John Mayer - Heavier Things

The seasoned John Mayer fan in me wrestled with my inner cynic almost from the moment I caught wind of his new album about 4 months ago.  Well aware of the "sophomore slump" that sometimes befalls members of the entertainment community, I fretted that "Heavier Things" would be a subpar effort.  I shouldn't have worried.

3:58 pm... I put the disc in my CD player for a testdrive.  Instead of the typical JM acoustic guitar licks, I'm surprised to hear keyboards, hand claps, and... horns?  "Clarity" starts you off with a wonderful music experience that I never would have imagined even five minutes before.  Mayer's lyrics, once again simple but introspective, are coupled with bass by David LaBruyere, JM's standard guitar, and a trumpet section. A true sonic treat.

4:05 pm... After making it through "Bigger than My Body" I salivate with anticipation at "Something's Missing".  Those who bought John's live issue this February will recognize it, and I'm glad to say that the studio version captures almost all of the magic of the live 
one, complete with shuffled and revised lyrics at the tail end.  "Missing" is electrified, not just by the axes but also by the words, which detail one possibly-fictional person's quest for happiness.  A very listenable song.

4:14 pm... After grooving to the catchiness of "New Deep" I am segued straight into a ballad in 3|4 time.  The trumpet and sax make another guest appearance on "Come Back to Bed", a song with a strong melody but comparatively weak lyrics.  A very singable tune, but I felt a little empty after taking it in.  Killer guitar solo, though.

4:19 pm...  Taken by surprise again, I am treated to a solid drum line accompanied by a sparse keyboard accompaniment. "Home Life" strikes me to be about a man why just says "nay" to the rat race, but it could be taken differently. Great vocals on a track that did a lot with very little.  This was followed by "Split Screen Sadness" which sounds somewhat like "Clarity" for the first few seconds, but takes a completely different turn.  Aptly labeled as pensive, it's a bittersweet story about a man waiting for his ex-love's offer for reconciliation.

4:29 pm...  Were you waiting for a bittersweet coming-of-age song?  Here it is. :)  "Daughters" is a short ballad, accompanied by acoustic guitar and maracas, with catchy and compelling lyrics about the proverbial torch passed down from parent to child.  After an act like that, you need an upbeat number.  Unfortunately, on this record that tune is "Only Heart" which only succeeds in getting me to hit the "forward" button.

4:36 pm...  "Wheel" is the last track on the disc, which leaves it at just over 46 minutes for a total running time.  In the tradition of RFS' "St Patrick's Day", we are left with a powerful ballad, this time talking about the cycle, or wheel, if you will, of the trials of moving on after broken relationships and how they are sometimes mended.  Again, very listenable.

Overall this album is very solid with some different songwriting formulas and instrumentation, but as the listener we are no worse for the wear.  In fact, you may come away with a more rounded view of this young man's remarkable talent, and, just like other Mayer works, thinking, "I wanted to say that too."

Extra credit goes to John and the team at Ames Design for the liner notes, which are humorously laid out in a color-wheel format broken down by supposed geographic origin, body effect, BPM, etc.  Though it was somewhat short, "Heavier Things" is destined to become a "must-own" for 2003 and going into 2004.