John Mayer Trio

John Mayer Trio
Try!
(Sony)
John Mayer Trio, John Mayer is best known for his sappy, romantic brand of pop-rock. It’s relatively unknown that Mayer is also a talented blues guitarist. Try! brings together Mayer, Steve Jordan (his resume includes a laundry list of some of the biggest names in music including James Brown, Eric Clapton and The Rolling Stones) and Pino Palladino (an equally storied resume includes work with BB King, Jeff Beck and Eric Clapton). This live album allows Mayer’s guitar room to breathe on these expanded versions of “Daughters” and “Who Did You Think I Was?” (both from Heavier Things). The trio also performs a great cover of Ray Charles’ “I Got a Woman.” Try! will expose Mayer’s blues leanings to his fan base while earning him some new fans along the way. He’s more than the sum of his pop offerings.
—Trevor Savory

This article appears in Dec 6-12, 2007.