Very well put..

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I agree that appreciation for art is in the eye of the beholder, thus I'll give you my own take on Mayer.

He's a versatile musician and entertainer. He has the ability to pull in fans from a broad spectrum and expose them to what they came for, be it pop or blues, and also expose them to types of music which they didn't come for.

Just like Prince, Alicia Keyes, Eric Clapton, David Bowie, Richie Blackmore.....

I'm sure that the younger crowd can find an appreciation for Blues at his performances. Funny how "cliquish" the older blues crowd becomes relative to those 15 year old girls.

No, he's not a purist.

He has been and still is an amazing guitarist.

Regarding his personal life I choose not to pay attention. Not because it disgusts me that he's bouncing around with these Hollywood starlets, but because I can't.




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6sPmTgPvx28

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Joe Bonamassa was a child prodigy. He played with BB King at what 11 years old? He's a great player who gives other young players a chance to learn about the blues by lecturing young people in schools.
Giving back and keeping the Blues alive is part of being a Blues artist too.

Just because a guy does an album that emphasizes the guitar does not make him any less of a guitar player. Take Prince for an example, some of his albums have hardly in guitar in them at all, but go pick up LotusFlow3r and tell me the same thing. Prince is a guy to that is big on pop music, but he could out play most of the people on this forum and ones who have posted on this thread, I guarantee it.

Lot of people here tend to hate the guy because perhaps he has attained something that they believe he has done undeservingly so. Sure he isn't the greatest guitar player in the world, but I think he has managed to do something that Bonamassa, Trucks, or KWS could ever possibly do. His name is just as likely to be muttered by teenie boppers as it is blues vets, positively or negatively.

Personally I like Mayer's music and I enjoy the new album. It's different from Continuum and Try for sure, but I dig it.

I find Mayer's music as deep as my foot bath. Same with Prince. Raspberry Beret? LOL It's not even a matter of who plays better than someone on this forum, and who has attained fame. There's a lot of factors involved from the music you write to the way you look. If Mayer was some ugly guy he wouldn't be anywhere near as popular as he is. Same with Prince. I see some musicians play better and are more original than Mayer at open mic nights in Phila, Pa.

It's all a matter of being in the right place at the right time.

and Prince has written many more song than "Raspberry Beret", "Colonized Mind" comes to mind if you want deep, but you probably haven't delved into Prince farther than the more commercial hits that have been presented to you. I also doubt you have listened to "Stop this Train" which is a pretty deep song in itself, having to do with growing older and coming to terms with eventual death. How is that shallow?

some good points from everyone. like people say hes gone where the money is.

for me continum album is on the verge for me. any more pop than that i couldnt bare, so wont be buying his new album.

for me i first saw him on the crossroad concert he came out and did gravity and he just blew me away, his solo at the end was just pure class.
so i ordered continuum off amazon. and hated it at first. but ended up quite liking it and put it on in my car now and again. its my guilty plesure.
only to sing along to and there are some great guitar parts and ive learnt some riffs even, but thats as far as i will go with it, too cheeesy

and yep totally agree bonnamassa is just in another league.

Isn't that the case with anything? There are local guys here who are far better players to my ear than the supposed greater guitarists named in this thread. I'd much rather listen to Joey Laycock of Tuscaloosa, Alabama than either Bonamassa or KWS. Music is all subjective man. There are tons of great players who never make it big or play outside of their living room. A prime example is my uncle who had a chance to play for the Atlanta Falcons back in the 80s but never played because of his family obligations. People have no idea today that their physical therapist just as well could have been a NFL hall-of-famer.

You aren't looking very "deep" at these artists if you feel that Prince is "as deep as my foot bath".

i.e. You are being shallow.

But music, as has been stated countless times, is subjective.

My favorite guitarist is my 30 year old younger brother. I saw him tear up a $@!&#* little bar in Manchester, NH last Saturday night.

Live music has a way of captivating your soul. Mayer, for me, sounds better live. His studio tracks are nice, but they are really more of a solid platform for him to express himself on the guitar.

He's only 32. The best rock guitar album I heard this year is from Luther Alison - Live in Chicago(recorded in 1995 - he passed in '97). He was 56 years old when he recorded it.

Then again, I love Prince. And Metallica. And Kenny Chesney. And Buddy Guy. And Mastodon. And Mudvayne. And Michael Jackson. And Stevie Wonder. And John Coltrane and Thelonious Monk (1957 Riverside Recordings).

And anyone who plays open mic night is cool with me.

I'm no purist.

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I don't have a problem with people taking blues and mixing it with different styles, including pop, but Mayer just doesn't do it for me. Maybe it's because people compare him with Hendrix and SRV (there's no comparison). It's not that John Mayer isn't a good guitar player, he has more talent than most, but in comparison to SRV he does seem very shallow. I'd rather hear people like the aforementioned players KWS, Derek Trucks or Joe Bonamassa (and don't forget Doyle Bramhall II). So don't assume that all teenaged girls like boring pop songs, because I don't. And to be honest I've never understood why so many other girls do. Nor do I listen to people for what they look like. If I listened to people because I thought they were hot, my tastes in music would be turned upside down. And it seems very silly to me to buy music, which is something you hear, because of what you see.

I'm always interested in what my friends are listening to (because I have no idea what the current trends are in music, I don't care). And I was shocked when I realized that most of them listened to John Mayer. It's about the only music we have in common anymore. I hear kids in guitar center playing John Mayer songs and I feel like going up to them and asking them if they know that they just played an Albert King lick. So whether you like it or not, the good thing about John Mayer is that he's exposing people my age (especially guitar players) to music that they probably wouldn't have heard otherwise.

As far as the money and stuff goes, I don't know John Mayer (none of us here do) so I'm not going to jump to conclusions and say that he's greedy or anything. Maybe he is playing music he loves, maybe he doesn't care about the money. Nobody but him really knows for sure.

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Ask yourself would you rather be known as a great guitarist or as a great pop artist with loads of money?

Me give me as much money as I can get if thats in pop well pop it is. I would cares less what the forumites are saying about me because I would be living the good life getting all I want if you no what I mean and never worrying about the needing money.

On the side I would be playing what I like

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I have to disagree with most people here. I think John Mayer is great. His lyrics are all really good and his all his cover songs seem to really tell the story better than the original writers: See "Free Falling". "Where The Light Is" is by far his best work of all time, I don't think he can ever top that.

Being a huge blues fan, especially SRV, I really enjoy hearing that come through in his playing. John Mayer is a blues guitarist trying to make a name for himself in an age where his real style of music isn't sellable. He's known that from day one. I read in an early interview that the reason he wrote pop songs is because he was living alone, knew basically noone and couldn't do much with his electric guitar solo. So he got good at acoustic guitar and started writing more pop-sounding stuff so he could play small gigs. Yes, he is an attention $@!&# without a doubt. But I respect him because he's taken a non-mainstream style (blues) and injected it into something that more people can enjoy. I hate Sean Penn because of what he says and does in public, but I can't deny that he is an amazing actor.

I agree that his voice is changing and he can't pull off some of his earlier tunes. I was not impressed by the Beacon Theater vocals at all. That's what happens when your first few albums come out before you are a full grown man. However, his new album is really good, it grows on you. He's trying to change himself constantly which is admirable.

www.stratbrats.com

AMEN!!!

You can't even mention John Mayer in the same breath as Joe Bonamassa!
Mayer has indeed sold many more records than Joe......mostly to pre-teen girls and the like. THAT's why he has more fame and recognition than Joe!
As a guitarist, Mayer isn't qualified to change Joe's strings!
Joe recently sold out the Royal Albert Hall......ON HIS OWN!!
It's only a matter of time...........

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Wow, there are people here that struggle mightily with the ability to seperate "recognizing talent" from "what they like". And debating it is futile. Now, if you feel the need to defend yourself, well ... there it is ...

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I'm not trying to come off sounding like a smart aleck, but SRV took a style of music that didn't sell in an age where it didn't sell and made it sell. I didn't even believe that his albums came out in the 80's when I first heard them. I always thought they came out in the 90's or the 70's, which were much more rock friendly decades.

But I agree with your first point, I really do like hearing the blues influence in his playing. And like I mentioned before, I love that my friends listen to it and like it too.

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