John Mayer doesn’t need this review to get his name out. It seems that a significant number of people – enough to fill Chicago’s House of Blues two times over – already like him just fine.
They like his new CD, Room For Squares, because of Mayer’s dead-ringer Dave Matthews vocal impression, for his use of Matthews’ signature edition Martin acoustic guitar and because Mayer lifts hooks and chord changes from old Sting and Seal records so seamlessly, you’d think he had come up with them himself.
Room For Squares also moves units on account of its hit-making production team. For his producer, Mayer has hired John Alagia, the knob-twiddler of choice for O.A.R., Vertical Horizon and … you guessed it – Dave Matthews himself. Mixing the album is Jack Joseph Puig, who’s made a name glossing songs by Better Than Ezra, Tonic, the Verve Pipe and Huey Lewis.
To break up the potential monotany of what’s essentially a Sting outtakes album, Mayer adds Wurlitzer, vibraphone and “jingle bells” to go with the obligatory strings and mellotron. Listen carefully, though. These instruments tend to get lost in the din of acoustic guitar and vocals.
The album artwork features a periodic table imprinted on the CD itself. Here Mayer draws on the ambiguous “chemistry” motif established by industry pioneers Semisonic and Bush. Another selling point? Apparently.
Lyrically, the album is more “Crash Into Me” than “Ants Marching.” Actually, it’s more like R&B. Check out these lines from “Your Body Is A Wonderland,” the album’s second single according to Columbia Records’ marketing plan: “You want love? We’ll make it / Swimming a deep sea of blankets.” And then: “Damn baby / You frustrate me / I know you’re mine all mine all mine / But you look so good it hurts sometimes.” The Onion’s Smoove B could not have said it better himself. Maybe he’s the one buying all the records.
But let’s not get carried away. John Mayer isn’t the only person in the world who likes Dave Matthews and Sting’s Brand New Day. A lot of other people do as well, and if you’re one of them, you owe it to yourself to hear Room For Squares. It’s certainly more consistent than recent Dave Matthews material, though the flip-side of that is that most of the songs sound the same. Mayer’s rhythm section of drummer Nir Z and bassist David LaBruyere drives Room for Squares and creates some fine nuances beneath those all-too-familiar lead vocals. But let’s face it: You’d be buying this album for the vocals, not in spite of them.
At this point you probably have a good sense of John Mayer. If recent Dave Matthews leaves you wanting more and deep down inside, you know you like Better Than Ezra and Semisonic, by all means buy this album and see John Mayer live at the House of Blues. But if you’re decidedly turned off at this point, avoid this album by all means and look into becoming a smarmy music critic. nyou
