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Published: November 26, 2009
Updated: 11/25/2009 05:05 pm
John Mayer
Battle Studies
Label: Columbia
If you like: Fleetwood Mac on downers
Song to Download: "Edge of Desire"
The multitudes root for tousled-hair troubadour John Mayer to break from his tabloids 'n' Twitter drama to give us what we've grown accustomed to -- smart lovestruck lyrics and the best blues/rock guitar of a generation.
So here is his latest album, Battle Studies, and it appears that master Mayer has gone all soft around the edges and relented to laying what can only be considered an epic egg.
It won't be an egg in the sales sense, of course. He will fly off the point-of-sale shelves at some well-trafficked coffee-shop chain, and get prominent position at retailers online and off.
But make no mistake about it, this is pulseless pablum.
His signature guitar work is barely there, drowned instead under a cacophany of middling percussion and a muddle of soft instrumental work. This from a man with the ability to absolutely blister a fretboard and sing mellifluously along with it.
Mayer could have gone on the attack during "All We Ever Do Is Say Goodbye." But he instead falls into a mushy soft-rock abyss. The lyrics are there, but the music can't hold them up properly for display.
He tries to change the mood on "Assassin," which is also about heartbreak -- aren't they all? -- but has a darker tone to it. "You get in, you get done and then you get gone/ You never leave a trace or show your face you get gone," Mayer sings.
But hold on. What are those wind chimes and Muzak-ish muck during the intro? Maracas? A rain stick? A didgeridoo? Where is the guy who went off the rails, snubbed his nose at his pop-hit certainties and brilliantly went gritty bluesman for the better part of a year? He's nowhere to be found on this track and most others.
Battle Studies is so soft it makes Fleetwood Mac sound like Slayer. Mayer can do much better than this.
Norah Jones
The Fall
Label: EMI Blue Note
If you like: George Winston
Song to Download: "Chasing Pirates"
Norah Jones ditches her old band and most of her trademark piano playing for her latest release, The Fall.
Jones sounds more confident and stretches her songwriting muscle on her fourth solo record and the second in a row where she wrote or co-wrote all of the songs.
The Fall is more of an evolution than a wholesale abandonment of her style. Sure, the piano is mostly absent, but Jones' guitar-playing style shows the influence of her keyboarding. It's simple, restrained but still melodic.
Producer Jacquire King, who's new to Jones and had previously produced Tom Waits' Mule Variations, deserves some credit for the shift in style. It's a subtle one that Jones fans likely will embrace, but the growth from her breakout 2002 debut Come Away With Me is clear.
Jones wrote eight of the 13 songs alone and shares credit with others on the remaining five, including Ryan Adams on "Light as a Feather."
Kris Allen
Kris Allen
Label: Jive Records
If you like: American Idols
Song to download: "Bring It Back"
On Kris Allen's self-titled debut album, the American Idol presents a collection of pop-rock tunes that are cool and simple -- a reflection of what we saw from the married 24-year-old on the eighth season of Idol.
Allen, known for his boy-next-door charm, co-wrote nine of the 13 tracks and collaborated with Mike Elizondo (Eminem, Carrie Underwood), Toby Gad (Milli Vanilli, Jordin Sparks) and Irish rockers The Script, among others.
While the CD is a somewhat enjoyable one, it is also average -- much like Allen himself.
"Bring It Back" is exceptionally slow and smooth -- a reflection of Allen at his best.
Songs such as the heartfelt "Bring It Back" and the soaring "The Truth" could make Allen sound extraordinary -- too bad he doesn't have enough of them.
Pretty Ricky
Pretty Ricky
Label: Bluestar Entertainment
If you like: R. Kelly
Song to download: "Discovery Channel"
It's amazing the R&B/hip-hop foursome Pretty Ricky even had time to record their latest self-titled album. All that wooing of women has got to be taxing on the body and soul.
For its aim, this is a very good album. It wouldn't have worked if the quirky quartet of Spectacular, Diamond Blue, Slick 'em and -- ahem -- Lingerie had held back. They don't. They ooze of audacity, crooning smooth lyrics so brazen it's like four R. Kellys on stage.
On the upbeat "Mr. Goodbar" they sing about covering their love interest's body in "Hershey kisses." When they slow it down on "Lapdance," the song turns into a sizzling instructional about pole-dance moves and sipping Patron tequila.
"Discovery Channel" is unlike anything you've ever heard. Any song that has wild beasts and birds as back-up singers and name drops both the Discovery and Weather Channel defies all convention. Oh, and would you believe it's about sex?
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