Squonk wrote
I am battling with Mayer. I love his tone and the acoustic set he does on the live album.
But the pop stuff I can't get at all, I bought a couple of the albums, far to syrupy and mainstream for me.
Even the blues trio, he has some excellent tones, but the soloing does nothing, doesn't seem to go anywhere
Eric Clapton - I am also not a big fan, although I understand the impact and the effect he had on guitar in the 60's and think for that reason just beats John Mayer to the finish line. Although I do have 24 Nights which is a good live album and I have a soft spot for "Wonderful Tonight".
Getting back to Mayer to prove my point, on the Crossroads 2010 live DVD, he does a version of "Aint no Sunshine", which John picks a lovely intro and when the Trio kick in it's rock and roll, but then the lame solo.....
Just my opinion - I am more of a Prog Rocker than a Blues fan, so I might be looking at it differently.
I hear you.
Of all his albums, I only really *love* Continuum: I think the songs themselves hit a real spot with me during a certain point of my life, and that pretty much permanently coloured my perspective in favour of that album. His other albums have some good moments, but I'm not a huge fan of the earlier stuff and the two newer albums, "Battle Studies" and "Born and Raised", both depart intentionally from the formula of "Continuum", with mixed results. Overall, still a fan, but like you I find many of his songs to be a bit contrived and saccharine. Hidden in all that stuff, though, are some real gems.
Live, his "Where the Light Is" concert in LA has been his defining performance so far (IMO) and he hasn't matched it since. Considering there is so much of "Continuum" played during that concert, it's no surprise that it's one of my favourite Live performances from any artist. The song selection is great, and the acoustic, trio and big-band sets are all top notch. The musicians in his band, like Steve Jordan, Pino Palladino, Robbie McIntosh et al are all top-flight players.
But, when all is said and done, you either enjoy the material or you don't. I've dipped a toe or two into Prog's murky waters before and every now and again I "get" it. Tends to be the more mainstream side of Prog, like "Tom Sawyer" by Rush, some of the more concept-heavy Pink Floyd stuff, tracks from Camel etc. I have to ease into this stuff, for the most part, but my tastes have broadened and I'm quite happy with that.
Thing is, whether you're talking about John Mayer or Alex Lifeson, you're talking about top rate players with an awe-inspiring skillset. You might not enjoy their music, but I don't see how you can reasonably rubbish their playing (not saying you're doing this, just generally), which happens a lot with Mayer (maybe because he's a smart-assed, womanising douche-bag a lot of the time ?).
