Sob Rock

Product Information

The title of John Mayer’s 2001 debut album is a modification of jazz bop saxophonist Hank Mobley’s 1963 album title No Room For Squares. At 23 the title indicates that Mayer is aware that he has a way to go before he can declare himself hip on a level anywhere close to Mobley but at the same time is walking the path. The album sold almost 4 ½ million units and produced the radio hit “Your Body Is a Wonderland” which won his first Grammy in 2003 for “Best Male Pop Vocal Performance. John Mayer was born October 16, 1977 in Bridgeport, Connecticut but grew up in Fairfield. He began playing guitar at the age of 13 and soon after discovered Stevie Ray Vaughan. While he attended High School he played in local venues around town and even became part of a band called “Villanova Junction.” Engineer [Assistant] – Angie Teo, Brian Montgomery, Bryan Pugh, Dan Monti, Jared Nugent, Jim Monti*, Peter Doris, Vanessa Parr

Ok, with that out of the way…those commenting that you get a digital quality out of this pressing, this album was recorded hi-res digital and then mastered from tape. So you’re not going to get a true analogue sound out of it. But with that being said, aside from the MFSL Dire Straits Brothers in Arms, this pressing is the closest non-AAA pressing I’ve heard sound to AAA. There is warmth, instrument separation, wide stereo image, incredible transients and lows, this is a MASTERFUL pressing. They wouldn’t ever do one, since the original wasn’t recorded analogue, but I couldn’t even see an AP UHQR sounding any better. If you’re a John Mayer fan (hell, even if you aren’t), do yourself a favor and buy this now. Paradise Valley was released in 2013 and is Mayer’s sixth studio album and sounds connected to the country/folk sound of the previous 2012 release Born and Raised. The similar musical direction can be attributed to the fact that he was now living in Montana as a result of moving there during his recovery period from his temporary vocal disability. Don Was once again produced the album whose sound was inspired by the 1960s zeitgeist that came from artists like the Byrds, CSN&Y, John Mayall, and others escaping the bustle of L.A. by moving to Laurel Canyon. The album features everything from intimate autobiographical tunes to J. J. Cale’s country blues cover of Call Me the Breeze.

In 2017, Mayer released his seventh studio album The Search For Everything and critics chastised him for being too personal in his lyrics. Mayer produced the album himself which included two previously released four-song EPs in between headlining his own tour and touring with Dead and Company. The overall mood of the album is whimsical to counterbalance the intensity of the lyrics. Engineer [Protools] – Angie Teo, Brian Montgomery, Bryan Pugh, Martin Pradler, Nathaniel Kunkel, Peter Doris

Born and Raised is John Mayer’s fifth studio album and was released in 2012 after having four previous albums reach the top 10 of the Billboard 200, and it was the third to reach #1 and stayed there the longest. He experiments with a variety of different styles and it is considered to be one of Mayer’s most diverse albums. Don Was co-produced the album with Mayer and guest musicians included David Crosby and Graham Nash. It was released during a dark period where he was unable to sing because of developing a granuloma near his vocal cords, which required muted treatment for months. In 2006 when his third album Continuum was released, Mayer continued to blow minds and expand his audience with another amazing set of songs with more fabulous guitar work. He demonstrated that his earlier success wasn’t just a fluke but that he was a master craftsman when it came to songwriting. He won two Grammys for Continuum, “Best Pop Vocal Album” and “Best Pop Vocal Performance” for “Waiting on the World to Change” and it was nominated for “Album of the Year.”In 2003, Mayer recorded his second album, Heavier Things at Avatar Studios in New York and it sold over 300,000 units the first week and debuted on the Billboard 200 at #1. He won two Grammys for both “Song of the Year” and “Best Male Pop Vocal Performance” for the song “Daughters.” The album itself has a more somber and jazzier tone to it and the album title is best expressed through the philosophical meandering of the song “Wheel” that concludes with a Karmic view on life and love.