Battle Studies

For John Mayer fans, this album is a familiar continuation of the work he has released throughout the decade. Although different instruments are occasionally added to the mix and various styles and influences filter in throughout, the real feature remains his guitar. The first track, "Heartbreak Warfare" opens with strings fading in followed by delayed guitar reminiscent of U2's The Edge. While these sounds may be experimental for Mayer, they seem to set the mood for the remainder of the album. Following "Heartbreak Warfare" is "All We Ever Do Is Say Goodbye," which has one of the most beautiful choruses Mayer has produced. My guess is he was listening to a great deal of Chicago as he wrote it.




Although the romantic Adult Contemporary themes prevail on the majority of the record, Mayer's sense of humor does gently poke through on the tracks "Half of My Heart" and "Who Says." On "Half of My Heart," Mayer shares the track with Taylor Swift and sings about loving someone while always looking for someone else. On "Who Says," easily one of the best, and most likely one of the most honest tracks of the album, Mayer gives a little insight to his opinion of marijuana use. The brilliant line "I don't remember you looking any better, but then again I don't remember you" repeats throughout and at the very least produces a smile every time it's heard.

For Battle Studies, the concentration is clearly on tone. There is no greater example of this than on his cover of Robert Johnson's "Crossroads." For any blues guitarist, "Crossroads" is almost a required cover, a Fender player's coming of age celebration. John Mayer's cover is significantly slower than Eric Clapton's famous rendition of the track with Cream and resembles Robert Randolph's funk infused style more than the original Robert Johnson recording, but when Mayer opts to solo, the notes are crisp, clear, and distinctly his own. Instead of showing off with notes, he maintains the respect of his followers with the sound he produces from his instrument. David Gilmour of Pink Floyd was famous for the same.

Battle Studies may not be John Mayer's greatest achievement, but it's a worthy addition to his already impressive repertoire. With many of his idols still producing music today, it's safe to say we can expect even more great things from this phenomenal guitarist and songwriter for many years to come.
Special Offers and Product Promotions

Heavier Things is the second major label studio album by singer-songwriter/guitarist John Mayer, released in 2003. Since his successful debut album, 2001’s Room for Squares, Mayer had gained popularity as a creative and thoughtful songwriter, and this characteristic shines through on Heavier Things. The title of the album itself is a subtle response to certain criticism of Mayer’s music.

Mayer returned to his solo career with 2006's Continuum, a warmly received album that saw him focusing on blues, pop, and contemporary soul. "Gravity" found modest success as a single, but "Waiting on the World to Change" proved to be the album's commercial highlight, cracking the Top 20 in February 2007 and winning a Grammy that same month. Later that year, Mayer achieved his highest-charting single to date with "Say," a song from the Rob Reiner film The Bucket List. After "Say" peaked at number 12, the song was included in a reissued version of Continuum, and it took home yet another Grammy Award (along with "Gravity") in early 2009. Following the release of a live album, Where the Light Is, Mayer once again returned to the studio in 2009, this time to record Battle Studies.

As Mayer hit the road in support of the album, his considerable talent as a lead guitarist (a skill that had been downplayed during Room for Squares) flourished, leading him to showcase several blues-influenced solos on his 2003 live album, Any Given Thursday. That same year, Mayer won his first Grammy Award for "Your Body Is a Wonderland." He returned to the Grammy ceremony two years later, this time to accept a pair of awards for "Daughters," a soulful ballad from his lucrative sophomore release, Heavier Things. Commercial and critical success notwithstanding, Mayer's interest in other genres convinced him to take a brief break from pop music, and he tested his instrumental chops by collaborating with blues artists (Buddy Guy, B.B. King, Eric Clapton) and jazz legends (John Scofield, Herbie Hancock). He also assembled the John Mayer Trio, whose bluesy rock & roll was displayed on the band's first and only release, Try!

Mayer secured a deal with Aware Records in early 2000, and recording sessions for his debut album commenced later that year with producer John Alagia, renowned for his work with Dave Matthews and Ben Folds Five. Although Inside Wants Out had been a decidedly acoustic effort, Room for Squares proved to be a more expansive affair, with several of Mayer's old songs receiving new, radio-ready arrangements. Released in 2001 by both Aware and Columbia Records, the album quickly launched Mayer's career, with "No Such Thing" and "Your Body Is a Wonderland" both becoming Top 20 hits.

Born in Bridgeport, CT, and raised in the nearby town of Fairfield, Mayer began playing blues as a teenager. By 1997, his skill on the electric guitar was enough to warrant admission into the Berklee College of Music, although Mayer dropped out after two semesters to pursue a songwriting career in Atlanta. Working alongside former classmate Clay Cook, he frequented the local coffeehouse circuit and began co-writing material that melded palatable pop/rock with unexpected flourishes. Cook and Mayer parted ways shortly thereafter, however, with Cook joining the Marshall Tucker Band's touring lineup for several years. Now a solo artist by default, Mayer recorded several of the duo's songs, packaged them alongside a handful of his own compositions, and self-released the EP in 1999 under the title Inside Wants Out.

After making his introduction as a sensitive, acoustic-styled songwriter on 2001's Room for Squares, John Mayer steadily widened his approach over the subsequent years, encompassing everything from blues-rock to adult contemporary in the process. Arriving during the tail end of teen pop's heyday, he crafted pop music for a more discerning audience, spiking his songcraft with jazz chords and literate turns of phrase. The combination proved to be quite popular, as Room for Squares went triple platinum before its follow-up release, Heavier Things, arrived in September 2003. Mayer continued to retool his sound with each album, however, moving beyond the material that had launched his career and adopting elements of rock, blues, and soul. Moreover, he partnered with legends of several genres, making guest appearances on albums by Buddy Guy, Eric Clapton, and B.B. King, while touring alongside jazz icon Herbie Hancock. Mayer also retained enough pop/rock foundation to continue his reign of the charts, making him one of the decade's most popular songwriters.