| Product Summary | | Label: Cbs/epic/wtg Records | | UPC: 00696998618527 | | Release Date: 9/9/2003 | | Buy.com Sku: 60611973 | | Item#: M3U97V | | Buy.com Sales Rank: 2010 | Format:  CD |
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(C) (P) 2003 Aware Records LLC (P) 2003 SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT
| John Mayer's Heavier Things arrives two years to the month after the release of the critically acclaimed artist's debut LP, Room for Squares, which has been certified triple-platinum (the album still remained in the Top 100 after 80 straight weeks on the Billboard Top 200 chart). That memorable bow contained the hit singles "No Such Thing," "Why Georgia" and "Your Body Is a Wonderland," the last of which earned Mayer a 2003 Grammy for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance.
The intriguingly titled Heavier Things was produced and mixed by the highly regarded Jack Joseph Puig, whose long list of credits includes Sheryl Crow, No Doubt, the Black Crowes and Hole. Mayer and Puig had forged a strong creative relationship when the latter was mixing half a dozen tracks for Room for Squares. A rock specialist with a feel for melodies and hooks, Puig was particularly attuned to Mayer's new material, in which the 25-year-old songwriter/musician provides himself ample opportunity to break out his electric guitars.
Heavier Things was tracked in New York, Mayer's present home, and completed at Puig's longtime L.A. headquarters, Ocean Way. In addition to the lead single, "Bigger Than My Body," the album contains several songs Mayer has been performing live. These include "Daughters," "Come Back to Bed" and "Something's Missing," all of which are well on their way to becoming crowd favorites.
Mayer has spent the two years between albums fruitfully, touring nonstop and generating massive word of mouth, which reached critical mass just as radio and the video channels were discovering the tireless young artist. Any Given Thursday, a vivid document of John Mayer the touring machine, was released in February 2003 on Columbia Music Video/Aware. The CD version is now gold, while the DVD version has achieved platinum status.
The growing body of work of this career artist also includes the 1999 independently released EP, Inside Wants Out, which was reissued on Aware/Columbia in September of last year.
| | Album Notes and Credits |
Notes & Personnel Info |  | This is an Enhanced CD, which contains both regular audio tracks and multimedia computer files. | | Personnel: John Mayer (vocals, guitar); Jerry Hay (trumpet); Steve Jordan , Ahmir Khalib Thompson, Steve Jordan (drums); Larry Castro, Lenny Castro (percussion); Michael Chaves (guitar); Greg Leisz (lap steel guitar); Dan Higgins (saxophone); Roy Hargrove (trumpet); Jamie Muhoberac (keyboards); J.J. Johnson , Matt Chamberlain (drums). | | Audio Mixer: Jack Joseph Puig. | | Recording information: Avatar Studios, New York, NY; Ocean Way, Hollywood, CA. | | Photographer: Danny Clinch. | | Don't take the title of John Mayer's Heavier Things literally. Mayer offers nothing heavy on the follow-up to his breakthrough hit, Room for Squares -- nothing heavy in the music and nothing heavy in the lyrics. No, Mayer is smooth, slick, and streamlined on his second or third album (it all depends if you count his 1999 debut, Inside Wants Out, half of which was re-recorded for Room for Squares, which itself was released in two different incarnations), playing things straight and following the blueprint his big radio hit, "Your Body Is a Wonderland," provided. The title Heavier Things does reflect his new directness, lacking the lithe playfulness that resulted in a Hank Mobley joke, of all things, for an album title last time out. That extends to the rest of the album -- the humor and interesting wordplay have been toned down, leaving very little ambiguity. Actually, there's little left unexplained on the record, with every song on the album spread across several grids explaining where they were written and how many beats per minute they are, breaking them down into keywords, charting what "suggested target points" on the body the song should hit (tellingly, not one track is targeted at the crotch), and even grouping the songs together by key. The latter is a bit of a mistake, since it shows that for all those jazzy major and minor seventh chords gliding by in his songs, he's keeping his songwriting pretty simple, sticking to D, E, F, G, and A, with a G minor thrown in for good measure. This, of course, is not really a problem for listeners, since most listeners don't care how a song is written as long as it sounds good, but this does confirm that he's kept things simple, concentrating on how the record sounds and feels. And, as a piece of mood music, this is really quite effective, delivering on how "Your Body Is a Wonderland" sounds, with some really nice lush, laid-back textures and songs that are melodic without being truly catchy. It's music that floats through the speakers nicely and never leaves much of a lasting impression; it's how a jazzier, laid-back, less adventurous, and MOR-oriented Dave Matthews would sound. Mayer is now more of a record-maker than songwriter, which will undoubtedly dishearten those who liked the song-oriented Inside Wants Out, but those who just enjoyed the sound and feel of Room for Squares should feel right at home. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine | | With the experience of a Grammy-winning, major-label debut under his belt and the requisite pop stardom that goes with it, John Mayer continues forging a steadily impressive musical canon with his third full-length outing, HEAVIER THINGS. Like the introspective musings of fellow, mellow pop singer-songwriters such as Dave Matthews and Jack Johnson, Mayer's songs delve into the subtleties of relationships and their accompanying navel-gazing. "Bigger Than My Body" finds him not only on a search for self, but sounding like Matthews with his hint of falsetto, as "Something's Missing" does much the same on a bed of swirling guitar and the occasionally chiming chord. As for the fairer sex, there's the requisite pleading found within the confines of the bluesy "Come Back to Bed," and the realization of loving someone with emotional baggage in "Daughters," which stems from childhood issues. All is not entirely dour, however, as this former Berkley School of Music student includes a pair of more up-tempo cuts--"Clarity," the hip-hop-brushed opener featuring jazz great Roy Hargrove and Roots drummer ?uestlove Thompson, and the hook-filled pop nugget "Only Heart." Packed with such emotional heft, it's no wonder John Mayer went with the title HEAVIER THINGS. |
Producer: Jack Joseph Puig |
Engineer: Lars Fox; Chris Steffen; Ross Peterson; Jack Joseph Puig; Chad Franscoviak |
Musical Guests | | Roy Hargrove |
| | Compilation Appearances |
| | Associated Artists and Works |
| | Technical Info | | Release Date : 09/09/2003 | | Original Release Date : 2003 | | Catalog ID : 86185 | | Label : Aware/Columbia Records | | Number of Discs : 1 | | Studio/Live : Studio | | Mono/Stereo : Stereo | | SPAR Code : n/a | | UPC : 00696998618527 |
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| | Professional Reviews | | Rolling Stone (12/25/03, p.108)
- Included in Rolling Stone's "50 Best Albums of 2003"Rolling Stone (10/2/03, p.116)
- 4 stars out of 5 - "...With his follow-up [to ROOM FOR SQUARES], Mayer offers an equally available yet more sophisticated album...Most of these tracks proceed more subtly, with an emphasis on interior life..." Q (12/03, p.132)
- 3 stars out of 5 - "...'Clarity' rejoices in falsetto wailing and excellent jazz trumpet..." Mojo (Publisher)
(12/03, p.112)
- 3 stars out of 5 - "Mayer's progress is an open book, deep thoughts and all." |
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| | Bio | | | John Mayer
When John Mayer emerged from the underground in 2001 with his debut album, Room for Squares, he was a little-known 22-year-old with an acoustic guitar and boundless energy. His ascent was rapid, powered by nonstop touring and intensive word of mouth, which reached critical mass just as radio and the video channels were discovering the young artist. Two years later, Room for Squares is now triple-platinum (the album remains in the Top 100 after more than 80 consecutive weeks on the Billboard Top 200 chart), spawning three hit singles, one of which, "Your Body Is a Wonderland," earned him a Grammy earlier this year for best pop vocal performance.
Mayer's much-anticipated Aware/Columbia follow-up album, which bears the intriguing title Heavier Things, demonstrates how far this single-minded artist has come at this still-early stage of his career.
"In some ways," Mayer says, "the stakes get higher when you make a second major-label record and everyone's looking. And in some ways absolutely nothing is different, because your voice still sounds the same, and your hands still feel the same on the guitar. You just write your songs. You're just a guy with a guitar putting in a Thai food order at 9 p.m."
The 25-year-old Mayer possesses a remarkable clear-headedness—fittingly, the new album opens with a song titled "Clarity"—and the rarefied level of consciousness that distinguishes this artist's songs has as much to do with their impact as his gift for melody, elevated musicianship or disarming personality. All of these elements, by the way, are present in spades on Heavier Things.
The album was produced and mixed by Jack Joseph Puig, whose credits include Sheryl Crow, No Doubt, the Black Crowes, Hole and smart-pop progenitors Jellyfish.
"Jack understood what I wanted to do next," Mayer says of his decision to work with Puig. "We had met by way of friendship, not connections. I don't like pulling connections in; I'd much rather make friends. He understands the romance of making records. Jack and I pushed each other to the limits of our knowledge, and that's why the record is as fresh as it is. There are raw decisions made outside of the comfort zone of past achievement."
Heavier Things was tracked in New York, Mayer's present home, and completed at Puig's longtime L.A. headquarters, Ocean Way. In addition to the lead single, the propulsive, hook-packed rocker "Bigger Than My Body," the album contains several songs Mayer has been performing live on his 2003 summer tour of amphitheaters and arenas, and they've become immediate crowd favorites. These include the poignant "Daughters," the smoldering, blues-based "Come Back to Bed," the evocative "Wheel" and "Something's Missing," which climaxes with a timely and ingenious things-to-do-today inventory.
Mayer's longtime bass player David LaBruyere appears on all tracks apart from the virtually solo acoustic "Daughters," while keyboardist Jamie Muhoberac plays on eight. Guest musicians include legendary jazz trumpeter Roy Hargrove, drummers Matt Chamberlain, Steve Jordan and ?uestlove from The Roots, percussionist Lenny Castro and horn player Jerry Hay. Also present are guitarist Michael Chaves and drummer J.J. Johnson from Mayer's touring band.
"I came off the road after two years of straight touring and knew exactly what kind of record I wanted to make—it wasn't an accident," Mayer says of the process that led to the creation of Heavier Things. "I wanted to write songs this time that always felt good under my hands, no matter what. The only real criterion for the record was, 'Is it fun to play? Is it physically fun to feel the vibration of the strings or the feel of my throat when I'm singing it?' If an idea didn't meet that criterion, it got dumped.
"This record is as different from the last one as I am from the last time I made a record," he adds. "What that amount is, I don't know, and I'm really interested to find out."
Discography
Inside Wants Out (1999; reissued on Aware/Columbia in September 2002)
Room for Squares (original Aware version released April 2001; Aware/Columbia final version released September 2001; certified triple platinum)
Any Given Thursday DVD (February 2003; certified platinum)
Any Given Thursday, (February 2003; certified platinum)
Heavier Things (September 2003)
Singles
"No Such Thing"
"Your Body Is a Wonderland" (won 2003 Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Performance)
"Why Georgia"
"Bigger Than My Body"
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