Rating:  -
This is the CD that took me out of a downward spiral from the state of music. At the point of release of this CD music was in a repeat mode for me...everything was kinda the same and i didn't really care for a lot of it. I heard a couple of cuts off this CD and I was cured! This cat is about as good as anybody out today. I love his lyrics and his guitar playing has only improved thru the years. Classic sophmore-ish style of lust with Your body is a wonderland..."why Georgia" is a great song...i really don't give a damn about what some editorial reviewer personal grudge is...man,Ricky, did John Mayer kick your dog or what bro! It sounds as if you were bullied by him in the 3rd grade and you're finally offered your chance at "REVENGE!"...mellow bro, go on a date and get out of the house...No such thing, NEON,Why Georgia, and Wonderland offer up some of the best in Adult contemporary tunes today. I just re-purchased this CD this month because it's just good...no fancy words or clever put downs...i like this CD...a lot! This White boy with soul is one bad guitar playing fool!
Rating: -
I don't write many reviews and they are always short but the editorial review posted for this alum is just not right. John Mayer is a genius and to have that text come up everytime searches out this album on Amazon, well it's very misleading and wrong. The album is unbelievable but the only way to know this is to gamble your $10 and find out for yourself. Then you can move on to the other greats like side two of "Any Given Thursday" (breathtaking) and of course, "Heavier things" and "Continuum" - both fantastic!!
Rating: -
I would say like most this album being his first is his best. I really get caught in it.
Rating:  -
Usually I can't be bothered to log into my account here at Amazon and write a review, but here's why I am today:
1. I really like John Mayer (especially because I'm a fan of Stevie Ray Vaughan).
2. The featured critic on Amazon's site missed the target and hit the dirt.
This is a solid, durable record. The guitar work is good, and the production is good. It has stood up to time since its release in 2001 (seven years ago), and it's complex enough to have not made my ears weary of it.
To address Rickey Wright's critique (if it can be called that, with its personal editorializations), John Mayer's lyrics are reflective, humorous, and wistful, and they are more intelligent than most pop you're going to hear on the radio. They are obviously snapshots of his life, at that time. Being a fellow songwriter, I can appreciate that. Rickey Wright says, "instead of whining about a discarded lunch box ("83"), dude, learn to brown-bag it the way the rest of us did." I'm not sure what chip RW is carrying around on his or her shoulder, but I don't interpret the lyrics as whining. In the context of the song, Mayer is reflecting on how his life has changed since he was a child. Sure, it's not one of the deepest songs on the album, but there is some truth in there, and that's what makes this whole record solid. Look past the veneer and pop hooks (which are almost essential to being a successful artist these days), and you'll find nuggets that make you think or feel or remember. (Or don't look past the surface, and just enjoy a fine recording.)
Again, this was a snapshot in time, and it's what John Mayer had to say. That's what songwriting is about. If you're going to bring your baggage into it, that's what you're going to hear. If you listen with an open mind, you might hear more than the song is saying on the surface.
-r
P.S. John Mayer is obviously influenced by Stevie Ray Vaughan. It's in his voice and his guitar licks, and it's so nice to hear Stevie's influence still ringing through today. If you want something more dedicated to the blues, check out Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble.
Kudos to you, John Mayer, and God bless ya, Stevie.
Rating: -
For most great artists, the debut is a monkey you can't get off your back. It's not that it's a bad album, just not up to the standards of their later and greater work. John Mayer himself considers this album and Heavier Things more of a mix-tape, a time in his career when he had to break out and say look at me, here's my best. There's no clear theme, just the best of what he had at the time. He also looks back on his early work as too much him, not about the music, a time where he just sang constantly, and wouldn't let the music speak for itself. The change is most evident in "83," a song about the joy of childhood and a longing to go back to that time. An excellent theme that everybody has felt, and he brings it out amazingly well. However, if he had written the song today, it would have been even better. So the last minute or so when he longs for his lunchbox would probably be axed in favor of the music itself.
So taking the album as/is, and not comparing it to his later work, the album is an amazing little pop album. Another interesting this is the lack of electric guitar, and heavy use of acoustic instead. This is evident in the opening part of "No Such Thing," which is great opener to the album, and to an amazing career. Electric guitar still pops up in songs like "Neon" "Love Song For No One" and "Back To You." Wonderland also has an amazing electric solo in the middle of it.
"My Stupid Mouth" has the simplistic theme of talking too much, and getting yourself in trouble. Pretty simple, but still a good song. What's most surprising is that the theme carries into "Your Body Is A Wonderland" when Mayer sings, "I'm never speaking again." Which is what he says in the previous song. From just hearing the song on the radio, you'd never know this, but when you listen to the album, you pick up on the mastery of Mayer's work.
With all of this amazing music, it's hard to pick favorites, but two tracks stand out on a whole other level from the rest of the songs. "St. Patrick's Day" is an amazing song that has a mood beaming with love and hope. The song is an instant classic, and could fit right into a hundred movies. "Why Georgia" on the other hand is on a whole different level because of its lyrics. A song about the quarter-life crisis is both as relevant as it is good. And when the chorus arrives, something unexplainable happens. Is it genius? Maybe... Mayer has also said he loves playing the song, because it's then he knows he's not the only one asking these questions, when you have a whole crowd full of people singing, "Am I living it right?" There's something there, and this album relates to people on a whole other level.
Overall, while not as impressive as Continuum, it's still an amazing album, and the start of the best artist of our time. An instant classic that's great on so many levels, it's hard to count. Mayer does not deserve the title of a "Dave Matthews Clone," that's a downright insult to the amazing genius that takes place on this album.
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