Remember the time before st. tropez started his journey into the history of '90s and '00s music? There was an album we all talked about and were looking forward to... Yes, the latest John Mayer effort. Here are my thoughts. Don't consider this to be a proper review, though, because I'm no John Mayer expert...
Firstly, I just love the artwork.
Anyways, half a year ago, I wasn't exactly a John Mayer fan. The amount of praise his albums were getting repelled the little hipster in me. Besides, this solo singer/songwriter stuff was never my cup of tea. But then a friend of mine forced me to actually give his albums a shot and I did. Well, I didn't love it, but I liked it enough to give it a few spins and enjoy it for the while. Then suddenly, as the release date of his new album approached, I found myself looking forward to Born & Raised.
It's the folkier sound which I find most appealing about the new album. Many great musicians go folk eventually, and hardly ever there comes anything bad out of it. This isn't the case either. Although it wasn't that big of a change for Mayer as he still stays clearly recognisable and never wanders outside his own niche...
...with a notable exception, of course. The song Walt Grace's Submarine Test, January 1967, as st. tropez already mentioned, isn't like anything we ever heard from Mayer. So let's give the man some credit for that. It's a fantastic song. If only he did something like that more often, because it shows everything I miss in the rest of Mayer's music. If only I knew how to put it in words... Stronger melodies? More passion? Probably. Nevertheless, when Mayer hits the strings, you know it's always worth the time. In the end, this is an all-around great record and the folkier sound shouldn't put anybody off.
Best tracks: Queen of California, Shadow Days, Walt Grace's Submarine Test, January 1967
Firstly, I just love the artwork.
Anyways, half a year ago, I wasn't exactly a John Mayer fan. The amount of praise his albums were getting repelled the little hipster in me. Besides, this solo singer/songwriter stuff was never my cup of tea. But then a friend of mine forced me to actually give his albums a shot and I did. Well, I didn't love it, but I liked it enough to give it a few spins and enjoy it for the while. Then suddenly, as the release date of his new album approached, I found myself looking forward to Born & Raised.
It's the folkier sound which I find most appealing about the new album. Many great musicians go folk eventually, and hardly ever there comes anything bad out of it. This isn't the case either. Although it wasn't that big of a change for Mayer as he still stays clearly recognisable and never wanders outside his own niche...
...with a notable exception, of course. The song Walt Grace's Submarine Test, January 1967, as st. tropez already mentioned, isn't like anything we ever heard from Mayer. So let's give the man some credit for that. It's a fantastic song. If only he did something like that more often, because it shows everything I miss in the rest of Mayer's music. If only I knew how to put it in words... Stronger melodies? More passion? Probably. Nevertheless, when Mayer hits the strings, you know it's always worth the time. In the end, this is an all-around great record and the folkier sound shouldn't put anybody off.
Best tracks: Queen of California, Shadow Days, Walt Grace's Submarine Test, January 1967
good write up! glad to see my top 100 finally not on the top! :)
ReplyDeleteI've been reading a lot of praise for this album. seems like everyone loves it, have yet to read a bad review from anyone noteworthy.
Haha, it was a dilemma for me to publish it or not, I liked your post on the top :D
ReplyDelete