the first track on his new record, battle studies, basically knocks it out of the park. The song is called heartbreak warfare and is a very forceful step into the direction mr. mayer seems to be going. He starts out at a distance where he's protecting himself with a reserved voice and stays hidden behind exceptional, but timid, guitar work.
i guess one of my criticisms of john boy in years past has been that he is a good enough guitar player that he needn't make himself vulnerable as a player. since he can marvel people without taking chances he really hasn't had a reason to take chances with his chops... for the same reasons, he has been able to keep his writing from having a personal touch.
that being said, something seems to have happened to him. coming out of an epic pause, he bursts forward with a chord, his voice, his passion, and all the music in him for the line, "I don't care if we don't sleep at all tonight Let's just fix this whole thing now" and this lays the ground work for the what the rest of this record is going to be.
there are moments on the record that i can do without. and there may be a little bit too much of an emphasis on his broken heart, however, he's broken through a pretty big wall to put a record like this out. this record is incredibly personal and I don't imagine it was easy for him to put on the old chopping block, but as far as what i can tell it seems to be the best record of his to date... and the guitar solos show a lot of nerve and really work throughout the disc*.
perhaps the most exciting thing about this album for me is that steve jordan doesn't annoy me to death with his heavy hand and constantly flat snare drum. the drums actually sound really good! i knew john had this in him, but the steve thing was a surprise.
while i'm hoping he keeps the personal touch and intensity of the guitar work i also hope he loses a little bit of the solitary perspective.
enjoy
*the one on edge of desire is absolutely brilliant!
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