HEAVIER THINGS
I normally don't tend to review too many mainstream artists for this site,
especially not one of JOHN MAYER's style
or target audience (I do have to admit the chicks simply moist themselves
over this kid), but after receiving this disc
the other day it simply begged for a review, so here goes.
Love him or hate him, the kid can pen a tune. Somehow, he always manages to
throw something musically hip into
each composition, be it a clever chord change, interesting bridge section,
or some beautiful jazz-chord comps, Mayer
is a raw-talent musician who has only begun to scrape the surface of his
career. I will admit that I simply found myself
changing the dial on the radio every time I heard "Your Body Is A
Wonderland" or "No Such Thing" only reason being is
that I received an advance of his original
Room For Squares CD about 2
weeks before it ever came out, and way before
he became a mainstream pop-sensation. But after being inundated with
stations playing his music 3 times every hour,
I found myself reaching for the dial. But all that changed about a month or
so ago when 'Bigger Than My Body' hit air-waves
and I couldn't stop humming this tune over and over and over. Now, with the
release of his sophomore effort, Mayer has cleared himself from hitting the dreaded 'sophomore slump'. Will he match or eclipse his
previous success, or suffer the same fate as
so many of his genre have in the past (can ANYONE name the second Hootie
CD?)? I personally hope he sells a trillion
copies of this disc and keeps making well-written, hook-filled albums for
years to come, because somehow, Mayer's voice,
songwriting, and musicianship is a breath of fresh air amidst the
airbrushed, Pro-Tools polished pop that has literally infested
radio/video in the past few years.
What makes
Heavier Things such a pleasure is that each track stands on
it's own as a finely tuned machine and yet retains
a bit of the youthful rawness that comes with that certain age between
adolescence and adulthood (that dreaded word). Mayer
crafts each track with bountiful energy, whether he is waxing emotionally
over lost love ('Something's Missing') or hitting the
up-beat funk lines of lead single 'Bigger Than My Body', each track has
something unique, yet instantly memorable, which
is difficult to achieve these days. The album opener 'Clarity' is a deep glimpse
into the singer/songwriters world and yet has a
beautiful, melancholy melody that stays with you long after you hear it.
There are two other bona-fide gems on this disc as
well, the lush 'Home Life', with it's layers of acoustic guitar, vocal
harmonies and percussion, is guaranteed to spin at radio
stations for the next year of so along with the fabulous 'New Deep' with
it's haunting guitar lines and uplifting chorus/refrain.
There are a couple of tracks on this disk that simply can't compete with the
previously mentioned tracks. "Only Heart" and
'Wheel' end the album on a low note and don't retain the punch found on the
rest of the album, but hey, the kid wrote a ton
of songs for this disc and managed to put 8 winners on here, so the last
time I checked, that's pretty damn good. Do yourself
and Mayer's accountant a favor and check this disc out, it's one of those
long autumn day, cruising in your car kind of discs
that stays with you long after the last track fades.
