Flap Jackson 2008-02-20
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After his excellent debut album Mayer decided to stick with a proven formula, or should I say, the label decided to stick with a proven formula. The result is not Mayer's best effort, and not even close to it. Yet, this guy is so good, it still gets 5 stars.
First off, is "Clarity," a soft rock song that's simple musically, but complex lyrically. Supposedly, it's Mayer's first thoughts when waking up one morning. "Bigger Than My Body" makes for sense when combined with the previous track (How much does Mayer weigh times his body? Three times.) The song is a great upbeat song which also continues the theme of "No Such Thing" from the last album, and overall makes for an awesome song.
"Come Back To Bed" is most evident style change of the many moods of Mayer, it's also the most unexpected, Country Music. That's right, Mayer makes a song that would be a hit on country radio. This version is a little obscure about it, but if you watched/listened to CMT Crossroads with Mayer and Brad Paisley, then you'd wouldn't know what to think. "Home Life" on the other hand is not another country song like you might think, but instead has a funky style all its own. Either way, a surprisingly good song, with good beats.
"Only Heart" is a good song, except for the fact that it's just a little bit too radio-friendly, and I'm surprised it wasn't a single, however, it probably didn't have the time with the next song. "Daughters" is pretty much what it is, you've probably heard the song, you might think it's sappy, sweet, or just plain weird. Mayer himself isn't a fan of the song, and thought it was too radio-friendly, too poppy. But nope, the record label put it out as a single, which did win Grammy's, but Mayer didn't care. That right there shows what Mayer is made up as an artist. He isn't in it for the money, he's in the game for the music. The song could also be argued as what turns Mayer's style around with his next album.
For the highlights, "New Deep" is a great musical number, with lyrics being about searching for that something that's missing, continuing the theme from the previous song. But the chorus really shines here, while the verses are good, they're building up to the impressive chorus that delivers in true Mayer style, with a little pop added in for good measure. But the true highlight of the album is "Something's Missing," one of Mayer's choices for a single rather than "Daughters." With this song, the verses take a backseat to the light but impressive chorus, and the amazing riff and music Mayer plays on his Fender Stratocaster/Telecaster hybrid. As Mayer said, "I want that, and everything related to that."
Overall, I would say a tie with his debut. They're both what Mayer calls "Mixtapes" and they both have a distinctive pop sound to them. Although they have their highlights, they're not exactly groundbreaking, or maybe not the most original in the world. That being said, nobody does it better. Mayer is a true talent that would have been considered a god in another time. Let's all embrace his music today, and enjoy the melodies he's created.
