John Mayer
By All Music Guide
By All Music Guide
Mayers first album had been a decidedly acoustic effort; in contrast, Room for Squares featured a full electric band and showed the work of its producer with its funky hooks and an emphasis placed on Mayers versatile, smooth voice, which bore more than just a stylistic resemblance to Dave Matthews. Columbia re-released Room for Squares in the summer of 2001, adding one bonus track, and also offered a very limited-edition two-CD set including a disc with two previously unreleased covers. Mayers dedicated fan base grew substantially larger during his first cross-country tour to support the album, spawning a number of CD-R trading outlets through fan websites, as well as a successful live album, Any Given Thursday. Mayers lucrative follow-up, 2004s Heavier Things, resulted in another Grammy, this time for Song of the Year. Looking to strip his sound down, he formed the John Mayer Trio with drummer Steve Jordan and bassist Pino Palladino. Their sold-out tour was documented on the 2005 release Try! John Mayer Trio Live in Concert. Continuum arrived the following year.
