WT John Mayer - Heaver Things

John Mayer - Heavier Things
Audio CD (September 9, 2003)
Original Release Date: September 9, 2003
Label: Sony
Bitrate: 320 kbps

John Mayer's big-label debut was a multiplatinum breakthrough success whose sensual anthem "Your Body Is a Wonderland" scored him an unlikely Grammy for Best Pop Vocal. That out-of-the-box succes--and more than a few critics grousing that Mayer's muse was cloned from Dave Matthews--primed him for the typical sophomore slump. Instead, Mayer delivers an album whose tone and title suggests a gentle, tongue-in-cheek rebuke to his naysayers. Propelled by the subtle ambitions of an expanded pop-jazz framework (largely courtesy of Sheryl Crow/No Doubt/Jellyfish producer Jack Joseph Puig), Mayer's breathy vocal tack now suggests a detached, conflicted, and significantly less precious incarnation of Michael Franks. But, the way he weds fluid pop hooks to lyrical concerns whose self-obsessions are undercut by telling dollops of self-deprecation from the my-spirit's-too-big/smart-for-my-body laments of "Clarity," the upbeat single "Bigger Than My Body," and the bluesy plea "Come Back to Bed" to the cautionary, melodically-rich "Daughters" and even the antimaterialist agitprop of "Something's Missing should clearly draw in listeners." ~ Jerry McCulley

John Mayer is bound to stir up discussion, it seems, no matter what he does. Whether he sounds too close to Dave Matthews or whether (like here) he distances himself a bit from that sound. Whether he works on the guitar more (as in his debut) or whether he puts in more electronic elements distorting the original sound. In any case, controversy drags attention to him and it is one thing he deserves. His sound in this album is strengthened by a solid band (among others, to be found is Matt Chamberlain who's played drums for the likes of Tori Amos and Brad Meldhau) and though the lyrics might not be the deepest he's written, the album as a whole has a more original and mature feel than his debut album, which did happen to sound like a Dave Matthews ripoff more than once. Due to its variety of tempos and rhythms included in this work and the somewhat "heavier" electronic component (interestingly enough a little song tempo chart by sequence is included in the booklet!) it remindes of Clapton's 'Pilgrim' at times, such as the case with "Come Back to Bed". It is no coincidence, therefore, that he shared the Holiday Blues Revue ay NYC this past December alongside blues legends Buddy Guy and Double Trouble (the formed band of the late Stevie Ray Vaughn).

All in all, a step in the right direction, an evolution from his first album and most definitely a young artist to keep a close eye on: if he doesn't steer away from his current path, he's bound to becoming a musical legend of our times. ~ Manny Hernandez

I think that John Mayer has a very long carreer ahead. His first album brought him two Top 20 hits and a Grammy award. Now with "HAVIER THINGS" he prooves that that wasn't just fluke. The first single of this album, "BIGGER THAN MY BODY", was a great single, it maybe didn't made it very high in the charts (Peaked at #33 on Billboard's Hot 100) but he delivers a great performance. Although this album debuted at #1, it started to fall very fast. One year after, "DAUGHTERS" was released and made the album become Platinum x2 and climb the charts while the song also was also making a good impression until it brought John his second Grammy, this time for song of the year. Anyway, that's just the commercial part of the album . This album has great lyrics, production and John's performances are very good. Both his albums are great, I think that in a way he is the new version of Bruce Springsteen but with own style. Check the songs "CLARITY", "BIGGER THAN MY BODY", "SOMETHING'S MISSING", "SPLIT SCREEN SADNESS" and "WHEEL". ~ Javier Lopez

Personnel Greg:
Leisz - lap steel guitar
Jamie Muhoberac - keyboards
Steve Jordan - drums
Matt Chamberlain
John Mayer - vocals, guitar
Dan Higgins - saxophone
J.J. Johnson
David LaBruyere - bass guitar
Michael Chaves - guitar
Larry Castro - percussion
Also: Roy Hargrove, Roy Hargrove

John Mayer - Heavier Things Tracks:
01 Clarity
02 Bigger Than My Body
03 Something's Missing
04 New Deep
05 Come Back to Bed
06 Homelife
07 Split Screen Sadness
08 Daughters
09 Only Heart
10 Wheel