John Mayer is unfortunately known more for running his mouth and silly pre-teen anthems than for his sensational guitar playing ability. This list focuses on the top ten John Mayer songs that bring to light all of his vast and varied capabilities as a musician and performer.
10. No Such Thing – Room for Squares
This was the song that put Mayer on the map. It actually features some of his best early songwriting, bucking the general musical trend of “dumbing down” the subject matter of a single. He conveys the retread frustration of being constrained by society with surprising clarity. The song also has a chord structure that seems familiar enough to be catchy, but uses unique enough chord voicings to keep me listening.
9. Neon – Room for Squares
This song didn’t get Mayer much attention when it was released, and it actually seemed out of character for Mayer at the time. However, it foreshadowed the guitar player Mayer would become. The song was originally recorded on the electric guitar, and at the time Mayer was known almost exclusively as an acoustic artist. Neon is also an extremely technical song, requiring the dexterous use of the “pick-slap” method. This method allows Mayer to both play the guitar and essentially use it as a drum at the same time. This song was the first indication that Mayer could be much more than just another bubblegum pop artist.
8. Why Georgia – Room for Squares
This song is one of Mayer’s most open and honest. It’s based on his experiences after he dropped out of college and was struggling to break out in the Atlanta music scene. He talks a lot about heartbreak in other more commercialized songs, but you actually feel like you’re getting a genuine look at Mayer’s soul when you’re listening to this song. It also combined acoustic and electric guitars, foreshadowing Mayer’s transition into more electric guitar playing.
7. Gravity – Continuum
Mayer has called this song the most important one he has ever written. It’s not one of my personal favorites, but I do appreciate how he kept the song fairly bare bones on purpose. This allows him to reinterpret the song more easily when playing it live, and Mayer’s ability to reinterpret material is one of his greatest strengths. If you look up different versions of Gravity, they all sound like they have the same base, but if you didn’t know better you might think you were listening to a different song.
6. Vultures – Where the Light Is
This song makes the list because it features Mayer’s best songwriting to date in my opinion. The entire song focuses on persistence in the face of adversity and all the vultures that seem to dog our trail no matter where we go. He mixes things up by having the song center around the lyrics with the guitar serving as a complement.
5. Assassin – Battle Studies
This is the only track off of his newest album to be included on this list. This song makes the list because in many ways it’s a perfect crossroads between the old John Mayer and the new John Mayer. The minimalist instrumentation and artful lyrics about short romantic flings at the beginning of the song transitions into a roaring electric guitar solo and lyrics discussing his realization that his actions have effects beyond what he expected or understands.
4. Belief – Live from Abbey Road
This song makes the list primarily because of Mayer’s jaw-dropping ability to fill the studio where the Beatles and Pink Floyd made some of their best music to the brim with riffs that would make either of those bands proud. This song is a good symbolic representation of Mayer’s supreme confidence in himself and his abilities, because he seems completely unfazed by the historic venue. It’s not that he doesn’t understand the significance of the place; he just uses it as further fuel to perform on an even higher level.
3. Covered in Rain– Any Given Thursday
If you had to pick one song that marked Mayer’s transition from teen pop idol to bold blues guitarist, then this is the one. Mayer even somewhat recognized it as a transition by labeling it Part 2 of another song, City Love, that was mostly a sappy song about an idealized romance in NYC. Covered in Rain is a stark, dark look at both the relationship from City Love and NYC post 9-11. The song consists of nearly ten minutes of dark, anguished blues, and demonstrated that Mayer could write and compose serious guitar music, not just cover the works of other great artists.
2. I Don’t Need No Doctor – Where the Light Is (Ray Charles Cover)
This song sounds like a horrible idea on paper, but the cover is a work of genius. Ray Charles composed beautiful music, but I never thought about his work transferring to guitar until I heard this song. Mayer grabs hold of the melody and doesn’t let go, wringing every last ounce of blues out of this song. The Where the Light Is version in particular is like a promo video for the artist Mayer has become. The guitar is subtle when it needs to be and wailing when the right time comes. The lyrics are full-throated and strong, no longer the restrained, quiet voice I heard on Room for Squares. Finally, the song makes great use of the full band. Mayer doesn’t have to pull all the weight by himself, and his increased freedom highlights his ability even further.
1. Good Love is on the Way – Where the Light Is / The Village Sessions
This song really defines the new direction Mayer is going as an artist. He acknowledges the heartbreak and the struggles, but he doesn’t dwell on them in his songwriting or his composition. He wields the guitar with reckless abandon, and he sings like there’s no tomorrow. His basic message is that times may be tough, he may open his stupid mouth a little too much sometimes, but it’s time for him to move on because he can make tomorrow be ok. Also, in contrast to the driving electric version, there is also a much softer, contemplative acoustic version. The energy is still evident in the song, and Mayer plays it differently to accommodate the change in tone. Overall, this song exemplifies Mayer as an artist with range, ambition, and enormous talent. The kid who croaked about bodies and wonderlands has been left in the dust.
