Three Personalities of a Great Known for Wrong Reasons Musician or A Story Of John Mayer

When I ask people what they think of John Mayer I recognize two constantly repeating answers. The first is that he’s a great musician but to much of a pop singer and the second is that he’s great. It it’s different and the answer’s background often has to do with musical background or knowledge in music. What he really is and what we think of him is of course dependent on personal experience, but if we look behind and try to educate the unknowledgeable and not caring or if we try to explain to well educated what John Mayer is.

Mayer was originally schooled as a classical guitarist but always had a lot of love for the genre of blues. After a short time spend on Berklee College of Music in Boston, Mayer moved to Atlanta where he gained a lot roots and experience that started his early music career. He was a well known act in the nightclubs circuit of Atlanta and it was around this time that Mayer got signed by Aware Records and released his first full length album ‘Room For Squares’ with hits like ‘Neon’ and the grammy winning ‘Your Body Is A Wonderland’. It was first after his ‘Heavier Things’ in 2003 that Mayer considered his fame that big that he dared to change his concept which lead to the forming of ‘The John Mayer Trio’ in 2005.

About his past and background Mayer says following in his Live Concert/Documentary ‘Where The Light Is: Live in Los Angeles’ from 2008: ‘I come from playing guitar in alone in a room, that’s my story... I must have played alone in a room for eight years’. That’s the schooling that makes us understand the basic fundamentals of John Mayer. After his debut with the Trio where Mayer started to convey his musical roots into his music that he was making. When Mayer talks about the start of the Trio he says that it was an antidote that helped him get rid of the cornered feeling he felt that had gotten to with his pop melodies.

Shortly after the debut of ‘The Trio’, Mayer got back with his band and created ‘Continuum’ that was released in 2006. Keeping his pop sensibility, he brought on many of the influences from ‘The Trio’ and mixed it together to a mellow, blues, melodic critical success. During this time Mayer has shown us many sides of himself, an acoustic, a blues and a pop man hidden in the shy and mysterious personality of John Mayer. When Mayer talks about how he wants his career he simply says that he enjoys when you get something in your grasp, he says: ‘Once you caught it, you throw it back into the water and that’s really what I want to do my whole career’.

Mayer has pulled off everything from his own pop melodic love songs to Hendrix’s ‘Bold As Love’ and ‘Who Did You Think I Was’ including his last year acoustic cover of Tom Petty’s, ‘Free Falling’. Through all this Mayer has showed a calmer side and with his biggest hit ‘Waiting On The World To Change’, people of all musical circles always has something to say about Mayer and artists in all genres have worked with Mayer, including Hip-Hop Artist Kanye West to the blues legends Buddy Guy and B.B King.

Mayers blues influences and great interest to the world as far as politics goes is a growing subject matter for Mayer. With humor his personality has made the reputation of Mayer to be a perfectionist and sometimes a arrogant man, still inside the head of this man lies different music styles that only can be compared to the personalities of folk singer/songwriter or legend Bob Dylan. With a touch of humor Mayer claims that no one have seen all of him. Mayer likes to play with music and he is an explorer of importance as being one of few musicians bringing the heavier influences of Blues and Rock into the pop music today and as a better guitarist than singer he has really showed the basic fundamentals of being from the roots of great music pays off, he is a symbol to the instrumental, basics of learning and that’s why I choose to totally love the music of Mayer, together with his original sound, influences and depth.

The Records of John Mayer; 'Inside Wants Out' (1999), 'Room For Squares' (2001), 'Any Given Thursday' (Live), 'Heavier Things' (2003), 'Try! John Mayer Trio Live Concert' (2005), 'Continuum' (2006), 'Village Session' (2007) & 'Where The Light Is: John Mayer Live in Los Angeles' (2008).

Truth on ‘Already Free’ by The Derek Trucks Band

Vocalist and frontman of The Derek Trucks Band, Derek Trucks is fairly new to me, an in a positive way. In the companions new album ‘Already Free’ I am perfectly introduced to Derek Trucks and it’s somewhat mind blowing. ‘Already Free’ is a mix, just as claimed, Derek Trucks is as well. A mix of ‘feel good’ Rock/Rhythm & Blues with great influences from Bob Dylan, Buddy Guy and Eric Clapton. ‘Already Free’ is the bands 7th album released in a course of 12 years. According to critic’s the 2006 album ‘Songlines’ is the highlight of DTB’s discography, but I no nothing of that so I stick to ‘Already Free’, that’s what I know.

DTB is an original concept, easily mixed with great of greats and as one of few jam sessions bands in the field, the mixes between blues and rock with a touch of funk creates an original piece of music that is spiritual in a ‘feel good’ sense. The album is opened with an exceptional brilliant cover of Bob Dylan’s ‘Down in The Flood’, an open interpretation with a funky guitar and strong vocals that only reminds me of a Buddy Guy. It’s an eternal sound so spiritual that it reaches up and above what ‘Mustang Sally’ made to me in ‘The Commitments’. It’s a pure stylish concept and as the album moves forward into the transitions of track 3, ‘Maybe This Time’ and ‘Sweet Inspiration’ comes to me I sense the rhythm and blues in somewhat a ‘soulish’ way that takes me to the brilliant of Stevie Wonder.
What I realize as I listen on for the second, third and fourth time is how The Derek Trucks Band reaches somewhat an emotional explosion into all their influences, mixing it into a pure true, funky blues version of greatness. Mellow essences of rock, blues, jazz and soul are all stirred together into a original touch that makes this one of the most unique albums I’ve ever sensed to come close to me. And at it’s middle peak it’s not even close to what I am about to say. The tension of some what sweet love melody ‘Our Love’ reaches me at a perfection, it’s exploding in a softness sense into my ears and totally blows my mind.

The emotional aspects of the album is something that I take onto me as somewhat personal and with ‘Down’ Don’t Bother Me’ and ‘Days Is Almost Gone’ is brilliant companions, the music is still breathtaking and as the albums closes with album title named song ‘Already Free’ I don’t really, fully understand what this mix of greatness in music has done to me. Forget greatness on all those guys I’ve been so terribly optimistic about, The Derek Trucks Band’s ‘Already Free’ is in it’s ace of brilliance. This is not great but rather magnificent and magical in the sense that I am captured into an album that changes my night, day and hopefully tomorrow. Gloriously!

The Power of 'Dylanism' Today

During the Civil Rights Movement's in the United States during the 1960's to the 70's one of many artist but the one who made a significance in the musical scene at that time. Bob Dylan wasn't the most brilliant singer or musician but rather than that implied a fantastic participation to the political movements in his way of constructing fantastic songs. His musical talent and composing skills together with his advances political screenwriting has given the folk/rock singer/songwriter a status that have recalled him one of the best musicians of our time. Yet so few of Dylan's original recordings such as 'All Along The Watchtower' and the folk tune 'Knocking On Heaven's Door' have gained as much recognition from Hendrix and Guns N' Roses' versions of the songs. What Dylan created as a political activist during the 60's with records like 'The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan', 'Times They Are A-Changin' and 'Blonde on Blonde' is what came to signify the political folk. With him was for example singer/songwriter Joan Baez but what I would like to signify the style of Dylan's music would be the term 'Dylanism'.

 

During the 1990's the popularity of Dylan slowly died and with an uprise during the end of 90's and in the beginning of the new century with Greatest Hits Compaliations and tributes in forms of Martin Scorsese's 'No Direction Home' and the very artistic 'Not There' his popularity is yet at the status mark he once left it with. Last year Dylan released his album 'Tell Tale Signs' which is a collection of b-sides and demo's that have never been released by Dylan. When looking through the 1990's and looking back on the 60's we don't see the same categorizing as then but a much more severe political landscape with a new economical crisis and war in which the Dylanism have payed a visit to in new ways and through new voices. We have never reached the same theme but as the 90's has passed we have heard Bono U2 mantle the role as a political singer with 'How To Dismantle an Atomic Bomb' and Springsteen through his political envolvement in the John Kerry campaign 2004 and now in new elected president Barrack Obama's campaign. The releasing of 'Working on A Dream' with the track 'Working on A Dream' as a political song we can clearly see the dylanism.

Through modern acts and against the last president of the United States we have seen artists like Pink perform 'Dear Mr. President' and really been involved in a political side of the former teen age punk/rock band Green Day with their 'American Idiot' featuring 'American Idiot', 'Jesus of Suburbia' and 'We Are the Waiting' with great political impact. These are just few of many who have involved in the better political approach people hope to see with President Obama and this signifies the power of dylanism into the main goal of achievement in our late 00's which Obama struggles for and encourage people to do; Social Change and Social Transformation into a better and safer society.

U2 - One, Greenday - American Idiot and Jesus of Suburbia, Bruce Springsteen - Working on a Dream, Pink - Dear Mr. President.