(Columbia)
This one's for the haters. So the majority of John Mayer's fan base is screaming 15-year-old girls.??So he makes stupid faces when he performs.??So he's been rumored to be somewhat egotistical.??It is a shame that he is judged by these things when he really has a lot more to offer than his boyish good looks and romantic lyrics. If Mayer should be appreciated for one thing it should be his raw musical talent.??He briefly attended Berklee School of Music before leaving to focus on performing, and his new live album proves his diversity and talent as a musician.??
Recorded last summer at Oak Mountain Amphitheater in Birmingham, Ala., Any Given Thursday offers a side of John Mayer that isn't accessible on his studio albums.??Many songs, including \3X5"" and ""Why Georgia"" begin with some improvisational guitar riffs and matching new lyrics.??The highlights of the set are the previously unreleased songs and the impressive covers, namely The Police's ""Message in a Bottle."" This cover as well as his rendition of ""Lenny"" by Stevie Ray Vaughn unveils his musical influences and unique talent.??In fact, Mayer recently won a Grammy for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance, beating out a lot of tough competition including, ironically, Sting.
Admittedly, there are times on the album when Mayer should keep his mouth shut and focus on what he's good at: the music.??Saying ""this song is about girly parts"" before ""Your Body is a Wonderland"" doesn't exactly help eradicate his unlikable image.??But personality aside, Thursday proves Mayer's abilities as a singer-songwriter, and he should at least be respected for that.
(Latest Flame)
This Illinois-bred foursome (who have garnered so many comparisons to Built To Spill that they must be tired of it by now) have made a minor splash on campus radio with their song ""I Love My Canoe,"" a cheeky, finely-crafted rocker. One might pick up this, their third full-length release, expecting more of the same--a kind of indie-novelty song compilation. Although a few songs like ""You Stay Here I'll Go Get Help"" and the Ben Folds-esque ""Nancy"" capture the quirkiness and summer-fun of their canoe ode, the album is mostly imbued with an unexpected sensitivity.
Most of the lyrics are very simple, standard romantic, devotional sentiments, with the exception of some of their more non-sequitur lines in songs like ""Albatross"" (""Smilin'/ There's an albatross in your eyes/ As I stand there, once/ Bike-lessly""). In the case of ""Work,"" lyrics like ""Work as hard as you can/ Earn your way/ Find someone to come home to at the end of the day"" are pure clich??. But this album's draw isn't in its lyrics or even in its wonderful harmonies; it is in the musicianship. Penturbia is a spacious 50 minutes long without merely needlessly repeating riffs to pad it. The album is instead full of beautiful diversions; a song will seem to wander away from its original intent into surprising new territory (including an almost psychedelic interlude in ""Understanding Traffic""). Troubled Hubble's ""diversions"" are filled with warm and beautiful guitar work (and the occasional violin), and the ultimate effect is that the sublime instrumental sections, like the intro to ""Airplanes,"" express the band more honestly and vividly than their words ever could. It becomes less novelty-song goofy and more sweetly idiosyncratic.
Penturbia is the kind of album you'll want to listen to in a car with friends on a warm, sunny day in July while driving down an open stretch of road. The disc sounds great now, but it will undoubtedly be even more fun in the summer months.
