Continuum

John Mayer’s music joins the past and the present

American singer, songwriter and guitarist John Clayton Mayer has been interested in music since his early teen ages. He started performing in bars singing other writers’ songs until once an attack of cardiac arrhythmia has influenced him so much that in one evening he wrote his first song. In the beginning young John adhered mostly the pop genre, and in 2005 decided to pursue blues and formed the John Mayer Trio. The artist gained popular very quickly; all his albums got high critical acclaims and were a commercial success as well and Grammy Award has not passed him by as well. This September the artist releases a new album Continuum, produced by himself and John Mayer Trio drummer Steve Jordan. As all John Mayer’s previous works, Continuum combines the singer’s unique pop music with the sound and sensibility of the blues. The record mostly consists of newly written creations, and there is an original cover of Jimi Hendrix’s song, and two can be found on the live version of John Mayer Trio’s album Try! The singer has recorded an album that blends his older manner of performance and the more recent blues traits, which the fans have been long expecting from him. Thus Continuum has a suitable name meaning the continuation of John Mayer’s music joining the past and the present.

Every song on Continuum is a separate story

If on John Mayer’s earlier works the tracks were correlated with each other, every song on Continuum is a separate story, deserving the listeners’ attention. All of them are devoted to the topics of broken heart, new love, joys of life and some other with a more philosophic flavor, and together comprise a great blues and pop album. The album opens with the first single Waiting On The World To Change, which has already become one of the most popular songs on the American radio stations. Refined by the elements of soul and R&B, this is a call for the society to look around and realize what’s happening in the world. I Don't Trust Myself (With Loving You) and Stop This Train are remarkable for interesting lyrics, while Gravity and Vultures are familiar to the most devoted fans from the album Try! One of the most soulful and at the same time simple tracks is The Heart Of Life, here the tune is so catchy that it seems you have known the song before you hear it. Jimi Hendrix’s beautiful blues ballad Bold As Love has not only preserved the charm and freshness of the original, but also acquired new sensual traits due to John Mayer’s deeply felt vocals, and Slow Dancing In A Burning Room is an irrefutable hit telling a sad story of a lost love. A pleasant slow rhythm and John’s plangent singing combine well on another ballad In Repair, and the closer I'm Gonna Find Another You is a slow elegiac composition about a strong spirit and surviving a lover’s betrayal.

John Mayer’s calling card

John Mayer’s third studio album has not much to surprise with, but it is by no means a disappointment. Offering the music in the best traditions of blues and pop directions, Continuum provides you with unforgettable minutes of enjoying sentimental guitars and soft percussion. The beautiful melodious ballads and mid-tempo pop compositions, refined with classic solos, have always attracted John Mayer and now they have become his calling card. Anyone who is fond of such music will definitely find Continuum a worthy piece of art, and those who have no strict tastes are sure to appreciate the album, as it deserves to be. Though John Mayer’s singing evidently sounds more feeling and his talent of guitar playing keeps evolving, the first listening of the album does not give its full picture. The catch is that the more you listen to the album the closer it gets to your heart and the more advantages you find in it. Continuum is irreplaceable at any party for most songs on it are most suitable for slow dancing and romantic confessions. It can also be a perfect accompaniment for a romantic dinner tete-a-tete and just a record that would fit greatly into collection of soulful and romantic music. And anytime you hear it, your conviction of John Mayer’s apparent talent is going to grow deeper.