DAVID HARRIS ’12 | Executive Editor
So there’s a new John Mayer album out, “Born and Raised.” …which means that all of us should be expecting to see John Mayer lyrics plastered all over the Facebook and Twitter pages of every teenage girl in America sometime soon. Of course, we didn’t let them write a review and give it a 10/10, but that isn’t to say that Mayer’s latest effort still isn’t at least an alright album.
“Born and Raised” marks Mayer’s first release since 2009’s “Battle Studies”, and was released despite Mayer having a granuloma removed from his vocal chords, forcing him to cancel shows and reduce his live appearances. But it hasn’t impacted his vocal effort on the album anymore, as Mayer is the same smooth-singing guy he’s always been.
Instead of the blues infused rhythms or more rock-oriented Mayer efforts in the past, he eschews his prior styles and continues in more of a folksy, 60’s or 70’s solo singer-songwriter. It’s uniquely Neil Young-ish, who he even references once, and bits of Bob Dylan-style twang can be found. He even features David Crosby and Steve Nash, as if his influences weren’t already obvious.
The result is an album that’s simple and raw. Mayer still shows off a bit of his guitar virtuosity, but it takes a back seat to the overall composition. There’s nothing complex, but the album still has the same quality that is to be expected from someone like Mayer.
But there’s a downside to that — the album lacks any majorly memorable song. The album is still number 1 on the Billboard charts, but the album lacks a strong lead single; such is the downside of a slow album, especially one filled with a bunch of average to good songs for a major artist. His first single “Shadow Days” is currently at number 49 on the charts.
There’s enough sappiness for some quotable lines, typical John Mayer. He might not win any writing awards for his metaphors or quirky “Love is a Verb” type puns, but it is still plenty enough for his fans to keep asking “Is he singing about Taylor?????”
Even for those hardcore fans, the album is a big departure from what made Mayer famous, and it’s tough to get used to. The album shows a totally new John Mayer. It’s by no means a bad one, just a different one.
Bottom Line: Mayer’s throwback and simplistic style, although a continual departure from his old styles, has enough redeeming qualities to make “Born and Raised” a good album when put all together.
