It sounds like John Mayer wants to forget he ever wrote "Your Body is a Wonderland."
The songs on his new CD, Continuum, are soaked in blues and R&B flavors, with mid-tempo melodies and lyrics that are reflective and personal as well as broad and complicated.
On "Waiting on the World to Change," the album's first single, Mayer tackles his generation's seeming apathy toward society's problems. On "Belief," he questions the limitations of principles and ideals: "We're never gonna win the world/We're never gonna stop the war ... if belief is what we're fighting for."
Songs like "I Don't Trust Myself (With Loving You)" and "Slow Dancing in a Burning Room" are more personal, and deal with broken relationships. "We're going down/And you know that we're doomed/My dear, we're slow dancing in a burning room," he sings over soft guitars.
Fans of the John Mayer Trio (Mayer, bassist Pino Palladino and drummer Steve Jordan) and their live album Try!, will recognize the songs "Gravity" and "Vultures" reworked for the studio.
The entire CD is a lesson in restraint. To-the-point solos and lots of subtle guitar work allow Mayer's breathy voice to carry the songs, making him deserving of his recent GRAMMY nomination for Best Pop Vocal Album.
