|
John Mayer is an artist that found himself situated in the
music scene primarily from a push in the digital music world.
The statement doesn’t indicate that Mayer couldn’t have made
it based on talent and image alone, but it does say that
internet downloading can be an effective tool in the promotion
of an artist. Mayer, thanks to his internet-using supporters,
is throwing a new release on to the laps of the public,
however, this time the album is nothing more than a live album
by an average artist.
Mayer’s discography is not yet impressive nor does it include
enough titles to gain the respect from a majority of
listeners. In fact, Mayer has 2 titles on that list, one of
which is an EP. Mayer may have several titles from his
underground days, but at this point in time the focus is on
the previous 2 alongside this new release: “Any Given
Thursday”.
“Any Given Thursday” is an extended set of tracks that
consumes 2 CDs. The entire set of jams runs past 102 minutes,
but in my personal opinion 102 minutes seems 20 minutes too
long. What do I mean you say? Well I think that Mayer could
have excluded a few of the songs and made one solid show with
no flaws. Instead Mayer included 102 minutes of music, which
at times gave me a boring empty feeling. I am nearly positive
that if I were present at the show my opinion wouldn’t be what
it is, but the fact remains: I wasn’t, nor are most of you who
will listen to the album. This is a live disc and a decent one
at that, but in order for me to appreciate the recorded live
atmosphere the artist needs to provide me with constant
enthusiasm. Mayer was unable to do that.
Throughout the disc you can hear the cool, calm voice of
Mayer, but at times you just wish that he'd go all out and
really get into the entire project. It is evident that he is
talented at what he does and is also evident that during this
live show he took a few things for granted, such as: his fans
attention. While I am not able to make the claim that these
sets of tracks wouldnt fulfill any listeners, I will say that
Mayer has not put an entirely refreshing spin on his already
released tracks.
John Mayer doesn’t offer anything drastically new to the music
scene, but instead finds himself piggybacking artists such as
Dave Matthews, Coldplay, David Gray, etc. Of course he has
acquired his own fan base, but his popularity relies on the
success of that genre. With that said, Mayer is very good at
developing and evolving his songs into a sound that people are
fond of. To drive that point home, simply look into the
singles charts. You will see ‘Your Body Is A Wonderland’ at or
near the top. That particular song has been residing at the
top many listener’s favorites’ lists for quite some time. I am
trying to establish the point that I like Mayer’s music and
think that he has the talent to continue achieving in the
music scene, but I feel that he’d be better off releasing
studio efforts and leave great live music releases to the
others. Here is a quick run down and a rather harsh breakdown
at that:
1. 3x5 - You'll find the studio version of this song on his
latest album, “Room For Squares”. After the quick
introduction, by Mayer himself, he immediately breaks into
some instrumentation, in the company of his band. At this
point the crowd seems on edge just waiting for the song to
explode into full groove, but Mayer prevents that from
happening until he can wait no longer. As the excitement
builds, the fans grow subtly louder, and Mayer is off and
playing. The song takes shape several seconds in and it does
not disappoint. The version played live is quite similar,
though not exact, to the album version and is played near
perfection. This track is for the second time, a must listen.
2. No Such Thing - The tune is found on his introductory EP
and once again this live version sounds very similar to that
version. Of course the lyrics are slightly varied, but nothing
to the extent of dragging the song into an unappealing shape.
The song remains catchy and shows a great revival of an older
'classic'.
3. Back To You – ‘Back To You’ can also be found on his
initial EP. The song is noticeably quicker, but once again I
must state that the song is similar. Of course this is a live
album, so there are added quirks and comments at random
points, but for the most part this song remains on the path to
being very listenable. So far so good.
4. City Love - Mayer slows down the pace with this slow speed
jam. The song is not catchy and is most certainly not one of
his best. I would classify this as mood music; however, a few
of the screaming girls that are heard constantly throughout
the 102 minutes would probably disagree. The song is not poor
and does leave a nice lyrical impression behind, but it lacks
polish. Note that this track is listed on the set list for
“Room For Squares”.
5. Somethings Missing - This track involves a semi
introduction by Mayer himself, although the excerpt is brief.
He sounds slightly confused as he isn’t sure what to do when
he isn’t singing or playing. The track is new for Mayer, as it
isn’t listed on either albums set list. At first the crowd
seemed eager to hear the song, but shortly into it the crowd
grows relatively quiet. I didn’t find the track to be boring,
but to me the track just doesn’t have a hook that grabs the
attention. This is no where near his best work to date,
although the song shows promise for a studio recording.
6. Lenny/Man On The Side - Mayer follows up an original (if
only to him) with yet another unreleased song. Aside from the
screaming giddy girls, the crowd seems very uninvolved in the
music, or else bored, as Mayer introduces the track with an
interesting solo. After 3:20 of boredom, Mayer exits the solo
and begins to sing. His Dave Matthews-wannabe lyrics are
graceful and soothing, but this song overall is dreadful. The
take home message was relatable and of interest, but the
engine to drive the message home was out of gas.
7. Message In A Bottle - Out of the boredom raised a true
classic. Mayer cast his own rendition of the Police hit,
‘Message In A Bottle’. The crowd revived and Mayer was again
at the top of the mountain. This may very well be one of the
best covers that I have had the chance to hear. Mayer’s
version is unlike any that I have heard, yet it still contains
the roots needed to allow anyone to easily recognize it. Aside
from the hit single, this is the best song on the 2 disc set.
8. Love Song For No one - After a quick thank you, Mayer
quickly introduces what is next and then he’s off. The song is
unusually quick, which seems to confuse the crowd goers, if
only slightly. For being one of the most upbeat songs during
his live show, the crowd seems bored until Mayer gets them
involved. The crowd turns rapidly and suddenly can be heard
singing along. While I am much fonder of the studio version,
this live rendition is satisfying.
9. Why Georgia - A song from “Room For Squares” one of which
is begun with a funky set of rifts. The crowd seems to have
woken up and have begun to enjoy the show. While Mayer
discusses some goofy stuff throughout the song, the crowd
seems to have enjoyed ‘Why Georgia’. From my perspective, the
track is merely OK. It is certainly not bad, but more of an
in-the-right-kind-of-mood type of song. The track is upbeat
and allows for some nice improvisation, but I just couldn’t
slip this into my favorites category.
10. Your Body Is A Wonderland - Mayer seems to have a gold
mine on his hands with this track. His introduction to the
song was elaborate as he speaks into his mic, "This is a song
about girly parts." It just goes to show that one must not
reinvent the wheel in order to output a song that catches
fire. I’d rather skip the description of this track as I would
guarantee that you've heard it or you could if you tried to.
11. My Stupid Mouth - Once again Mayer finds himself on cloud
nine as his fans are as into the show as much as ever. To
increase their attention he brings out ‘My Stupid Mouth’. This
is a great song that can be found on both ‘Room for Squares’
and ‘Inside Wants Out’ (the initial EP). This is a great
follow up to a song that casts one large shadow.
12. Covered In Rain - From here Mayer points out that the fans
are creating quite the atmosphere, but instead of remaining
upbeat, the tempo shifts nearly to a standstill with ‘Covered
In Rain’. This is a Mayer original; One that should have been
avoided during his live efforts. Again he makes mention of
watching TV, this time replacing Bill Cosby and Nickelodeon
with CNN. I am never fond of such silly lyrics, this is no
exception. I found myself intrigued with his vocal style in
this song, but other than that this is one of the worst songs
included in the show. Then suddenly the vibe picks up and
Mayer is on tear with a fast paced instrumental.
Unfortunately, Mayer slows things back down and again the
crowd goes silent.
13. 83 - Mayer announces that ‘83’ will be the last tune of
the evening, wishes folks well, and states that it has indeed
been a long summer. After his final announcement, the song
begins with complete enthusiasm. As times during the show
Mayer seemed uninterested with the show, but ‘83’ seems to
have sent Oxygen back into his body. The intro accompanying
this album is remarkable and what follows is better yet. The
track doesn’t have the most upbeat tempo, but what it does
have is a complete sound. The track has a great sound, a
unique flow, and catchy instrumentation. On top of all that,
Mayer sings ‘83’ to perfection. His unique influence on this
song not only adds depth, but enhances the overall product.
This is a must listen. And when you think that it doesn’t get
much better, Mayer adds tidbits of past classics. ‘83’ breaks
into an instrumental and exits with lyrics not originally sung
by Mayer himself. I would share with you what songs he
partially covers, but that would ruin the surprise, wouldn’t
it? While the entire sequence is relatively short, it is
entertaining nonetheless.
14. Comfortable - Before returning to the stage for the
encore, Mayer casts best wishes onto the crowd. He speaks as
though ‘83’ was the last jam of his summer tour, but suddenly
after exiting the stage, he returns for ‘Comfortable’ and
‘Neon’. Comfortable can be found on “Inside Wants Out”, while
‘Neon’ can be found on both prior releases. The down tempo
‘comfortable’ was a great tune on the album and is just the
same during his live efforts. At the end of track, Mayer
returns to the mic for more words to the crowd. His words are
more like fragments, but it is Mayer in his purest form;
Speaking to the crowd using unrehearsed words. Suddenly the
track number changes...
15. Neon – ‘Neon’ is found on both Mayer albums, and now a
third. The track is listed at 10:22, but that includes an
ending farewell, plus added instrumentals that only live music
listeners have the pleasure of seeing. The song starts out
with an intense instrumental and continues pressing on for
approximately 2 minutes before ‘Neon’ takes familiar shape.
The song is mildly upbeat and a solid song at that. If you are
aware of the album version and you like the addition of
sporadic instrumentals then this song will suit you perfectly.
At the conclusion of the song he once again thanks the crowd
for what they have given him and says that he will spend a
lifetime giving it back.
In conclusion:
I found this album to be slightly above average. A few of the
songs are very good, but to level things out a few of the
songs were poor. This album will sit well with Mayer
supporters, but even more so to those who love mellow music
littered with the live music characteristics such as, various
instrumentals, corny lyrical quirks, etc. As for looking at
this from a pure music standpoint, it is not near as well done
as either of his studio efforts, but it is satisfying none the
less. If you are looking to introduce Mayer’s music into your
life, don’t start with this release. Instead, go buy “Room for
Squares” and then his initial “Inside Wants Out” release, then
come back for this if you can stand any more. After all is
said and done I donate 3.5 Planets.
Track Listing:
Disc: 1
1. 3x5
2. No Such Thing
3. Back To You
4. City Love
5. Something's Missing
6. Lenny/Man On The Side
7. Message In A Bottle
8. Love Song For No One
Disc: 2
1. Why Georgia
2. Your Body Is A Wonderland
3. My Stupid Mouth
4. Covered In Rain
5. 83 Medley
6. Comfortable
7. Neon
Ramz Rating:
3.5 out of 5 Planets
Talk about John Mayer - Any Given Thursday >>
|
Game News
