Growing up, the only time I really listened to music was while riding in the car. Depending on who was driving, it was an entirely different experience. If my mother was driving, she would either let us listen to the radio, or chose from one of her own CDs. She had albums from a variety of artists, such as Dolly Parton and Michael Bublé. But if my father was driving, it was strictly “driver’s choice.” In this context, “driver’s choice” meant listening to Bob Dylan, Joe Cocker, or Crosby Stills, Nash, & Young. While I eventually grew to love my father’s “old man music,” I found it frustrating to not hear any artists from the current century.
This changed, however, after one of my father’s coworkers gave him a CD. I never asked why the coworker gave him the CD, maybe they thought he was younger than he actually was (sorry Dad). Anyway, the CD was “Continuum,” John Mayer’s third and widely considered best album. My father and I must have listened to “Continuum” several dozen times during our drives, and John Mayer quickly became my favorite artist. In fact, the first song I ever put on my iPod nano was “Waiting On The World To Change,” my favorite song from the album. I’m pretty sure I also put some Nickelback songs on my iPod nano, however, so it’s not like my taste in music was very refined.
Now that you understand how much I enjoy John Mayer’s music, you can understand how much I was looking forward to his newest album, “The Search for Everything.” Given that his last album, “Paradise Valley,” was released in 2013, “The Search for Everything” was a long time coming. So how did the wait pay off?
Well, I’m still asking myself that question. “Paradise Valley,” as well as “Born and Raised” (the album before “Paradise Valley”) showed fans a new side of Mayer. In these last two albums, his music could be classified as folk or country rock, unlike any of his previous work up to that point. But in “The Search for Everything,” Mayer returns to his rock, pop, and blues roots. Although he’s never really stuck to a single genre, I found the songs on this album to be more hit or miss than those on previous ones. Then again, I think I might have gotten used to the John Mayer from “Paradise Valley” and “Born and Raised,” who reminded me of a better-looking, better-sounding Neil Young (sorry again, Dad).
This doesn’t mean that “The Search for Everything” is devoid of any hits, however. I can see “Still Feel Like Your Man,” becoming one of his most popular songs, if only for the reason that it’s allegedly about Katy Perry. Personally, my favorite song on the album is “In the Blood,” as it asks whether or not you can choose to be like your family members. A close second is “Never on the Day You Leave,” which proves that Mayer can still musically punch you in the gut by singing about breakups. And if I had to pick a third favorite, I’d probably go with “Helpless,” since it reminds us that he’s one of the best guitarists around (if you don’t believe me, ask Eric Clapton).
Overall, I hesitate to say that I was underwhelmed by this album since at the end of the day, it’s still more John Mayer. I think many fans, including myself, set an impossibly high bar for him after nearly four years of waiting. And that honestly sucks, because there’s plenty to enjoy in “The Search for Everything.” Is it my favorite album? Nope. But am I still going to listen to it? Absolutely.
