So I've always had a secret soft spot for John Mayer, ever since Room For Squares in '01. In fact, I have to admit that I have every John Mayer album and that I've gotten them pretty much immediately when they came out.
Now, I sort of naively lumped John Mayer in with other singer songwriters like Jack Johnson- simple music with a good hook. His albums were a lot more heavily produced and adult alternative sounding, but I figured it was a variant of an effective but perhaps unimpressive formula (that formula actually works great for me, I am a huge Jack Johnson fan). Turns out John M plays quite a mean axe. Turns out that his albums are actually maturing beyond smoothed over adult alternative. Turns out he is in the process of dating pretty much any single celebrity on the West Coast. Turns out John M has a blog.
These are all pleasant surprises about an otherwise unassuming girly man.
On top of all of this, now Stereogum has actually noted that John M's newest album is sweet.
Sure, the record has that too slick sheen one expects from a major label adult alternative release, but John marries R&B and lots of licks to his hooks. It all makes for a record that's … really good. We can't believe it either.
So now, I feel I can finally come out into the open, because it turns out that it's not just me that believe Mayer's new album is stellar. There's still the distinct Mayer sound, but with a bluesy undertone that actually rings of Stevie Ray Vaughn. Nice.
Update: If you're in the Seattle area and want to check Mayer out, here's the info you're looking for:
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Unreleased demos and studio outtakes.
