Musical journey continues
John Mayer is back with Continuum, a breezy album with bluesy, soulful influences. The album proves the 28-year-old singer-songwriter is no longer just good at making saccharine love songs (Daughters and Bigger than my Body).
Continuum follows Mayer's multi-platinum Room for Squares (2001) and Heavier Things (2003). The CD marks his debut as a producer, with the support of established bassist Pino Palladino and drummer Steve Jordan, who are also members of his blues band, John Mayer Trio.
But Continuum is very different from his trio's previous work Try! Many of the songs are on the softer side, and Mayer is trying to tackle some bigger issues.
Opener Waiting on the World to Change is a mid-tempo surfer number, in which the blues singer explains the apathetic attitudes of his generation.
In soft country folk song Stop This Train, he confesses his fear of ageing by crooning, 'So scared of getting older, I'm only good at being young'.
But what truly makes Mayer an outstanding musician is his super guitar skills. He is one of the few guitarists of his generation who can play the guitar music of Stevie Ray Vaughan and Jimi Hendrix, and actually play it well.
His cover of Hendrix's classic Bold as Love is proof of these crafted guitar skills.
Mayer is on the right track with Continuum. All he has to do from now on is to steer away from crowd-pleasing, sappy love songs.
