blackstar40's Full Review: Continuum by John Mayer (Adult Alternative)
There’s something terribly ironic about John Mayer. I confess; I’ve always had a tendency to muddle him around with Jack Johnson and / or Ryan Cabrera before now because of what he basically stands for – something the charming radio fare called ‘Daughters’ last year did nothing to improve – but at last, someone in this little niche of inoffensive music has put out an album that stands on its own, and needs no scrutiny to point out ‘Single filler chump coming here!’ or ‘Wise adult soft-rock love song airing now!’ Continuum is it.
Let’s be honest. While everything about music and politics is in turmoil and needs something with about the dosage of a Slayer album to make any sort of dent in it, this solo singer-songwriter, armed with little more than his gentle artistic palette, talks forlornly and in a state of utter relaxation about conflict, tension, and the emptiness it all brings. He does this without a half-assed comedic slant (Jack Johnson) or as an afterthought (Johnny Rzeznik), and he also greatly mixes it up with a handful of genre-flirting that many have already delightfully pointed out. It’s blues! It’s soul! It’s soft-rock! It’s folk! It’s jazz! It’s pop! All things taken into account though, Continuum is not political, nor is it contemporary; the best way to describe it is sentimental. I can’t think of decent hit-making material here, i.e. something the masses can flock to with a really memorably tune, but no matter: it’s better digested as a whole.
Anyone who thinks he’s sold out from aforementioned media attention need only refer to eclectic six-minute (!) ‘In Repair’ to restore his credibility to the max. Slow and free-flowing might be the two keywords you’d use to describe it, with lazy drum arrangements and acoustic flickers; but despite the campy melody John Mayer is in soft command of his airy, breezy falsetto, plus a typical expected guitar solo which fluctuates at the 3:30 mark, then bends back into spacey mood music like nothing happened.
The soundscape, while as carefree as the selection of music you might choose for a ‘hot summer’s day,’ is also diverse. Fluxed-out as they are, these songs have a casual drive to them – it’s not like they go nowhere from there. So, I can forgive happy-go-lucky jingle ‘Waiting on the World to Change,’ an oddly soothing pop song with blasts of brass, because it’s a basic representation of what Continuum is all about. I’m against labeling any track a standout track, but ‘Vultures’ would have to be one – there would be little tone to separate each smidgeon of guitar, percussion, and bass, respectively, if it were an instrumental, but the fact that it’s built on simple arrangements only puts a darker branding on the fluent vocal delivery, where the exponentially uplifting high-pitch and some graceful lyricisms save the show. The reflective ‘Slow Dancing in a Burning Room’ is a cerebral take on breakup and love – if you think previous work Heavier Things but on steroids you wouldn’t be far off. Don’t let his passive voice deceive you, he’s actually bubbling with traditional-style emotion just waiting to jump out at you!
If there’s one thing Continuum can confirm, however, it’s that guitars are better. ‘Belief’ is a rollicking number with a straight snare beat that’s quite touching in the way it reaches out. It finds Mayer, backed by an orchestra of his own voices, singing ‘We’re never going to win the world / We’re never going to stop the war / We’re never going to stop this if belief is what we’re fighting for’ in a way that’s more affecting than U2’s upright politicalness. ‘Stop This Train,’ penned purely about the realization that life marches on, is the midway backwash of third-time-around acoustic songwriting. Ever maintaining the vital feel-good notion, ‘Heart of Life’ has a motif so damn like Melanie’s 70s hit ‘Brand New Key,’ it wouldn’t be surprising to learn that John had been catching up on a little folk history, and it progresses nicely on that tinned nostalgia. Cut might be too big a word to describe it, as it’s little more than what should be a novelty demo encouraging people to keep their chins up, but somehow it was able to find the sweet, lubricated perfection (Mayer’s voice is effortless once again) it needed to wriggle its way into this set.
Continuum peters out somewhat in its late second half. ‘I Don’t Trust Myself (With Loving You),’ which clocks it in fairly early, is a reinvented John Mayer swallowed by twinkles and washes of white noise, but that’s all that keeps it alight, as opposed to phrases like: ‘Who is it you love / Me… or the thought of me?’, although it is interesting to entertain, however briefly, a songwriter of his status having a conversation with himself. The last three tracks carry over the love songs – never mind that one or two of them are from his Try! compilation last year. ‘Bold As Love’s title says it all – earthy proclamations borrowed from Jimi Hendrix over offhand strumming. As for the monster piano power ballad ‘Dreaming With A Broken Heart,’ well, no one can deny he’s trying to sound ponderous conveying statements including ‘When dreaming with a broken heart / Waking up is the hardest part’ like they actually mean something. But if that could pass as comfort music, ‘I’m Gonna Find Another You’ is even worse and more torturous. Continuing the shebanging of soul on the Continuum bandwagon, it drags out the details and misspoken values of an apparently painful split until, simple as ever, the album closes on a brushed-up cadence of vocals and guitar – but this is the only time that the guy at the wheel seems anything less than larger than life, and we really don’t wanna hear that.
‘Gravity,’ spaced out as such, is one that comes under the problem of being overly diffused and vague in its message. All that Continuum needs to make it work is a balance – fortunately for crooner Mayer, most of the time it is done right; here, it’s not. But feeling the warmth in the slow, almost void of speed or tension set-ups is arguably the marrow of the album. The only criticism you can level at the disc is that it’s pretentious and that you need to be in one mood to appreciate it. But these simple songs about belief and cheeriness, which show a maturity in Mayer’s lyrical skills, all sink in. The relaxation all comes through on the listen. And why does that have to be a bad thing? It may be, as some have said, making big statements if you get out the booklet and look at the lyrics, but beneath the hair style and the guitar, there’s a guy who is amply settled in what he’s doing. And as long as that much is true of his third album -- you go, guitar guy.
(members in bold may be of some interest to you)
1. Waiting on the World to Change
2. I Don’t Trust Myself (With Loving You)
3. Belief
4. Gravity
5. The Heart of Life
6. Vultures
7. Stop This Train
8. Slow Dancing in A Burning Room
9. Bold As Love
10. Dreaming With A Broken Heart
11. In Repair
12. I’m Gonna Find Another You
With any trilogy, says John Mayer, the third in the series blows it open. On Continuum the singer/songwriter/guitar slinger meets that challenge head-...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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