Some peak at the beginning, reaching their zenith all-too early, and it’s a slow progression to get back to where they began. John (Clayton) Mayer follows up with his fourth, Battle Studies, but he’s still not far up the mountain. A farrago of blues, pop and rock, it’s hard to top the breakthrough of Room for Squares. Fans agog for the guitar talent and swarthy locks of Mayer might have to wait a while to get the same experience as his debut’s Your Body is a Wonderland. This new album is honest, laid-back and well-rounded, and I’m sure will be as commercially viable as Mayer’s other efforts, but the man is still trying to find his way. And there’s nothing wrong with that. After all, music is a journey, as clichéd as it sounds, and it’s the getting there, wherever that may be, that makes up life. Look out for Taylor Swift’s backup vocals on one of the tracks and the mellow croons of his softer ballads, but the uncluttered nonpareil of Who Says is my top pick, “Who says I can’t get stoned… Who says I can’t be free… Who says I can’t take time?” Time is what the man has. Time to make it back to that mountaintop. Ladies are also another thing the man has. I have trouble empathizing for the guy in Perfectly Lonely, the same man with notches of a bevy of Hollywood starlets on his belt, but I can possibly understand Mayer’s reasons for All We Ever Do Is Say Goodbye. This talented songwriter-singer just needs to try again.
Key Tracks: Who Says, All We Ever Do Is Say Goodbye, Do You Know Me, Friends, Lovers or Nothing
Moods: Mellow, Romantic, Soothing, Relaxed, Warm, Soft
Buy: Battle Studies
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