To: Dave
Love: Adam
Date Sent: 6/23/2020
John Mayer – Born and Raised
Release Date: May 18th, 2012
During our awesome hangout in Raleigh two weeks ago, you mentioned a conversation you had with Jesse regarding the best guitarists and you assumed it was a joke when he replied with John Mayer. But this guy is seriously insane. The dude has eight to nine albums dating back to 1999 and seemingly has earned a similar regard as Dave Matthews or Bruce Springsteen considering his extensive catalog of live performance albums. Beyond that, John Mayer now plays in the Grateful Dead, has covered Beyonce songs, enjoyed a dating history comparable to Derek Jeter, and let us not forget that Dave Chappelle endorsed him way back in the early 2000s: “A lot of Bush folks in the room.”
This album came out in 2012, apparently amidst some type of transformation for John Mayer, as you’ll be able to notice a lot of stuff on this album sounds completely different from his older projects. Now that I’ve matured a bit in terms of music, I’d offer that this may be a more modern take on some Neil Young-type music, especially heard in the first 30-60 seconds of If I Ever Get Around To Living. While there are certainly some songs we can afford to skip, the majority of the album flows nicely through a new sound of Mayer’s. Other favorites include Shadow Days, Born and Raised, Walt Grace, and Whiskey. I’m curious your thoughts on this album and can’t wait to get an album back from you!
Dave’s Reaction:
It’s official, I am not really a fan of John Mayer. I have listened to this album 3 or 4 times since you had sent it and with each listen, I am more convinced that John and I were just not meant to be. I can’t explain it. Maybe the songs just don’t jump out at me; maybe I can’t truly appreciate guitar greatness; maybe I can’t keep from associating John Mayer with this girl from high school who did nothing but talk about John Mayer. There are songs that are better than others on this album and certainly re-listenable. Queen of California almost makes it on this exclusive list, but let me frankly state that it does not. The best song for me was Walt Grace’s Submarine Test, though Born and Raised and that song about Olivia had me checking the track title each listen.
His music is still beautiful and I seem to play his albums or playlists that feature him on weekend mornings. I can’t say this is for me, but the lady likes him a lot and the kids just keep screaming for Baby Beluga. So if there is one takeaway from this email, it is that John Mayer > Baby Beluga.
The Favorites:
Adam: Walt Grace’s Submarine Test, January 1967
Dave: Walt Grace’s Submarine Test, January 1967