is one of the best guitarists and songwriters of my generation.

Vultures
Mayer brings the blues on this album, and it's none more apparent than on this track. The falsettos on this chorus provides a sharp contrast to the verse. Of course, the guitar work is second to none. It provides such a cool, laid back groove. One of my favorites.




Stop This Train

Throughout all of the music I've listened to in my lifetime, I can say one thing for certain: this is my favorite song of all time. The guitar and brushes create the sound of an unstoppable train while Mayer sings about the fears of getting older. "Don't how else to say it, don't wanna see my parents go." The song is full of incredibly deep, honest lyrics that resonate with me much more than anything else I've ever heard.

I'm Gonna Find Another You
Best melody, coolest guitar, and best feel on the album. It's another blues number that has a very simple story. "If I'm forced to find another, I hope she looks like you - yeah and she's nicer to." What a perfect way to end the record.

All in all, I'm just completely against the grain on this one. Critics don't rate it nearly high enough for me. I'd like to hear a better written and recorded album the year this was released. If you haven't seen his live DVD "Where the Light Is" you really should. Mayer is one of the most talented musicians in the past twenty years. John Mayer and this album are the #1 and #2 reasons why I purchased a guitar. Never before has any instrument seemed quite this cool to me.

Tomorrow's album: Ray Charles' Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music.

#10: John Mayer - Born and Raised (2012)

It's no secret that I'm not a fan of country music but this album taught me something. I may not be as big into the blues, jazz, and country as others, but I'm very big into music that's heavily influenced by those genres. While this album is full of country sounds, it brings it all together with pop appeal and that's particularly why I enjoyed this album as much as I did.

Something Like Olivia
No question, the best song on the album and one of Mayer's all-time bests. In many ways it's just a standard blues song, however the vocal tone and harmonies really bring out the beauty of Mayer's lyrics. It's such a simple love song - and I'm a sucker for each and every one of them. I remember when I bought the album, I think I played this song about ten times before advancing to the next track. It also contains an extremely tasteful organ part throughout the song that I need to start using as a blueprint for comping.

Born and Raised
The title track of the album is chosen for multiple reasons. Not only is the music very solid with a beautiful overlay of a harmonica, but Mayer does here what hardly any musician ever does to me. He cuts right through me with his melody and lyrics. Anyone who doesn't listen to Mayer because they don't like him as a person is missing out due to moments like this: "I still have dreams, they're not the same - they don't fly as high as they used to..." He's one of the most talented musicians of our generation, apparently the man can write some of the best lyrics as well.

Love is A Verb
I love simple love songs and this is pretty much the definition. It's such a simple idea that you start to wonder why no one has thought of it before this moment. Whenever I do have children of my own they will never know songs like "Row Your Boat". They will be sung to sleep with beautiful songs such as this.

All in all, it's the first country influenced album I've ever really enjoyed. Granted, the songs I picked are not the most country tracks on the album. However, these are the tracks that stuck out to me the most. Other standouts are 'Queen of California' and 'Whiskey, Whiskey, Whiskey'. Mayer's lyrics on this album are among his best. Sometimes when musicians go out of the comfort zone you applaud them for it because they're growing as an artist, but when that's not the first thing you think about then they've truly done it right. At it's core it's another John Mayer album.

Tomorrow's album: Duke Ellington's Ellington at Newport (1956)