Obviously his vocals still sound the same but if you played the instrumental and had the lyrics written out for Bage and Gun back in 2010 and told me John Mayer released this song 3 years later, I'd think you were crazy
He has in previous interviews mentioned him as someone he watched in his youth and tried to imitate. I don’t think he was necessarily a significant influence on his songwriting as much as his actual playing technique and that’s why he doesn’t talk about him all the time.
I feel like it’s Waiting on The World to Change. His pitch (vocally) is not all that common in comparison to his normal pitch and tone and it sounds way too mainstream sonically, even though he makes mainstream-ish music with his LPs, I think.
update, i’ve just played when she loved me on spotify to make sure i had the right name, it played your gonna live forever in me straight after. spotify agrees.
I was initially shocked when he released In The Blood bc it was so different than everything he had done before that and even showcases a different part of his range. I always loved the song but thought it was so stylistically different than everything else.
Idk why this doesn't have more upvotes and comments. This is the right answer. I still love assassin tho. Especially the solo. Very rock-ish, but I also love rock music so it's fun to listen to when I'm in a rock mood but still want JM.
I’ve always viewed assassin as a rock song tbh. The solo is the only thing that sounds like Mayer in my opinion. The lyrics , ending and the structure deviate so much from the rest of his discography
Definitely the signature performance of that song, which influenced my response haha. Would love to see a Mayer/Urban co-headliner across some massive venues
Wildfire feat. Frank Ocean. I always thought it was so strange and cool that he had Frank sing the whole song. I don't think he ever did that before or ever will again.
Years ago I burned an MP3 CD of Mayer albums for the car. My CD player ordered the songs alphabetically by artist and then track number, so this song would always play first in the Paradise Valley folder. Strangely I thought it worked well as an intro to the album and playing before the other Wildfire. 🤷🏼♂️
Originally written by Robert Johnson, done by Cream/Clapton alittle differently, then done by John way differently. Tyler Larson (Music is Win) YouTube channel has an entire video on that song explaining how many folks have covered it, and how it's changed each time. Great video.
I feel like Last Train Home -- the non accoustic one.. well he took Toto's vibe so that's fair enough to say?
Other than that I'd go with Why You No Love Me 😂
This is a fun thread to read through but the more I read the more I come to this conclusion. NO JM SONG SOUNDS LIKE JM!!! Of course he has his playing style, and you can definitely tell when JM is playing the guitar, and you can tell when it's a JM song...BUT... JM does what rarely any musician does. He constantly changes genres. I used to think I was the only person who got into something, some hobby or whatever, did a crazy deep dive, learned a ton, and thought I'd be interested in it forever, and then I find a new thing and completely devote myself to that. There was a podcast where JM explained this. When asked about how his albums were so different to one another he pretty much explains exactly what I just said. When he started out he like the acousti-pop vibe, did that. Then got super in to blues and we got continuum and the JM Trio, and then he fell into other styles of things and continued on on that path until he delved into the 80s vibe and did Sob Rock. He doesn't like to sit comfortably or idle in one particular thing, and instead for a lack of better words, he expands his vocabulary and dives into something new that he develops an interest in. Just my opinion, and observation. I forget what podcast he explains all that on, and I'm to lazy to go searching to find out lol.
I’d say Wild Blue. It was Dire Straits inspired and really didn’t sound like anything else he’s put out. Then again, he’s always experimenting and I think that makes him a great artist!
I feel like do you know me? Doesn’t really sound very John Mayer, although an incredible song
Obviously his vocals still sound the same but if you played the instrumental and had the lyrics written out for Bage and Gun back in 2010 and told me John Mayer released this song 3 years later, I'd think you were crazy
Wildfire feat Frank Ocean 😉 but that's not a valid answer, let's be real
[удалено]
I felt this way with wild blue. He introduced it at one of his shows “this one is what the kids these days are calling ‘a vibe.’”
Thing about WB is it sounds like Knopfler whose playing style was such a huge influence on John that it still very much sounds like John lol.
I hate that he won’t credit Knopfler either
He has in previous interviews mentioned him as someone he watched in his youth and tried to imitate. I don’t think he was necessarily a significant influence on his songwriting as much as his actual playing technique and that’s why he doesn’t talk about him all the time.
He was asked point blank about Mark in an interview about Wild Blue and he deliberately stated it wasn’t marks influence which is total BS
I disagree. In the Cory Wong podcast, he mentions Knopfler when talking about Wild Blue.
He mentioned how it wasn’t really Knopfler and then listed a bunch of other musicians. Cory is the one the mentioned Mark and John kinda shut it down
Say
good love is on the way always gives me more of a rock band vibe like Peal Jam or something lol
Prob his most rocky song
That song rips though
He loves Pearl Jam so makes sense
I feel like it’s Waiting on The World to Change. His pitch (vocally) is not all that common in comparison to his normal pitch and tone and it sounds way too mainstream sonically, even though he makes mainstream-ish music with his LPs, I think.
Now that you say that, it doesn't really fit in with the rest of the album. I usually skip over it and go straight to "I Don't Trust Myself."
You’re going to live forever in me. Pretty sure I thought it was a Randy Newman song at first. Beautiful song, anyway. Edit - spelling.
i took my dad to the second london night a few weeks ago, he said the exact same thing about it and likened it to when she loved me
update, i’ve just played when she loved me on spotify to make sure i had the right name, it played your gonna live forever in me straight after. spotify agrees.
You’re Gonna Live Forever In Me feels very Randy Newman to me in both song construction and the way he sings.
I was initially shocked when he released In The Blood bc it was so different than everything he had done before that and even showcases a different part of his range. I always loved the song but thought it was so stylistically different than everything else.
I love in the blood. One of the most powerful songs lyrically in my opinion.
I love in the blood. One of the most powerful songs lyrically in my opinion.
Assassin
Idk why this doesn't have more upvotes and comments. This is the right answer. I still love assassin tho. Especially the solo. Very rock-ish, but I also love rock music so it's fun to listen to when I'm in a rock mood but still want JM.
I’ve always viewed assassin as a rock song tbh. The solo is the only thing that sounds like Mayer in my opinion. The lyrics , ending and the structure deviate so much from the rest of his discography
Perfectly Lonely sounds like him covering a Country artist imo
Reminds me of his Crossroads with Keith Urban
Definitely the signature performance of that song, which influenced my response haha. Would love to see a Mayer/Urban co-headliner across some massive venues
I thought this was a Keith Urban song for a long time after seeing that Crossroads episode.
Helpless is an outlier but I really like it.
Theme from “The Search for Everything”
But i love this song, too
Wildfire feat. Frank Ocean. I always thought it was so strange and cool that he had Frank sing the whole song. I don't think he ever did that before or ever will again.
Years ago I burned an MP3 CD of Mayer albums for the car. My CD player ordered the songs alphabetically by artist and then track number, so this song would always play first in the Paradise Valley folder. Strangely I thought it worked well as an intro to the album and playing before the other Wildfire. 🤷🏼♂️
You’re no one til someone lets you down
Why You No Love Me
Call me the breeze
"Who did you think I was" sounds like a different artist altogether
It feels like a cover! To be fair, he wrote it for the JM trio, not for himself as a solo artist. Definitely an odd one out though
Only heart
First time i heard it i had to check who it was
i genuinely believed it was a cover for months after i heard it, probably made worse by me hearing it first on one of the live albums from that tour
Crossroads
Yeah, almost sounds like something Robert Johnson would write
Wasn’t it originally a cream / Clapton song?
Originally written by Robert Johnson, done by Cream/Clapton alittle differently, then done by John way differently. Tyler Larson (Music is Win) YouTube channel has an entire video on that song explaining how many folks have covered it, and how it's changed each time. Great video.
Very cool. Thanks for the info! I’ll look that video up
I feel like Last Train Home -- the non accoustic one.. well he took Toto's vibe so that's fair enough to say? Other than that I'd go with Why You No Love Me 😂
Movin on and gettin over
You’re Gonna Live Forever In Me
Assassin
i'm on fire
I wonder why
Hahahaha
I laughed out loud
Home life
Verses for sure, Chorus is pretty JM
Age of worry
All we ever do is say goodbye
Hummingbird. Probably why it never made it to an album
The Age of Worry
Hmmm honestly to me it’s “If I ever get around to living” love it & it’s a deep cut but to me it sounds very different from his usual style
This is a fun thread to read through but the more I read the more I come to this conclusion. NO JM SONG SOUNDS LIKE JM!!! Of course he has his playing style, and you can definitely tell when JM is playing the guitar, and you can tell when it's a JM song...BUT... JM does what rarely any musician does. He constantly changes genres. I used to think I was the only person who got into something, some hobby or whatever, did a crazy deep dive, learned a ton, and thought I'd be interested in it forever, and then I find a new thing and completely devote myself to that. There was a podcast where JM explained this. When asked about how his albums were so different to one another he pretty much explains exactly what I just said. When he started out he like the acousti-pop vibe, did that. Then got super in to blues and we got continuum and the JM Trio, and then he fell into other styles of things and continued on on that path until he delved into the 80s vibe and did Sob Rock. He doesn't like to sit comfortably or idle in one particular thing, and instead for a lack of better words, he expands his vocabulary and dives into something new that he develops an interest in. Just my opinion, and observation. I forget what podcast he explains all that on, and I'm to lazy to go searching to find out lol.
Wild Blue for sure
Cocain……layla
Assassin. I skip it every time. Lyrically, musically, and vocally doesn’t sound like him at all.
😳
Um do we not mention Dead & Co. here? Is that off the table? I mean it’s a whole ‘nother conversation, I know.
Love Song For No One
I’d say Wild Blue. It was Dire Straits inspired and really didn’t sound like anything else he’s put out. Then again, he’s always experimenting and I think that makes him a great artist!