When Room For Squares hit the shelves in 2001, fans and critics alike dubbed John Mayer’s pop sound and bubble gum lyrics as “acoustic sensitivity.” Several critics predicted his second album would remain in that vein, the same styles that made him famous on college campuses and hated among guitar purists.
Two years later, Heavier Things was released, and the early comparisons to Dave Matthews ceased. Mayer and his bass frontman David Labruyere collaborated on a darker album than his debut. His teeny-bopping fans of yesteryear didn’t just rush out and buy it as a result, and Mayer was kicked to the curb.
At the same time, Mayer earned a Grammy for “Daughters,” his second in three years. And though many cite sluggish second-album sales, Things still managed to go platinum.
Flash forward two years later, and the Connecticut native seemed to be changing styles again. His newest album, Continuum, is much more bluesy than any of his previous efforts. The studio musicians have changed as well. Gone are the constant, rhythmic basslines of New Orleans-native Labruyere. They’ve been replaced by bassist Pino Palladino and drummer Steve Jordan, the same two musicians who played with Mayer as the aptly-titled John Mayer Trio a year earlier.
The album’s first track, “Waiting on the World to Change,” begins with an uptempo groove and the tongue-in-cheek lyrics that made Mayer so famous. He tackles everything here. Take an accusation that Generation X’ers don’t stand for anything important, mix it with a little antiwar sentiment and that’s the formula for Mayer’s introduction to the album.
That being said, it sounds like both Mayer and the musicians are trying too hard. It’s a little too happy, too reminiscent of “Your Body Is a Wonderland,” which was the one track most guys skipped when listening to Room For Squares.
Two songs from the John Mayer Trio’s previous release Try! also made it onto this album as improved studio versions. Virtually unchanged, save for a few backup parts here and there, “Gravity” and the upbeat “Vultures” sound great, and were the perfect pick from the Trio’s live release last year.
Palladino’s basslines really shine throughout this album, a more conservative yet funky musician than Labruyere. On “Belief,” Police-reminiscent grooves and progressions catch the listener off guard, especially considering the song’s strong antiwar sentiment. In the outro, Mayer asks “What puts a hundred thousand children in the sand? / What puts the folded flag inside his mother’s hand? Belief can.”
Mayer’s subtle use of horns and trombones is felt at the end of the album, on the classic “I’m Gonna Find Another You,” which takes a page straight out of B.B. King’s catalog, classic blues progressions and all.
The only two other notable tracks, “Stop This Train” and “Bold As Love,” represent Mayer both at his beginning and now, nearly six years later. “Bold As Love” is a Jimi Hendrix cover, the first Mayer sought to release on a studio album, but certainly not the first he’s covered. A companion disc to Room for Squares contained a cover of Hendrix’s “Wind Cries Mary,” which Mayer covers remarkably. This cover is no exception, containing a funky outro that reminds longtime fans of his live performances. It’s also the only track on Continuum that shows what the guitarist is capable of.
Fans will be reminded of Squares’ rhythmic song “3×5” when they listen to “Stop This Train,” which talks about the artist’s concerns about getting older. The drums have the constant rhythm of a train, mixed with countermelodies from both piano and acoustic guitar, proving that, at least in this case, “acoustic sensitivity” may live again.
Two chief criticisms here: The album’s length is less than 50 minutes, and only a few uptempo numbers raise an otherwise slow-moving album. For blues fans, that may be all they need, but the rest of us might require a wake up call from time to time, John.
4/5 stars