The Music Note

O2 Arena, London - 13/10/2019 O2 Arena, London - 14/10/2019 Manchester Arena - 18/10/2019 On his latest tour, John Mayer took the unique approach of forgoing a support act in favour of delivering two full headline sets. This is a very exciting concept that more artists seem to be embracing. A gig without an opening act allows the artist more freedom to play what they want, while pleasing fans with a more varied setlist. In Mayer’s case, with no new album to support since 2017’s The Search for Everything , the setlist possibilities were endless, adding a further sense of excitement to this tour. With this in mind, and as a fan of Mayer’s earlier work, I attended all three UK shows with the hope of hearing more rarities from his debut album Room for Squares and its follow-up release, Heavier Things to balance out his more recent material. The first of these shows at the O2 was solid; the overall performance showcased a decent mix of Mayer’s back catalogue, though the rarities ...

John Mayer’s recent two-night consecutive run at the O2 Arena marked a long-awaited return for the musician, who last performed at this same venue three years ago. Mayer’s current tour is in support of latest album The Search for Everything – a project that was released in two gradual ‘waves’ as four-track EPs, followed by the arrival of the complete album last month. With a keener emphasis on pop and soul, the twelve tracks that comprise The Search for Everything indicate an evident shift from the folk/country sound that has dominated previous releases, Paradise Valley and Born and Raised , though the country influence still lingers in places. The Search for Everything tour is structured in a chapter format, accompanied by scenic onscreen visuals and stage lighting which provided a cinematic quality that was unlike any past Mayer gig I had attended. After opening the first of the O2 gigs with a solid rendition of ‘Heartbreak Warfare’ from 2010’s Battle Studies , Mayer and h...

Eight months after his last UK tour, John Mayer returned to London a few weeks ago, for a one-off date at the O2 Arena. Much like last year's October shows, this gig once again centred around Mayer's 2012  Born And Raised  album, along with current release, Paradise Valley . Upon entering the O2, I was curious as to how this gig would compare to the previous year's strong, but not overly spontaneous set - especially when considering the relatively short space of time that has passed since those last UK shows. Mayer opened the set with 'Queen Of California', followed by the instantly recognisable grooves of 'I Don't Trust Myself (With Loving You)' - a welcome nod to the Continuum album, refreshingly early on in the performance. These initial songs noticeably got the crowd invested in the music, all the while setting the pace for a gig that touched upon the majority of Mayer's back catalogue, including some much-yearned for early material ...

I've been meaning to compile one of these lists for a while now. A selection of songs that were my personal favourites throughout 2013, all of which feature regularly on my day to day playlists, yet still sound as fresh and innovative as the moment I first heard them. In the near two years that I have been writing this blog, I have been fortunate enough to have discovered some fantastic music from both emerging and established bands, many of which are unsigned or on independent labels. The list below features a selection of these tracks, along with key songs from more mainstream and universally recognised bands - all in all, a delightfully random mix of good songs. 'Ain't Messin 'Round' - Gary Clark Jr. On 'Ain't Messin 'Round', bright horns and momentous grooves offset perfectly against Gary Clark Jr.'s soulfully raw vocals. A furiously addictive guitar solo provides further edge to the whole structural arrangement. The track may well be the ...

The last time I saw John Mayer live was in 2010, when he embarked on his first ever UK arena tour, in support of fourth studio album - 2009's  Battle Studies . The past three years has seen Mayer undergo surgery for a throat condition, and subsequently go on to release 2012's Born And Raised , followed by Paradise Valley  just over a year later. Admittedly, I haven't been overly enthralled with any of the studio albums released since 2006's Continuum . While I feel that Battle Studies  lacks the strength and consistency of  Continuum , I viewed it as a transitional album, and envisioned that his next release would be more along the lines of a John Mayer Trio inspired studio record, or even something of a jazz-orientated genre. As it is, the last two releases have had a mostly country sound, with both albums having a more 'quiet' feel than any of his previous efforts. This is by no means a criticism, there are standout tracks on both records, particularly Born An...

After the rich, soulful sounds of John Mayer's third studio album Continuum , I was curious and perhaps slightly sceptical at the thought of an acoustic EP based on that album. Though this is due in part, to the fact that, as I have mentioned in a previous post , I prefer listening to music with a full band rather than acoustically, in the case of The Village Sessions , there were more factors which contributed to my general lack of excitement prior to its release. Firstly, I love the production on Continuum , the instrumentation holds a consistent warmth and fullness that is complimented by slick arrangements and Mayer's thought provoking lyrics, overall culminating in a soulful, solid sound that runs throughout the album. However, it was attending the live shows throughout the Continuum era (and listening to all of the amazing fan-made recordings from the tours) that gave me a fuller appreciation of the album - the songs just sounded so damn good live, arguably even better t...

Given the choice, I much prefer listening to music with a full band, compared to acoustically.  I do enjoy acoustic music, but for me it's just not the same as the excitement of hearing a full band, whether it be on a studio recording or in a live performance setting.  However, there are a few acoustic albums that I have found myself listening to a lot lately. The Silver Seas'  Chateau Revenge! - Blue Edition  is a re-recorded and instrumentally stripped down version of their original Chateau Revenge! album. What I really like about this alternative track-by-track rework of the original recording is that the majority of the songs take a refreshingly unique approach to the acoustic genre, with a fair few of the tracks sounding completely different to that of the original studio album.  This is by no means a criticism of the original album which remains my favourite release of theirs, I just think this alternative version offers some very interesting arrang...

On this day five years ago, I saw John Mayer play at the Royal Albert Hall, his second of a two night stint at the venue.  At the time, it was my third time seeing him live, and even now after nineteen shows, this still remains as my favourite ever concert of his. I had attended the first RAH show on the 17th, and though it was a great gig, I personally thought this performance on the 18th outshone the first by far.  Firstly, the atmosphere was miles better - the crowd seemed more invested in the gig, everyone was up on their feet singing along, and just generally more into the music than the first night.  I was lucky enough to be third row centre on the 18th, so being this close to the action would inevitably make for an amazing crowd atmosphere as well. However, it was the setlist and overall musicianship of Mayer and his live band that made this such a unique performance.  As Continuum had been released the previous year, Mayer's tours around this time were ...

John Mayer's 2006 album Continuum is generally regarded as being his finest work to date.  Though 2003's  Heavier Things  is my personal favourite, Continuum is a fantastically produced album, full of well crafted songs which not only demonstrate Mayer's flair for song writing, but also his undeniable talent for playing a guitar.  Whereas Heavier Things touched upon blues in places   (most notably on  Come Back To Bed ), the genre is present throughout on Continuum , backed up with elements of pop and soul. The soul influence is evident on the politically driven  Waiting On The World To Change ,   an upbeat song which made for a perfect lead single with it's catchy lyrics, complete with an even catchier middle 8 vocal breakdown and guitar solo. The political theme is also present on Belief , one of the album's strongest tracks, which is powerful both instrumentally and lyrically.  Wonderfully melodic guitar hooks are complimented w...

The official music video for John Mayer's Shadow Days was released today.  I feel it is an honest reflection of the song - the images and overall direction of the video work well with the lyrics and instrumentation.  I have found some of Mayer's previous videos to be forced and unnatural in places, but he genuinely seems to be in his element in Shadow Days.   I like it almost as much as the Clarity video. Counting down the days to  Born and Raised!

John Mayer's fifth studio album Born and Raised is to be released on 22 May. The follow up to 2009's Battle Studies is largely based on a country genre, and this is very much reflected in the first single taken from the album - Shadow Days . As a huge mayer fan, I have heard many of the tracks from live recordings and can't wait to hear what the final studio versions will sound like.  My favourite so far is Something Like Olivia, and I am beyond excited to hear the final recording of this track when the album is released. Another point of discussion is the album artwork.  I was shocked when I first saw it, as it is so different from previous album covers.  However this is not a bad thing; Mayer is an artist who is evolving musically with each album, and this artwork is a strong indication of his musical growth.