Heavier Things

John Mayer

Sony Records, 2003

http://www.johnmayer.com

REVIEW BY: Jason Warburg

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: 01/17/2005

Two years ago in this space, I dogged John Mayer. I gave his oh-so-popular debut disc Room For Squares a "C" and criticized what I saw as the over-arrangement, over-production and general pop-ification of an otherwise pretty decent set of acoustic singer-songwriter material.

You can thus imagine my reaction when his follow-up disc, Heavier Things, moved his sound even farther in the direction of mainstream electric pop-rock. I wrote him off and moved on to new prospects.

Flash forward a year and suddenly "Daughters" ("Fathers be good to your daughters / Daughters will love like you do") is all over the radio. A marvelously perceptive, nuanced and altogether beautiful acoustic cut off of… my_heart_sings_the_harmony_web_ad_alt_250 Heavier Things. I listened to and admired the song for a good three months before finally shaking my head, shrugging my shoulders and giving in. (Blame it on Costco, and my perpetual weakness for reasonably priced music.)

And now I am here to sit down to a large meal. You -- yeah, you -- c'mon, you know you want to… pass me that big ol' plate of crow.

Because this is a really good album. Not just a passable effort, not just a better-than-I'd-hoped-for pleasant surprise. A really good album, rich with some of the more emotionally astute and lovingly crafted singer-songwriter material I've heard in the past couple of years. No, it isn't James Taylor, but John Mayer isn't trying to be JT -- or sometime-sound-alike Dave Matthews, for that matter -- anymore. He seems content now to simply try to be the best John Mayer he can be, and the results, I've gotta say, are pretty damned impressive.

Highlights include: the post-Motown call-and-answer vocals on the outro to the clever "Something's Missing" ("check"), the ringing electric riff that starts "New Deep," the dynamic arrangement of "Bigger Than My Body," and the dead-on lyric of the true-to-life insecurity cure "Only Heart."

Even more than the varied and entertaining arrangements, though, what makes this album is Mayer's rapidly maturing gift for storytelling. The way he deftly sets the scene while narrating a lovers' tiff on "Come Back To Bed." The perceptive self-exam he administers on the introspective "Home Life." And maybe most of all, everything about the lyric and delivery of the wistful, wise and just plain wonderful closer "Wheel." This -- says Mr Reviewer, opening his mouth for another big black-feathered bite -- is terrific stuff.

On Room For Squares the songs often felt to me like overdressed acoustic numbers yearning to be stripped back down to their essence. On Heavier Things, the fuller, mostly electric arrangements feel organic, even when strings or synths are occasionally added to the mix. Even more importantly, Mayer carries the day with a breezy confidence and natural charm that is absolutely winning in the context of songs as full of thoughtfully delivered emotional truths as these.

Crow never tasted so good. My hat's off to ya, John.

Rating: A-

User Rating: Not Yet Rated


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© 2005 Jason Warburg and The Daily Vault. All rights reserved. Review or any portion may not be reproduced without written permission. Cover art is the intellectual property of Sony Records, and is used for informational purposes only.