Album Review- John Mayer- Paradise Valley

Hi,
    My name is Surjo and I'm a professional musician. The songs you're hearing (hopefully) are from my debut album 'The Key Has Turned' which you can buy here.

   The album I'm reviewing today is John Mayer's 'Paradise Valley'. It's his 6th studio album, and is named after a major river valley in Montana, where John is a resident. It's an effective follow-up to 'Born And Raised' and maintains the changing direction of John's musical compass.

 

'Wildfire' starts off the album with a country-style riff with simple clapping as the accompanying rhythm. The sound is so happy-go-lucky and the words are just the passage of everyday time, and the casual confidence of looking for love. The chorus has nothing much other than the claps behind it, which is of course interesting songwriting. There are voices in conversation in the background just to raise that casual feel even more. Cool points all through and cool solo to top it all of. 

'Dear Marie' strikes me close to the heart man, just the words and the feeling that I get from it. Solid, just rock solid, and his voice has changed after the operations, he's singing a lot lower. Thinking about his first love from when he was 15 is what the song is about. 

'Waiting On The Day' hammers a thought in my head which was just surfacing with the previous two songs. The content of his words, and the content of his music has changed drastically over the course of the 6 albums. No longer does he feel the need to show off his excessive melodic talent, or his ability to write love in a way that you can't express. He's content to play his guitar and sing his heart now, and he's good at that too, as in really good. 

'Paper Doll' is apparently written for Taylor Swift. That single bit of celeb gossip changes the whole way I view the song, since I'm constantly trying to formulate the story on the basis of the words, and also that nugget of wisdom regarding who it was written for, and I  must say, that the process has a certain magnetism to it, when you have a face associated with the words. Good song John, good song. 

'Call Me The Breeze' sound like a typical 12-bar blues number from the 50s. Super generic. By the numbers kinda deal. 

'Who You Love' is his duet with Katy Perry, and of course now they've been dating on and off for a few years. Damn John, you get around. Cool points for the drum intro with the delay. The lyrics revolve around accepting who you wind up falling in love with, irrespective of whether they meet your criterion of perfection. Cool. 

'I Will Be Found (Lost At Sea)' is his one piano song per album, and I got to say again, his piano songs sound like Elton John. The song is a metaphor, with John talking about his massive journey in music and comparing it to being lost at sea. But he's not frantic in his statement or comparison, just really calm and confident in his ability to turn it all back should the need arise. Cool. 

'Wildfire (Interlude)' has Frank Ocean doing the majority of the singing and quite a story is told in those few lines. A lot of background noise to bring up the Widlfire casual feel again. Better to hear than to write about, will pass by in a blink. 

'You're No One Till Someone Lets You Down' adds to the easy-going nature of the musical narrative, and the words aren't quite that easy-going. Surprisingly the song is short in duration although there are a lot of words said. That has to do with the quick tempo and the lack of instrumental breaks in the song. The song talks about how people hurt after being let down, and how those who've been let down a lot just have a different outlook towards it, and sympathise with those who're naive. 

'Badge And Gun' starts off with a similar melody to 'Waiting On The Day'. It's a cowboy song, or an adventurer's song. Tough to relate, so tough to write about. 

'On The Way Home' caps off the album, with more of the relaxed music that characterizes the album. The lyrics might be talking about him leaving Montana to head back to LA or NY, and he's written it in a sort of metaphor. I must say, very few artists use the minor chord like John does. He just sets you up and then hits you with it when you least expect it, but are super happy to hear that minor third creep in to the melody. 

Well, he's put out a damn good album, without his usual guys helping him out, so that marks a departure for him. The results are good, and the album is very very listenable and easy on the ears.