Dischord – John Mayer Trio
Got The Blues Bad
By Jeff Leven
It would’ve been really easy for John Mayer to rewrite “Daughters” a few dozen times and complacently ride the gravy train all the way to retirement. Against that backdrop, the work of the John Mayer Trio is a gutsy call. While recording blues-in?ected songs with crack session musicians isn’t exactly career suicide, one suspects mass radio isn’t clamoring for forays into the more sophisticated (read: mediocre-selling) territory of jazz and blues.
So I for one am all for it. In fact, I think if I were in Mayer’s position, designing a signature Stratocaster and engaging in a spirited bit of Stevie Ray Vaughan worship would be just what the doctor ordered. As it turns out, the result is as impressive as the move is courageous. Mayer’s guitar chops are wholly convincing.
While the project bears his name and will undoubtedly be marketed as such, it doesn’t feel like Mayer insisted on keeping his hired guns on a tight leash (I’m looking at you, Clapton). As a genre exercise, it’s more reverent than cynical. In fact, this may well be the album that introduces some casual fans to the wonders of Austin-fried blues, which in and of itself is a karmic good deed that should earn him accolades. Best of all, one gets the sense that fun was had in the process. And you can never fault anyone for that.