Artist Showcase: 10 Iconic Tracks by John Mayer That Defines His Legacy

John Mayer has been diversifying his portfolio and is obsessed with live performances now. One can only guess the genre of his next album.

For many of a generation of bedroom spawned musicians-John Mayer has been a gateway into instrumentally intricate pop and blues. The Berklee College graduate has been able to infuse his own charisma into all the music he explores, while boomeranging back to the blues he loves so very much.  Known for his collaborations, live performances and incredible tone that so many chase now-John is no less than a guitar hero, while carrying an impressive sense of pipes. His lyrically weighted writing has been an inspiration for many, including Tom Misch. 

What are some iconic songs by John Mayer?

1. Neon
2. Slow Dancing in a Burning Room
3. Gravity
4. Why Georgia
5. Vultures
6. Edge of Desire
7. Who Did You Think I Was
8. Belief
9. Good Love is on the Way
10. The Heart of Life

1. Neon

Album Name: Room for Squares (2001)

Studio: Orphan Studios (Atlanta) & Studio 737 (Massachusetts) 

The great guitar test for the contemporary individual. Thanks to John Mayer and his unorthodox finger picking style, this crispy cool riff paired with the undeniable rhythm became an obsession for many. Sure, the focus is on the muse who burns like neon, neon. For aspiring guitarists, it became about getting the riff absolutely right. Brownie points major-if you can sing along with it too. Until Mayer’s Instagram post about the same, revealing the secret about playing got viral in the musician community-You Tube was full of tutorials that taught you the riff, but missed the signature edge Mayer had. The right-hand rhythm. Go ahead and try it. You’ll get halfway there to playing an iconic song other guitarists in the room will fist bump you for:

2. Slow Dancing in a Burning Room

Album Name: Continuum (2006)

Studio: The Village Recorder (Los Angeles), Avatar Studios & Right Track/Sound (New York City) & Royal Studios in Memphis, Tennessee

Tone chasers, applaud. The song that made women swoon, and men too. Slow Dancing has a riff and tone that is so deceptively simple-you’ll be frustrated when you can play it but not match how it sounds. From the solo to how the song is structured and the sentiments-the opening has to be played through deceptive bluesy intros by John Mayer. Live, you are better off predicting any other song  that he plays over this, for he is going to take you for a ride before that signature diatonic slide makes your legs shiver. You can watch all his live videos, listen to the song a thousand times. If you’ve got the tone and soul down, plus the personal friction from the time that led to the track-contact us. We want to get it down too: 

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3. Gravity

Album Name: Continuum (2006)

Studio: The Village Recorder (Los Angeles), Avatar Studios & Right Track/Sound (New York City) & Royal Studios in Memphis, Tennessee

Look, we know how good the album is. Don’t act surprised there are 2 back to back tracks-there should have been at least 5. Gravity is a slow ballad, nothing very complex coming from a Berklee college student who can name sus chords and whatnot. Over a 4 bar progression, he shows us how well he has designed the tone that will cascade over our ears. Paired with the organ like synth, what goes on is first date bliss. John Mayer writes love songs for contemporary lovers and muses-and tracks like this work their charm. Only thing, you both better close your eyes and absorb that masterful solo. If the album one takes the cake enough for you, there are some live ones that are instant goosebump switches. Don’t believe me? I’ll do you a favour and give you one from the personal archives:

4. Why Georgia

Album Name: Room for Squares (2001)

Studio: Orphan Studios (Atlanta) & Studio 737 (Massachusetts) 

Get your acoustic and try playing this riff. Paired with the aforementioned complex jazz chord glory for the second half, it has been named as one of the toughest acoustic numbers to play (while singing, relax and don’t start peppering me with Paco de Lucia & Tommy Emmanuel). He of course nails it with passion, with the chord break during the bridge being a rich, luscious combination with barely a transition. It makes it all the more worth it-like listening to cinema. From his debut album, John Mayer makes obsessing over women a charm while I get questioned by the police for doing it. I guess the difference remains, recording it and putting it on a brand spanking fantastic album. A defining practice session if you want to get your pinky finger strong and worth playing those metal riffs later:

5. Vultures

Album Name: Continuum (2006)

Studio: The Village Recorder (Los Angeles), Avatar Studios & Right Track/Sound (New York City) & Royal Studios in Memphis, Tennessee

I’m trying to escape it too, ALRIGHT? These two albums have tracks that are on repeat in so many homes, streaming services have to alter the algorithm. Another brilliantly simple yet deceptive riff, with solos packed in that make you want to know music scales just to juice the soul out of them. Like John says, the solo has to build to create intrigue and delight-this song is a testament to that. Though the track itself is pretty simple in terms of lyrics and execution, it is an easy class in writing songs with purpose-centered around clean execution and that Stratocaster magic. We could have been lazy and filled the list with tracks from these 2 albums alone. Let’s move to what Mayer defines as the most emo song he thinks he wrote:

6. Edge of Desire

Album Name: Battle Studies (2009)

Studio: Battle Studies Recording Studio (Calabasas, California), Capitol Studios (Hollywood, California) & The Village (West Los Angeles, California)

Inspired from Dave Matthews Band’s Satellite, this track has its charm in being excessively sappy and emo. You might definitely not like it, but playing that candy polished tone with the riff and singing along is no easy task. Progressions are predictable, and the ease comes in knowing how the song is going to bend around. After the massive success of Continuum, Mayer moved to a radio pop sound that let his guitar do most of the talking. The lyrics? Mostly meh and Hollywood fame problems. However, his roots in exploring every single fret in the guitar would get him through to making another song that is centred around the Strat. Mayer had become a pro in navigating to the Grammy nominations by now, so it was no surprise to see him bag one for Best Pop Vocal Album. Emo Mayer for you:

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7. Who Did You Think I Was?

Album Name: TRY! – Live In Concert (2005)

Studio: House of Blues  (Chicago)

Chop chop, Mayer. If you didn’t know, Mayer is a massive Stevie Ray Vaughan fan-and this album revealed that love for blues more than anything. After his pop soaked releases two years prior, John Mayer took to the 8 years of bedroom practice, mastering the guitar. TRY! has some great covers and originals, but his riff for Who Did You Think I Was? remains iconic. It slides, it jumps, it grooves along with his neck and stomp when he plays it. Along with the crunchy light blues tone and distortion-this one has an outro during live performances that might make you fall in love with him, if you already don’t. We all aren’t massive fans of his more pop washed work, but see the man own the axe on these tracks and we promise a whole other perception:

8. Belief

Album Name: Continuum (2006)

Studio: The Village Recorder (Los Angeles), Avatar Studios & Right Track/Sound (New York City) & Royal Studios in Memphis, Tennessee

Lyrics time-he nailed it with this. While making his obvious magnum opus, John Mayer chanced upon some philosophy that looked beyond love. He looked at how we operate, what makes us make the choices we do. What makes this song special along with the simple riff is the flourishes that highlight the track. Truly breathtaking, if you see how much effort he puts into designing the gravity (callback) of the solos-while virtuosic speed and runs allow you to appreciate what is going on. It is one of those moments where the song gets better every time you hear it, and the live versions have a certain panache to them that surpasses studio surround. Think you can be like Mayer? Of course you can, all it takes is belief. Yup, forced wordplay:

9. Good Love is on the Way

Album Name: TRY! – Live In Concert (2005)

Studio: House of Blues  (Chicago)

Back to blues school. Good Love is On the Way is another one of those songs that blossoms with that blues charm. It is an addiction through playing two simple chords arpeggiated. The result is something astounding, becoming another great practice riff to get your hands warmed up. Played live, you can hear where the swells are and where Steve Jordan and Pino Palladino want Mayer to keep going. Once he gets into that solo pocket, there’s no need to get him out. Blues do him a favour, and he does the same. The track has some great transitions and solo stretches that are much better live, especially at the Nokia Theatre sessions and Live in LA. Wonder why B.B King knew blues was in good hands when he saw Mayer play:

10. The Heart of Life

Album Name: Continuum (2006)

Studio: The Village Recorder (Los Angeles), Avatar Studios & Right Track/Sound (New York City) & Royal Studios in Memphis, Tennessee

Got that picking style down yet? Between Continuum and Room for Squares, there are about 6 songs that use Mayer’s signature picking style. Using only the fleshy part of his index and thumb, he creates a rhythm that has a click, strum and ring out for it. With mortality in mind, he writes about the tempo that keeps our life going and how it all will vanish one day. From friends to family, watching them and conversations about life play over a very light percussive background. Another track with a generous solo over different scales, John Mayer shows us why developing your own character in playing in your bedroom can make you who you are later. It’s a song with a lot of soul and heart, and the one after which we part. Happy listening!:

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Editor’s Pick :

Paper Doll

Album Name: Paradise Valley (2013)

Studio: The Village Studio in LA

Paper Doll” by John Mayer, a pop ballad with an exceptionally haunting hook, is widely speculated to be a response to Taylor Swift’s 2010 song “Dear John.” This was the leading single for his album, which is widely believed to be about their brief romantic relationship. While Mayer has never explicitly confirmed the connection, the lyrics of “Paper Doll” contain several apparent allusions to “Dear John” and Swift’s song “22”. Mayer publicly stated that “Dear John” made him feel “humiliated,” and has later acknowledged that the song was written from a place of hurt and that he was aware of how the lyrics would be interpreted.

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