Since his debut album, Room for Squares, took the top 40 charts by storm in 2002, John Mayer has been working to convince us that he’s not a pre-packaged teeny bopper heartthrob, but rather an accomplished blues musician, singer-songwriter and all-around student of music. He made strides toward this goal with his sophomore release Heavier Things, but with Continuum, his third studio album to date, Mayer fully accomplishes that goal. He establishes himself as a musical genius and there is no looking back.
The album was released on the heels of several collaborations with blues greats like B.B. King, Buddy Guy and Eric Clapton, as well as a successful blues side project, the John Mayer Trio, which was started as a lark to provide Mayer with an outlet for his blues expertise - a side project that resulted in a Grammy nomination.
Possibly because of these sidelines, Mayer finally sounds like he has nothing left to prove in Continuum and consequently proves himself worthy of the highest accolades. The album is eminently listenable - its consistently warm, likeable tone begs for endless re-listens. But it is Mayer’s restraint as a producer that provides the final polish on an already-excellent album - the sound is uniformly warm and intimate, like listening to analog in a digital world.
The album opens with the unbelievably hooky “Waiting on the World to Change”, a Curtis Mayfield-in-the-70s-sounding throwback anthem reinterpreted through the lens of digital age ennui. It became an instant radio hit on the strength of its bass and rhythm, and opens the album on a fresh-yet-retro sound that is very appropriate.
“I Don’t Trust Myself (With Loving You)” brings the blues influences front and center on the album, where they will largely remain throughout the rest of the album. Both this song and the next song on the album, “Belief,” combine this blues basis with an 80s new wave/classic rock tradition that harkens back to the Police - Mayer’s vocal delivery even begins to mimic Sting’s toward the end of “Belief.”
Though he had recorded “Gravity” several times before its inclusion on Continuum, what sets this version apart is the mellow production. Nowhere is Mayer’s unmatched ear for guitar tone more evident than on this track. His warm baritone is complemented perfectly by the warm tone of his electric guitar - the rest of the song is kept purposely spare to emphasize the interplay.
“The Heart of Life” is a simple affirmation of life’s difficulties, set to a sweet folky chord progression, but Mayer injects his signature blues into the connective tissue between verses to create something wholly charming.
“Vultures” is another recycled song that had previously been featured heavily as a live performance staple in Mayer‘s repertoire. The version on the album is tight and well-executed, even if it is somewhat unadventurous.
“Stop This Train” is an unexpected delight on the album, venturing from the rest of the songs in that it is both acoustic and lacking in blues flourish. It is a bittersweet meditation on the progression of life woven from beautiful minor chords - throughout the song, a gentle drum beat echoes the sound of a train as the song opens up into hope when Mayer slips into his intimate falsetto.
“Slow Dancing in a Burning Room” is triumphantly, iconically Mayer. It is a hauntingly beautiful blues ballad that musically stands shoulder to shoulder with the best songs in the blues canon, but lyrically it voices the insecurities and intimacies that are found in all of Mayer’s songs and are uniquely his.
Mayer has made no secret of his hero-worship of Jimi Hendrix - his cover of “Bold as Love” is reverential, following Hendrix’s closely while improving on recording quality and sonic textures. It illustrates Mayer’s technical prowess that he can hold his own with Hendrix, who was arguably the greatest guitarist ever to perform blues-rock, or possibly just ever to perform.
“Dreaming with a Broken Heart” is the weakest song on the album with its repetitive one-word chorus (“Gone, gone, gone, gone, gone…”) and slightly cliched lyrics (“Do I have to fall asleep with roses in my hands?”), but the likeable tone and quality production raise it from its mediocrity.
“In Repair” and “I’m Gonna Find Another You” compete for the title of album closer - both have a nice feeling of completion and the end of a cycle. “In Repair” is hopeful and patient, whereas “I’m Gonna Find Another You” feels slightly bitter and retaliatory, but both feature impressive fretwork held together by the distinct velvet of Mayer’s voice.
With this album, Mayer won a bevy of new fans who had previously dismissed him as a commercial popster - a tag he may have to fight throughout his career. But if he continues to make albums as solid, technically proficient and inspired as Continuum, he should instead be considered one of the greatest blues-rock musicians in modern music.
"Continuum" is on sale September 12, 2006 from Sony.
