26-05-2012, 12:22
online listen
love his voice but his music and delivery are just so blah
same as Jack Johnson
only 2 I like but the clip just misses
1.4 from me and a converted 2.1 from the pros at allmusic
from the album - Shadow Days
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=daGcpvxPbCo
released May 22, 2012
![[Image: s21327mu18u.jpg]](http://image.allmusic.com/00/amg/cov200/drs200/s213/s21327mu18u.jpg)
Bio - from allmusic
After making his introduction as a sensitive, acoustic-styled songwriter on 2001's Room for Squares, John Mayer
steadily widened his approach over the subsequent years, encompassing everything from blues-rock to adult
contemporary in the process. Arriving during the tail end of teen pop's heyday, he crafted pop music for a more
discerning audience, spiking his songcraft with jazz chords and literate turns of phrase. The combination proved to
be quite popular, as Room for Squares went triple platinum before its follow-up release, Heavier Things, arrived in
September 2003. Mayer continued to retool his sound with each album, however, moving beyond the material that had
launched his career and adopting elements of rock, blues, and soul. Moreover, he partnered with legends of several
genres, making guest appearances on albums by Buddy Guy, Eric Clapton, and B.B. King, while touring alongside jazz
icon Herbie Hancock. Mayer also retained enough pop/rock foundation to continue his reign of the charts, making him
one of the decade's most popular songwriters.
Born in Bridgeport, Connecticut, and raised in the nearby town of Fairfield, Mayer began playing blues as a
teenager. By 1997, his skill on the electric guitar was enough to warrant admission into the Berklee College of
Music, although Mayer dropped out after two semesters to pursue a songwriting career in Atlanta. Working alongside
former classmate Clay Cook, he frequented the local coffeehouse circuit and began co-writing material that melded
palatable pop/rock with unexpected flourishes. Cook and Mayer parted ways shortly thereafter, however, with Cook
joining the Marshall Tucker Band's touring lineup for several years. Now a solo artist by default, Mayer recorded
several of the duo's songs, packaged them alongside a handful of his own compositions, and self-released the EP in
1999 under the title Inside Wants Out.
Mayer secured a deal with Aware Records in early 2000, and recording sessions for his debut album commenced later
that year with producer John Alagia, renowned for his work with Dave Matthews and Ben Folds Five. Although Inside
Wants Out had been a decidedly acoustic effort, Room for Squares proved to be a more expansive affair, with several
of Mayer's old songs receiving new, radio-ready arrangements. Released in 2001 by both Aware and Columbia Records,
the album quickly launched Mayer's career, with "No Such Thing" and "Your Body Is a Wonderland" both becoming Top 20
hits.
As Mayer hit the road in support of the album, his considerable talent as a lead guitarist (a skill that had been
downplayed during Room for Squares) flourished, leading him to showcase several blues-influenced solos on his 2003
live album, Any Given Thursday. That same year, Mayer won his first Grammy Award for "Your Body Is a Wonderland." He
returned to the Grammy ceremony two years later, this time to accept a pair of awards for "Daughters," a soulful
ballad from his lucrative sophomore release, Heavier Things. Commercial and critical success notwithstanding,
Mayer's interest in other genres convinced him to take a brief break from pop music, and he tested his instrumental
chops by collaborating with blues artists (Buddy Guy, B.B. King, Eric Clapton) and jazz legends (John Scofield,
Herbie Hancock). He also assembled the John Mayer Trio, whose bluesy rock & roll was displayed on the band's first
and only release, Try!
Mayer returned to his solo career with 2006's Continuum, a warmly received album that saw him focusing on blues,
pop, and contemporary soul. "Gravity" found modest success as a single, but "Waiting on the World to Change" proved
to be the album's commercial highlight, cracking the Top 20 in February 2007 and winning a Grammy that same month.
Later that year, Mayer achieved his highest-charting single to date with "Say," a song from the Rob Reiner film The
Bucket List. After "Say" peaked at number 12, the song was included in a reissued version of Continuum, and it took
home yet another Grammy Award (along with "Gravity") in early 2009. Following the release of a live album, Where the
Light Is, Mayer once again returned to the studio in 2009, this time to record Battle Studies, featuring the single
"Heartbreak Warfare." In 2011, while recording his fifth studio album, the Don Was-produced Born and Raised, Mayer
revealed that he would be receiving treatment for granulomas found near his vocal cords. Following his surgery,
Mayer completed the album and debuted the leadoff single "Shadow Days." While Mayer was able to finish the album, a
recurrence of his granulomas forced him to cancel his tour and abstain from singing indefinitely while he received
more treatment.
Album Review - from allmusic
Nothing halts the momentum of a career like a few poorly chosen words to the press. Take John Mayer, who in 2009
still seemed like the quintessential modern lothario, singing sweet songs of love and seducing starlets all across
Hollywood. Then at the dawn of 2010, just months after the release of his fourth album, Battle Studies, he gave an
interview with Playboy where he managed to insult former and current lovers while callously dropping racial slurs, a
snafu plenty difficult to survive, but its gravity was compounded when his former lover Taylor Swift wrote a nasty
kiss-off "Dear John" at the end of the year, a move that effectively banished him to the outskirts of L.A. -- which,
if the sound of his 2012 comeback is any indication, resides somewhere around the vicinity of Laurel Canyon. Yes,
the public humiliation and a subsequent health scare have pushed Mayer back in time, all the way back to the turn of
the '70s when singer/songwriters across Southern California strummed their guitars and sang about their souls, back
when his idol Eric Clapton was obsessed with the rootsy tumble of Delaney & Bonnie. Mayer never rock & rolls the way
EC did when he was in love with D&B, but he certainly is emphasizing his affection for American roots, particularly
of the folk and country kind. Those two sounds are the best vehicles for the kind of solipsism Mayer engages in on
Born and Raised, where he does his best to sound sorrowful and contrite yet manages to stumble upon his own deep-
seated desire to remain a lover-man. He doesn't murmur romantic words; he plaintively says he's sorry over austere
acoustic backdrops, taking pains to ensure that Born and Raised feels weathered, rustic, and lived-in. This
authenticity is supposed to strengthen his public contrition but it's hard to shake the feeling this is all an act,
particularly when he interrupts his burnished apologies to sing "Something Like Olivia," a come-on addressed
directly to House star Olivia Wilde. In another setting, this celeb crush would be amusing and possibly charming,
but here, it (along with the lingering self-pity) undercuts whatever sincerity Mayer managed to muster elsewhere on
Born and Raised.
Track Listing
1. Queen of California
2. The Age of Worry
3. Shadow Days
4. Speak for Me
5. Something Like Olivia
6. Born and Raised
7. If I Ever Get Around to Living
8. Love Is a Verb
9. Walt Grace's Submarine Test, January 1967
10. Whiskey, Whiskey, Whiskey
11. A Face to Call Home
12. Born and Raised (Reprise)
love his voice but his music and delivery are just so blah
same as Jack Johnson
only 2 I like but the clip just misses
1.4 from me and a converted 2.1 from the pros at allmusic
from the album - Shadow Days
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=daGcpvxPbCo
released May 22, 2012
Bio - from allmusic
After making his introduction as a sensitive, acoustic-styled songwriter on 2001's Room for Squares, John Mayer
steadily widened his approach over the subsequent years, encompassing everything from blues-rock to adult
contemporary in the process. Arriving during the tail end of teen pop's heyday, he crafted pop music for a more
discerning audience, spiking his songcraft with jazz chords and literate turns of phrase. The combination proved to
be quite popular, as Room for Squares went triple platinum before its follow-up release, Heavier Things, arrived in
September 2003. Mayer continued to retool his sound with each album, however, moving beyond the material that had
launched his career and adopting elements of rock, blues, and soul. Moreover, he partnered with legends of several
genres, making guest appearances on albums by Buddy Guy, Eric Clapton, and B.B. King, while touring alongside jazz
icon Herbie Hancock. Mayer also retained enough pop/rock foundation to continue his reign of the charts, making him
one of the decade's most popular songwriters.
Born in Bridgeport, Connecticut, and raised in the nearby town of Fairfield, Mayer began playing blues as a
teenager. By 1997, his skill on the electric guitar was enough to warrant admission into the Berklee College of
Music, although Mayer dropped out after two semesters to pursue a songwriting career in Atlanta. Working alongside
former classmate Clay Cook, he frequented the local coffeehouse circuit and began co-writing material that melded
palatable pop/rock with unexpected flourishes. Cook and Mayer parted ways shortly thereafter, however, with Cook
joining the Marshall Tucker Band's touring lineup for several years. Now a solo artist by default, Mayer recorded
several of the duo's songs, packaged them alongside a handful of his own compositions, and self-released the EP in
1999 under the title Inside Wants Out.
Mayer secured a deal with Aware Records in early 2000, and recording sessions for his debut album commenced later
that year with producer John Alagia, renowned for his work with Dave Matthews and Ben Folds Five. Although Inside
Wants Out had been a decidedly acoustic effort, Room for Squares proved to be a more expansive affair, with several
of Mayer's old songs receiving new, radio-ready arrangements. Released in 2001 by both Aware and Columbia Records,
the album quickly launched Mayer's career, with "No Such Thing" and "Your Body Is a Wonderland" both becoming Top 20
hits.
As Mayer hit the road in support of the album, his considerable talent as a lead guitarist (a skill that had been
downplayed during Room for Squares) flourished, leading him to showcase several blues-influenced solos on his 2003
live album, Any Given Thursday. That same year, Mayer won his first Grammy Award for "Your Body Is a Wonderland." He
returned to the Grammy ceremony two years later, this time to accept a pair of awards for "Daughters," a soulful
ballad from his lucrative sophomore release, Heavier Things. Commercial and critical success notwithstanding,
Mayer's interest in other genres convinced him to take a brief break from pop music, and he tested his instrumental
chops by collaborating with blues artists (Buddy Guy, B.B. King, Eric Clapton) and jazz legends (John Scofield,
Herbie Hancock). He also assembled the John Mayer Trio, whose bluesy rock & roll was displayed on the band's first
and only release, Try!
Mayer returned to his solo career with 2006's Continuum, a warmly received album that saw him focusing on blues,
pop, and contemporary soul. "Gravity" found modest success as a single, but "Waiting on the World to Change" proved
to be the album's commercial highlight, cracking the Top 20 in February 2007 and winning a Grammy that same month.
Later that year, Mayer achieved his highest-charting single to date with "Say," a song from the Rob Reiner film The
Bucket List. After "Say" peaked at number 12, the song was included in a reissued version of Continuum, and it took
home yet another Grammy Award (along with "Gravity") in early 2009. Following the release of a live album, Where the
Light Is, Mayer once again returned to the studio in 2009, this time to record Battle Studies, featuring the single
"Heartbreak Warfare." In 2011, while recording his fifth studio album, the Don Was-produced Born and Raised, Mayer
revealed that he would be receiving treatment for granulomas found near his vocal cords. Following his surgery,
Mayer completed the album and debuted the leadoff single "Shadow Days." While Mayer was able to finish the album, a
recurrence of his granulomas forced him to cancel his tour and abstain from singing indefinitely while he received
more treatment.
Album Review - from allmusic
Nothing halts the momentum of a career like a few poorly chosen words to the press. Take John Mayer, who in 2009
still seemed like the quintessential modern lothario, singing sweet songs of love and seducing starlets all across
Hollywood. Then at the dawn of 2010, just months after the release of his fourth album, Battle Studies, he gave an
interview with Playboy where he managed to insult former and current lovers while callously dropping racial slurs, a
snafu plenty difficult to survive, but its gravity was compounded when his former lover Taylor Swift wrote a nasty
kiss-off "Dear John" at the end of the year, a move that effectively banished him to the outskirts of L.A. -- which,
if the sound of his 2012 comeback is any indication, resides somewhere around the vicinity of Laurel Canyon. Yes,
the public humiliation and a subsequent health scare have pushed Mayer back in time, all the way back to the turn of
the '70s when singer/songwriters across Southern California strummed their guitars and sang about their souls, back
when his idol Eric Clapton was obsessed with the rootsy tumble of Delaney & Bonnie. Mayer never rock & rolls the way
EC did when he was in love with D&B, but he certainly is emphasizing his affection for American roots, particularly
of the folk and country kind. Those two sounds are the best vehicles for the kind of solipsism Mayer engages in on
Born and Raised, where he does his best to sound sorrowful and contrite yet manages to stumble upon his own deep-
seated desire to remain a lover-man. He doesn't murmur romantic words; he plaintively says he's sorry over austere
acoustic backdrops, taking pains to ensure that Born and Raised feels weathered, rustic, and lived-in. This
authenticity is supposed to strengthen his public contrition but it's hard to shake the feeling this is all an act,
particularly when he interrupts his burnished apologies to sing "Something Like Olivia," a come-on addressed
directly to House star Olivia Wilde. In another setting, this celeb crush would be amusing and possibly charming,
but here, it (along with the lingering self-pity) undercuts whatever sincerity Mayer managed to muster elsewhere on
Born and Raised.
Track Listing
1. Queen of California
2. The Age of Worry
3. Shadow Days
4. Speak for Me
5. Something Like Olivia
6. Born and Raised
7. If I Ever Get Around to Living
8. Love Is a Verb
9. Walt Grace's Submarine Test, January 1967
10. Whiskey, Whiskey, Whiskey
11. A Face to Call Home
12. Born and Raised (Reprise)
