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 10/2008

    SHAWN LEE
    Under The Sun

  • reviewed 02/2012

    THE NIKHIL KORULA BAND
    Music of the New Day

  • reviewed 09/2007

    RAUL MALO
    After Hours

  • reviewed 10/2006

    ROBERT POLLARD
    Normal Happiness

  • reviewed 06/2005

    Athlete
    Tourist

  • reviewed 09/2015

    Supersuckers
    Holdin' The Bag

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.