JOHN MAYER

BATTLE STUDIES

2009-12-07

This relatively stripped down affair finds John Mayer keeping his hot-wired guitar skills in check and focusing on the abject misery of lost love and the self-recrimination that accompanies the realization that it is him, not them, that is to blame for his resulting loneliness. While on paper this sounds like a blues disc most of the cuts putter along in an all too tasteful, mid-tempo adult contemporary vein. Hints of the rock power of Mayer and his back up crew (Steve Jordan on drums, Pino Palladino on bass and Ian McLagan on keys) creep only into "Assassin" and the Robert Johnson classic, "Crossroads". "Who Says" also has a bit of life to it. This might be a great disc in Cougar-town where the quest for a reflective man who is willing to take the blame for a failed relationship is the Holy Grail of finds. Everywhere else, it’s the soundtrack to an elevator or dentist’s lobby. Smitty

More reviews tagged #Rock

  • reviewed 10/2009

    ROSIE FLORES & THE PINE VALLEY COSMONAUTS
    GIRL OF THE CENTURY

  • reviewed 03/2008

    The Black Crowes
    Warpaint

  • reviewed 05/2009

    VIENNA TENG
    Inland Territory

  • reviewed 02/2007

    The Martino Conspiracy
    Hope In Isolation

  • reviewed 03/2010

    BO DEANS
    Mr. Sad Clown

  • reviewed 07/2015

    Aero Flynn
    Ooh La La

Compiled by the WYCE Journalism Club

The opinions expressed in these reviews are those of the individual volunteers that submitted the article and do not necessarily reflect the views of WYCE or GRCMC; nor its staff, donors, or affiliates.