Is Mayer overrated?

Frizer

I think he’s really gone to another level as a guitar player since he started doing the Dead and Co. tours. If you don’t like his solo stuff go check it out. 

Lodious

Objectively - A superb player and skilled songwriter who has also dated some amazing women and made a successful career of playing guitar. 

Subjectively - A smug copy and paste machine who's music does nothing for me whatsoever. His vocals sound like they come from a vocal plugin with the 'weary sensitive male' slider set to 120% and sung with the sole purpose of getting into Gweneths / Jennifers / whoever's panties. His music has none of the qualities which make great pop music great, rock music great or jazz music great. It's just musical landfill produced for people who find the Lighthouse Family too edgy. He is significant to music in the same way IKEA bookcases are significant to furniture.*


* Probably all just repressed jealously on my part. 

Roysterdoyster

Lodious said:

Objectively - A superb player and skilled songwriter who has also dated some amazing women and made a successful career of playing guitar. 

Subjectively - A smug copy and paste machine who's music does nothing for me whatsoever. His vocals sound like they come from a vocal plugin with the 'weary sensitive male' slider set to 120% and sung with the sole purpose of getting into Gweneths / Jennifers / whoever's panties. His music has none of the qualities which make great pop music great, rock music great or jazz music great. It's just musical landfill produced for people who find the Lighthouse Family too edgy. He is significant to music in the same way IKEA bookcases are significant to furniture.*


* Probably all just repressed jealously on my part. 

If you’re not a music journalist or writer, you should be! Proper lols (even though I love Mayer meself)

soma1975

I go along with that. Quite like watching him live (on video) but his songs are for the most part something you expect Boyzone to be singing.

Barnezy

Finally some alternative views.

I do like listening to him, when I'm in the mood. There was about 2 months when he was all I listened to. 

I started to go off him when I watched the SRV documentary on Prime. I realised then that Mayer is pretty much a more commercial aware SRV ripoff. He even performs in a similar way on stage. I knew Mayer was a big SRV fan but it just highlighted to me how unoriginal he is and hence why I don't believe he warrants the legend status so many give him. Once the SRV ripoff became clear on his blues stuff  I started to hear others in all his playing. 

It's one thing to be able to play like SRV or Hendrix, it's another to be the first to do it. 

Barnezy

menamestom said:

Barnezy said:

Danny1969 said:

I think he's incredibly skilled .... try playing Heart of Life or Stop this Train with the effortless technique he does and then sing flawlessly over the top. 
Personally I find Hendrix, Clapton and SRV over rated in comparison and I'm not even a JM fan .....just someone who knows what he's actually doing on some songs and how difficult it is !

Is he as skilled as these guys? 

Apples and oranges really.

Maybe you need to hear Tommy Emmanuel playing John Mayer to appreciate how good John Mayer is.

I'm not even a massive fan of JM, and having loved SRV when I was younger, I'm now much less interested in the texas blues thang.  But Mayer has managed to use those skills for his own style and has put some beautiful guitar pieces together - instantly recognisable, original compositions.  These sound nothing like Hendrix, SRV, Clapton etc.

I'm confused, why does this prove how good JM is? This is a much more complex version of Neon with Tommy adding the vocal melody over the top.

robinbowes

Barnezy said:

I'm confused, why does this prove how good JM is? This is a much more complex version of Neon with Tommy adding the vocal melody over the top.

It's soooo complex, it sounds like a completely different song!

Barnezy

robinbowes said:

Barnezy said:

I'm confused, why does this prove how good JM is? This is a much more complex version of Neon with Tommy adding the vocal melody over the top.

It's soooo complex, it sounds like a completely different song!

He gives it more gravity

menamestom

Barnezy said:

I'm confused, why does this prove how good JM is? This is a much more complex version of Neon with Tommy adding the vocal melody over the top.

TE obviously appreciates his song writing craft or he wouldn't cover the song.  It's a high form of praise when you have your song covered by respected artists.  TE has also said JM was one of his favourite younger players.  He probably doesn't form into the trap of comparing everybody based on their blues playing skills.

I've no issue with John Mayer being called overrated, It's just frustrating when people start threads like this and their only metric of somebody's talent is how they compare to Clapton/SRV/Page etc.  It's a tired old comparrison that totally misses the songwriting angle. Innovtion is moving music forward, not looking back and comparing people to a narrow band of blues/rock players.

Barnezy said:

Finally some alternative views.

I do like listening to him, when I'm in the mood. There was about 2 months when he was all I listened to. 

I started to go off him when I watched the SRV documentary on Prime. I realised then that Mayer is pretty much a more commercial aware SRV ripoff. He even performs in a similar way on stage. I knew Mayer was a big SRV fan but it just highlighted to me how unoriginal he is and hence why I don't believe he warrants the legend status so many give him. Once the SRV ripoff became clear on his blues stuff  I started to hear others in all his playing. 

It's one thing to be able to play like SRV or Hendrix, it's another to be the first to do it. 

And SRV was a more commercial aware Albert King/Hendrix rip off

darthed1981

imalrightjack said:

Hang on, let me grab the greatnessometer. Hang on, it died when measuring Bonamassa.

There is one you can buy that has a "tired blues bore" setting down below zero just for those occasions.

BeardyAndy

"He does some good pop songs"

You answered your own question!   

stickyfiddle

menamestom said:

Barnezy said:

I'm confused, why does this prove how good JM is? This is a much more complex version of Neon with Tommy adding the vocal melody over the top.

TE obviously appreciates his song writing craft or he wouldn't cover the song.  It's a high form of praise when you have your song covered by respected artists.  TE has also said JM was one of his favourite younger players.  He probably doesn't form into the trap of comparing everybody based on their blues playing skills.

I've no issue with John Mayer being called overrated, It's just frustrating when people start threads like this and their only metric of somebody's talent is how they compare to Clapton/SRV/Page etc.  It's a tired old comparrison that totally misses the songwriting angle. Innovtion is moving music forward, not looking back and comparing people to a narrow band of blues/rock players.

Barnezy said:

Finally some alternative views.

I do like listening to him, when I'm in the mood. There was about 2 months when he was all I listened to. 

I started to go off him when I watched the SRV documentary on Prime. I realised then that Mayer is pretty much a more commercial aware SRV ripoff. He even performs in a similar way on stage. I knew Mayer was a big SRV fan but it just highlighted to me how unoriginal he is and hence why I don't believe he warrants the legend status so many give him. Once the SRV ripoff became clear on his blues stuff  I started to hear others in all his playing. 

It's one thing to be able to play like SRV or Hendrix, it's another to be the first to do it. 

And SRV was a more commercial aware Albert King/Hendrix rip off

Yes so much of this. 

Clapton hasn’t done anything interesting for 30+ years, BB didn’t do anything interesting for the last 40 years of his life, and SRV never wrote a single song that anyone who doesn’t play guitar cares about.

I will never understood why there is so much griping among certain musicians to determine the “best”. It’s a very human thing to want to rank and optimise and decide “bestness” but in music or art it’s really unnecessary.

fretmeister

He's mindnumbingly dull 99% of the time.

robinbowes

fretmeister said:

He's mindnumbingly dull 99% of the time.

That's entirely subjective.