My Amazon Reviews: John Mayer "Paradise Valley"

Deep Within The Valley
3 Out Of 5 Stars

I am among those who believe that "Born and Raised" was one of John Mayer's greatest achievements. Introspective lyrics, thoughtful singing, nicely played singer songwriter music. But I now guess that those introspection motivations have been purged from his system, as "Paradise Valley" plays the same sort of lite-folk rock, but without the emotional substance. Sure, he still plays guitar like the whizz-kid he was when his first album dropped 10 years ago (!), and he shoulders the mantle of early eighties Eric Clapton quite well. However, Clapton's albums in the early eighties were light-weight. So is "Paradise Valley."

It does indicate that the folk-pop of "Born and Raised" was no fluke, and many of the songs here sound delightful on first passing. "Wildfire" really does that "Slowhand" thing better than about anyone short of Eric himself, or even how it neatly references the style of Jerry Garcia, and it's hard to go wrong when you pick a song from the late JJ Cale as your cover-version ("Call Me The Breeze," ironically first popularized by Lynyrd Skynyrd). He goes for some of that introspection on "Dear Marie," but the lyric is more like a self-directed pity party. Same goes for "Paper Doll," his response to Taylor Swift's "Dear John." Although I love the line about "22 girls in one." It's all cushioned in the 70's style that defined the likes of Linda Ronstadt and James Taylor as kingpins of mellow country rock, right down the pedal steel in the clever "You're No-one Till Someone Lets You Down."

There are still a couple of unpredictable moments here that, oddly enough, come from the invited guests. Hip-hop artist Frank Ocean does a brief reprise of "Wildfire" that recasts the album's opening gambit as a soulful interlude. The other of "Paradise Valley's" hidden surprises comes courtesy of Katy Perry, who drops the over the top pop chanteuse act long enough to deliver a nuanced and effective duet on "Who You Love." Given Perry's flair for confectionery pop without a drop of subtlety, coming off as a genuine romantic singer will shock both her critics and those who may question Mayer's instincts.

That's not enough to save "Paradise Valley" from being something of a letdown. I doubt if Mayer has run out of things to try, as "Paradise Valley" is as different as "Continuum" was to "Heavier Things" or for that matter, the blues/pop balance of "Battle Studies." It's more of a refinement of "Born and Raised" instead of a growth from it, so "Paradise Valley" sounds just fine without exceeding Mayer's previous or better albums.