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ROOM FOR SQUARES
(2001)
Key Tracks: "No Such Thing," "City Love"
Quick Take: Mayer's mix of adult-alternative and
light rock combines the pouty swoon of Jeff Buckley, the literate
class of Sting, and the nice-guy approachability of Dave Matthews.
Room for Squares is a deceptively charming record and a
perfectly honest reflection of its author: The album soaks in its
just-out-of-college white-guyness and all the existential baggage
that comes with it — the discovery of adult love ("Your Body
Is a Wonderland"), the first lament of lost youth ("No Such Thing,"
"83"), and the difficulty of settling into one's own skin ("My
Stupid Mouth," "Not Myself"). Although its unrepentant mellowness
starts to wear by the end, the record's finely sketched lyrical
snapshots and subtle melodies seem to be grooming Mayer for
soccer-mom heartthrobdom.
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INSIDE WANTS OUT
(2002)
Key Tracks: "Victoria," "Love Soon"
Quick Take: To capitalize on Squares'
success without prematurely introducing another new studio album
into the marketplace, in late 2002 Columbia reissued Mayer's then
three-year-old self-released debut EP, Inside Wants Out.
While four of the eight tracks appear on Squares in a more
richly produced form, the remaining, otherwise unavailable songs
are hardly throwaways; "Love Soon" and "Comfortable," in
particular, stand up to Squares' best material.
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ANY GIVEN THURSDAY
(2003)
Key Tracks: "Message in a Bottle," "Something's
Missing"
Quick Take: Mayer's label clearly pushed its luck
with the two-disc live album, Any Given Thursday, the
third release in three years to rely on essentially the same
material. Like most concert recordings, it's padded with cover
songs ("Message in a Bottle") and previously unreleased material
("Something's Missing"); hearing the proficient Mayer and his band
re-create the songs live doesn't prove particularly
enlightening.
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HEAVIER THINGS
(2003)
Key Tracks: "Message in a Bottle," "Something's
Missing"
Quick Take: Playing it safe, Mayer made no radical
departures from the success of Squares on Heavier
Things, aside from the occasional horn flourish and some
off-kilter guitar textures. He's still the young preppy trying to
figure out this love thing, and trying to get a handle on this wide
new world. It's charming and immaculately delivered, although the
record's lack of an undeniable hook — no matter how Mayer
might cast it as a sign of newfound "heaviness" — makes the
effort decidedly less memorable.
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TRY! (JOHN MAYER TRIO)
(2005)
Key Tracks: "Who Did You Think I Was,"
"Gravity"
Quick Take: Wanting to tap into his blues
influences, Mayer recruited bassist Pino Palladino and drummer
Steve Jordan for a tour and live album that mixed originals and
covers that tapped into some chops and swagger that his studio work
had lacked. The musicians are all top-notch, and Mayer has a nice
bend-but-don't-break approach to soloing; he shows remarkable
restraint as a noodler.
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CONTINUUM
(2006)
Key Tracks: "In Repair," "I Don't Trust Myself
(With Loving You)"
Quick Take: "Who did you think I was?" John Mayer
asked on the opening track of Try!. He's answered the
question eloquently on Continuum, a smart, breezy album
that deftly fuses his love for old-school blues and R&B with
his natural gift for sharp melodies and well-constructed songs.
Palladino and Jordan are back, but this is decidedly not a JMT
record. Other notable musicians turn up — including
guitarists Ben Harper, Charlie Hunter and James Valentine (from
Maroon 5), jazz trumpeter Roy Hargrove and bassist Willie Weeks.
The power-trio flexing is gone, and that's to the good. As a
guitarist, Mayer is more adept at the terse, lyrical, cleanly
articulated solos he takes on songs like "In Repair" and "Gravity"
than the breakneck improvising he flashed with JMT.