CONTINUUM - JOHN MAYER
John Mayer’s new album makes good on the promise of worrying less about “Wonderland” and more about his blues chops, which even detractors admit are pretty solid. But the Jekyll-and-Hyde-like co-existence of his blues and pop influences is tough to pull off. Though Mayer uses “Waiting on the World to Change” and “Stop This Train” to lament (rather passively) the state of the union, his persona remains that of the broken-down guy standing in the doorway. With a bouquet of wilted roses. In the rain. To his credit, his work with the John Mayer Trio has staked out ground well removed from the Dave Matthews vibe he was shooting for before. But it’s still hard to tell if he’s a bluesman in a soft-rocker’s body or vice versa, and “Continuum” is the sound of him trying to figure it out too. Billboard
