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Paradise Valley

John Mayer | Paradise Valley

Label:  Columbia
Release Date: August 20, 2013
Rating:  4.5 out of 5
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August 18, 2013
By Alan Ho
Last year's Born and Raised (review link) was the end result of what was virtually a journey that started back in 2005 (when he started the John Mayer Trio and went down the blues path) with 2006's Continuum and 2009's Battle Studies.  He clearly wanted to leave his Top 40-style pop/rock past and reembrace the inner Steve Vai, James Taylor and Stevie Ray Vaughan and combine it with the heavy helping of bluegrass-inspired country folk he was exposed to growing up in Connecticut.  And after what was a very tumultuous 2012 with throat surgeries sidelining his tour, his on-again, off-again, going strong-again relationship with Katy Perry and trying to complete his new album, we see once again where Mayer wants to be known for ultimately in his aformentioned new album Paradise Valley.

In typical Mayer fashion, which has always been replete with irony, the album title itself is ironic since the song material, both in lyrics and in its powerful, yet understated musicality is generally anything but a paradise.

The album begins with a big surprise. "Wildfire" is a too-short but highly promising 88 seconds of pure bliss, about as paradise as the entire album ever goes as the highly talented Frank Ocean singularly lends his surprisingly rootsy vocals to the quick start (the song is reprised in its full form later on in the album, which again is as off-the-cuff Mayer goes as he turns the original blissful, raw opening into a classic country, stomp your feet, line dancing, hand-clapping number).  Opening track "Dear Marie" takes Mayer's career-long lyrical sensitivity and subtle profoundness and combines it with the bluesy-folk path he has been forging for the last seven years...it works very well, perhaps even masterful in its execution. The middle of "Dear Marie" is a must listen because after all these years, the dude really knows how to handle an electric guitar!

"Waitin On The Day" is one that may find its way on to the radio at some point, if this is a piece that Mayer concocted to try to land on the dial again. But like the previous track, the middle is a must listen, if only to close your eyes and just imagine Mayer strumming that electric!

"Paper Doll" was the first single released officially and if "Waitin'" was not radio-friendly enough, then "Paper" definitely has the radio feel to it. He harkens a little bit back sonically to Heavier Things and mixes with the loopy guitar loops used liberally in Continuum. However, as sunny and breezy "Paper" is on a sonic level, the lyrics are clouded in a subtle darkness and even some bite, which adds to its complex mystery and mastery. He definitely seems to be writing about a certain former collaborator, but we'll leave that up to you, the listener on that part.

"Call Me The Breeze" puts a modern spin (maybe even a California beach take?) on classic rock n' roll and when we mean classic rock n' roll, we are talking about Elvis, Chuck Berry, Little Richard...the guitar licks and solos throughout the piece is just awesomely masterful. Love John or not, he knows how to use an electric guitar and draw you in with it. One can argue, his electric playing is better than his acoustic playing and "Call Me" will not end that argument.

"Who You Love" will be a song everyone will be talking about this year and likely beyond. It will eventually make its way to radio...about as relatively pop as it will get on the album outside of "Paper Doll." But it will be Katy's vocals that will be the talk of the single, because it will be unlike anyone who has followed her since she made the transition from mild Christian pop star to mainstream pop superstar has ever heard. She is surprisingly and refreshingly stripped down, comparatively smoother than her normally boisterous rasp. You have to listen to believe it! Of course, the ending of the song is a nice, cute touch from Katy.

The album returns to a more solitary but yet big feeling in next track "I Will Be Found (Lost at Sea)," where lyrically he gets into his inner McCartney/Lennon but reestablishes the subtle folksy charm from the opening half of the album.  Very interesting track. 

"You're No One 'Til Someone Lets You Down" will throw listeners a bit for a loop as he reaches into his never-heard before inner country boy but instead of making it his own, seems like he falls into a somewhat cliched take on what put country boys like Billy Ray Cyrus, Conway Twitty, Kenny Chesney (early on) and Alan Jackson on the map as country superstars.

However, it is "Badge and Gun," where he finds strength in his inner country boy, or more appropiately his inner Johnny Cash and Hank Williams (Sr.). John, like Cash and Williams can spin lyrics into pure poetry and in "Badge," Mayer does exactly that...in a far much more understated classic country charm. Outside of "Wildfire," "Badge and Gun" may be the best track on Paradise.

The album ends on that understated country charm, but this time adds a good amount of the folk charm from the first half with the result being closing track "On The Way Home." It has a real Bob Dylan-like feel; harmonica is a very nice touch and an excellent way to close out a well-rounded album.

It appears that John Mayer has finally found his home after starting his career off as a lovelorn troubadour with "Room For Squares" in 2002 with 2013's Paradise Valley. Deep down inside, he was always the complex, guitar-picking and playing, bluesy-folk-country singer-songwriter that grew up on Dylan, on Taylor, on Ray Vaughan. While he has a few songs that could make its way to pop radio, especially "Who You Love," his strongest suit appears to now be when he is going away from that commercial gloss and gets comparatively unconventional.
Facebook Comments: Keep 'em clean folks!
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