John Mayer? I don't get it.

DrJazzTap

I'm not a fan. Apart from hearing slow dancing in a burning room non stop in guitar stores.

ToneControl

PC_Dave said:

ToneControl said:

How good can DT play non-slide solos btw?

Very good.... very good indeed!

I'd far rather listen to Jeff Beck

I'd much rather stick screwdrivers in my ears...

exactly, it's all personal taste, and I wouldn't want to interpret one guitarist playing in one style being gobsmacked by another's style, it's part of the showmanship to pull faces anyway, and it doesn't really indicate anything we can rely on

As I say, person A might love listening to artist X all night, whereas person B may be unable to, and loves artist Y

My mate loves blues rock guitar (ZZ Top, etc), I took him to see Matt Schofield, and he really didn't  like it. But when I thought about it, Schofield plays a little bit jazzier than most blues guys, and that won't suit everyone

The other case in point is that I love Jeff Beck's playing, but he is not famous for writing loads of good tracks, these 2 skills rarely converge 

Philly_Q

ToneControl said:
As I say, person A might love listening to artist X all night, whereas person B may be unable to, and loves artist Y

My mate loves blues rock guitar (ZZ Top, etc), I took him to see Matt Schofield, and he really didn't  like it. But when I thought about it, Schofield plays a little bit jazzier than most blues guys, and that won't suit everyone

The other case in point is that I love Jeff Beck's playing, but he is not famous for writing loads of good tracks, these 2 skills rarely converge 

Absolutely.

It's diverging from the topic of Mayer, but I went to see Beck once; it was quite a while ago, but he'd already stopped using picks and developed his playing-melodies-with-the-whammy-bar style. 

For the first few tracks I was amazed.... after half an hour I was thinking oh god, I wish someone would snap off that fucking bar and put five springs and a wooden block in the back of that Strat....

All personal taste, as you say.

richardhomer

Philly_Q said:
I went to see Beck once; it was quite a while ago, but he'd already stopped using picks and developed his playing-melodies-with-the-whammy-bar style. 

For the first few tracks I was amazed.... after half an hour I was thinking oh god, I wish someone would snap off that fucking bar and put five springs and a wooden block in the back of that Strat....

All personal taste, as you say.

I agree - I saw him on the ‘Guitar Shop’ tour. THE loudest gig I’ve ever attended - I’ve had tinnitus in my right ear since. A technical tour-de-force - but after a bit I wanted ‘a lot’ less technique - and ‘a lot’ more music....

Bucket

Been listening to John Mayer all day, actually. Went for a long walk and got through the whole of Room For Squares, Heavier Things (which I'd not heard in its entirety before), Continuum and Where the Light Is. Some forgettable stuff but plenty of fantastic moments. I saw someone say that his playing lacks spontaneity - as far as the records go, I can see where that comes from, but you may be interested in 2:40 onwards here:

Alterlifeson

I seem to be in the minority but I really rate his latest album, wasn't that bothered about the 2 that preceded it. Sure its not Continuum all over again, but surely thats a good thing, he'd get people saying he can't do anything else if he didn't change.

Check out 'In the Blood' and 'Never on the Day' or even 'Changing' for some tasty guitar work.

Jez6345789

I cant see what is not to get about JM.
I am not a raging fan boy but I have seen him a few times over the years and in the early days as a support in the US and with Clapton.  He is better live than some of the poppy records would appear as the playing can get lost to the sugary coating. 

But in essence, he is a good player (thats from people way more learned than me) writes hits, gets to shag lots of lasses, made a few quid. What more does a successful guitarist have to do. 

As for getting him, I think the curse of most guitarists is it easy to crave evermore impressive playing that you can't play. 

Modulus_Amps

This thread: I don't get it....

lets not forget he played the solo on this

https://youtu.be/sk8Pb17pcQI?t=139

dindude

Alterlifeson said:

I seem to be in the minority but I really rate his latest album, wasn't that bothered about the 2 that preceded it. Sure its not Continuum all over again, but surely thats a good thing, he'd get people saying he can't do anything else if he didn't change.

Check out 'In the Blood' and 'Never on the Day' or even 'Changing' for some tasty guitar work.

Changing has a mighty good solo...

joeyowen

Modulus_Amps said:

This thread: I don't get it....

lets not forget he played the solo on this

https://youtu.be/sk8Pb17pcQI?t=139

As much as a love him, that solo is beyond shit 

Axe_meister

Philly_Q said:

impmann said:

I don't 'get' his music - it doesn't connect with me. I can see he clearly can play and I admire *ANY* player who can sit down and shut up, letting another musician play... and those facial expressions of "wow" sitting with Trucks etc cannot be faked. So he's got integrity too. I even like some of the guitar sounds... I just haven't heard anything that moves me.

Sorry.

I thought his reactions to Trucks actually seemed a little stagey, but I'm probably just being mean-spirited....

The comparison with Derek Trucks is an interesting one, though.  I don't particularly like Trucks' music any more than I like Mayer's - and of course it's completely different - but I definitely feel a "wow"/"not worthy" factor with Trucks which I simply don't with Mayer.

This happens. I saw Clapton and Jeff Beck at the O2. When Joss Stone came on and starter singing they both stopped twiddling and where in a of her singing

RMJ

BigBearKris

RMJ said:

Didn't know that one, thanks.

axisus

I haven't read all this thread, can't face 4 pages of talking about Mayer! For me, he's great when he focusses on playing guitar but his songwriting doesn't move me. I love the blues Trio, he really can play that stuff.

Philly_Q

Axe_meister said:

This happens. I saw Clapton and Jeff Beck at the O2. When Joss Stone came on and starter singing they both stopped twiddling and where in a of her singing

Really?  I thought those two clowns who travelled to Devon planning to murder her a few years ago had the right idea....

ToneControl

Axe_meister said:

Philly_Q said:

impmann said:

I don't 'get' his music - it doesn't connect with me. I can see he clearly can play and I admire *ANY* player who can sit down and shut up, letting another musician play... and those facial expressions of "wow" sitting with Trucks etc cannot be faked. So he's got integrity too. I even like some of the guitar sounds... I just haven't heard anything that moves me.

Sorry.

I thought his reactions to Trucks actually seemed a little stagey, but I'm probably just being mean-spirited....

The comparison with Derek Trucks is an interesting one, though.  I don't particularly like Trucks' music any more than I like Mayer's - and of course it's completely different - but I definitely feel a "wow"/"not worthy" factor with Trucks which I simply don't with Mayer.

This happens. I saw Clapton and Jeff Beck at the O2. When Joss Stone came on and starter singing they both stopped twiddling and where in a of her singing

we had this earlier on:
firstly - is a guitarist supposed to keep soloing over a vocalist?
secondly - does stagecraft allow a performer to look disinterested and bored when another performer is doing their bit?

My point? you can't read much into these scenes

Winny_Pooh

Philly_Q said:

Axe_meister said:

This happens. I saw Clapton and Jeff Beck at the O2. When Joss Stone came on and starter singing they both stopped twiddling and where in a of her singing

Really?  I thought those two clowns who travelled to Devon planning to murder her a few years ago had the right idea....

Jeez old man. Back yer box

BRISTOL86

dindude said:

Alterlifeson said:

I seem to be in the minority but I really rate his latest album, wasn't that bothered about the 2 that preceded it. Sure its not Continuum all over again, but surely thats a good thing, he'd get people saying he can't do anything else if he didn't change.

Check out 'In the Blood' and 'Never on the Day' or even 'Changing' for some tasty guitar work.

Changing has a mighty good solo...

Fun to play too

west

boogieman

joeyowen said:

For me his songwriting sets him aside. He has the perfect balance of songwriting and guitar ability.

I know better guitarists that bore me after a few songs, and better songwriters which are nice to listen to but I don't connect with musically  

He just balances the two to be a great listen, and great guitar player 

My humble opinion of course 

I agree, he hits the balance for me too. I think Guthrie Govan is a superb guitarist for instance, he’s technically probably one of, if not THE  best guitarists out there, but frankly his recorded stuff bores me to tears. I’ve got Erotic Cakes somewhere, I think I listened to it once and it’s gathered dust ever since, whereas I play John Mayer regularly.