CD & DVD Review: John Mayer - Where The Light Is - Live in Los Angeles

Let me just say right at the start of this review that prior to this, I had absolutely no idea who John Mayer was. Had you mentioned him to me I would most likely have thought you were talking about John Mayall and that I had misheard you, or else you had developed some species of speech impediment. Quite how John Mayer has managed to slip under my radar, I don't know. An easy answer would be to say that he simply isn't that big over here in the UK, but to be perfectly honest I couldn't tell you how true that actually is.

This double CD set and/or DVD would appear to be the perfect introduction to John Mayer. Each has the same track listing and is divided into three distinct parts in which we see John Mayer perform firstly an acoustic set, secondly a set with the John Mayer Trio, and finally a set with his full band, all recorded at a show at the Nokia Theatre, Los Angeles, last December. As Mayer jokes in the DVD film, he is effectively his own support act.

So, to start, I uploaded the CD into iTunes and gave it an intensive listening to on my iPod.

But, oh dear! "Oh my God, how am I going to review this?", I said to myself. "I don't like it!"

I forgot about the album for a while, and listened to some other bits and pieces. As often happens when I don't have an inkling to listen to any particular album, I set my iPod to "Shuffle" whilst working one afternoon, and one song - with some great guitar playing - shuffled up and caught my attention. "Wow! What's that?" I said, and checking the iPod discovered it was one of the John Mayer Trio songs from the album that I had previously dismissed. The one song played in isolation from the rest of the album had made my prick up my ears, whereas when I'd played the two CDs straight through I found it all a bit too much to take in.

I decided it would be easier to review the DVD. Watching an artist play is nearly always interesting to me. I like watching what a guitarist does, how he plays, what techniques he uses. It's one reason I love to get up front and close to the stage at gigs.

The DVD is subtitled "A film by Danny Clinch", which to my mind is a bit pretentious. It's a live music video, so let's have less of this "film" talk. Unfortunately because there are pretensions at work here, we get unnecessary scenes of Mayer talking utter shite whilst driving his car and with a small yappy-type dog on his lap (is that legal?) and various backstage scenes interspersed between the songs every now and again. These I find highly annoying. He doesn't say anything particularly insightful or interesting, he's just providing inane soundbites probably on-cue from the film maker. This is not the kind of thing I want from a music video. I want the music, so let's have the songs uninterrupted please! Save the silly backstage stuff (e.g. Mayer choosing a wrist watch to wear on stage from a selection of about 20 or so) and the scenes of Mayer and his dog driving about talking bollocks to the DVD extras.

Or as the late Frank Zappa once said, "Shut up and play your guitar!"

Now the music is really quite good. The first three acoustic tracks are Mayer on his own and it's clear from the offset that his guitar playing is quite outstanding. It's fascinating to watch his fingers move and I'm dead jealous of the way he hooks his thumb over the top of the neck to play the bass notes on the low E string. He's joined by Robbie Macintosh on Dobro on the fourth song, and on the next David Ryan Harris joins in on additional guitar. (I'm reminded of The Talking Heads "Stop Making Sense" which begins with David Byrne playing guitar along to a ghettoblaster for the first song, and with each subsequent song an additonal band member joins him until the full band is present.)

The next section features the John Mayer Trio, which is Mayer on guitar and vocals, Steve Jordan on drums, and Pino Palladino on bass. Pino Palladino is a name I know from way back. He famously played the fretless "yoobeeedooo" bass on Paul Young's "Wherever I Lay My Hat (That's My Home)" back in the 80s, and in more recent years has joined Pete Townshend and Roger Daltry on stage with The Who following the sad demise of John Entwistle.

From this section it's obvious that John Mayer's guitar playing is not only informed by Jimi Hendrix, but that he must have studied Hendrix's playing in intricate detail. It's obvious from his playing, his mannerisms, his phrasing and on a visual level in his choice of guitars (e.g. Hendrix "Monterey" Strat replica, and Voodoo Strat with reverse headstock). Oh, that and the fact that he pulls off two very well executed Hendrix covers, "Wait Until Tomorrow" and "Bold As Love". All in all, the Trio set works incredibly well. It's exciting, the playing is fantastic from each of the three musicians, and there's lots of eye candy for guitar enthusiasts as Mayer plays a different guitar for each song (seven different Strats and a Guild Starfire). Yessir, this boy can play the blues.

The final secton with the full band (two additional guitars, bass, drums, keys, trumpet and sax) I didn't enjoy anywhere near as much. Perhaps this is the poppier material, and I just have a preference for the edgier sound of the trio. Nevertheless, this final set still has its moments. Mayer coaxes some incredible sounds from his guitar, especially on "Gravity" where he plays a solo by bending the strings of his Strat behind the nut. We also see some great hammer-on soloing and a little violining going on.

The last three tracks see the band joined by Pino Palladino, so there's two bass players. I was trying to work out if they were playing different parts or just doubling up the same bass line, but I couldn't really tell. I've gotta say, the show was dragging on for me a bit by this stage. Mayer was thanking the audience for staying so late (the show must have been over-running). I was just sorry for those of them who had missed their ride home (I know what that's like, trying not to miss the last train).

So, to sum up...

He's a brilliant guitarist, let's make no mistake about that. I'm not decided on whether or not I like his voice, the jury is still out on that point, and I find some of the things he says to the audience and to the camera to be quite cringeworthy. (But then, at 30 years old, he's still a kid, right?)

John Mayer fans will love this CD and DVD, but they won't need me to tell them that. As a showcase for Mayer's music, it's a great collection, and the three sets idea is a neat one. I can also see that either the CD or DVD would be a good introduction to John Mayer for the curious.

Guitar fans will most likely get a lot out of the DVD in particular if they are like me and enjoy watching other guitarists play. And of course there are plenty of guitars to drool over (I counted at least eight Strats, one Guild, a Gibson semi, three Martins, and possibly a few others that I've forgotten about).

As I've already said, the Trio section was the most enjoyable for me, but I suppose that's what's good about this collection. Different people will like different parts.

Buy it here: CD / LP / DVD / Blu-ray

If Captain Birdseye played guitar...

Hmmmmm... There's something very fishy about this Tele "relic", I reckon.

Leather-covered home-made guitar

I'm sure some people will love this unique leather-covered hand-built guitar, but speaking personally I think it looks vile. The shape is bulbous looking and awkward, the leather covering is disturbing, whilst the metal scratchplate is a feature all too often seen on amateur guitars and - to me - it just screams "home built". Not that there's anything wrong with home-built instruments, but some are more tasteful than others.

As for the EMG pickups, well the reason I don't like them is that they just sound like EMG pickups. You could stick them on a Les Paul or you could stick them on a shovel and string it up. They'd sound the same either way. In the case of the shovel you'd be impressed that it could sound like that, but with the Les Paul you'd be losing out on the tonal characteristics of the instrument itself.

Your Guitars: Andy's Pew Bass

Andy's done it again! Following his Les Pew guitar build, Andy found he still had some offcuts of the church pew he'd used left over.

I'll let him take over and tell you the story in his own words:

Here's my home made headless bass. It has a pine body made from wood from a 1856 church pew and keeps the original finish! (We've been there before haven't we?) The hardware and neck are from a Westone Thunder I-A. Unlike other headless designs it uses the original standard bass tuners which are spaced apart by running the outer (E & G) strings around rollers which were made from the Westone's brass control knobs!

The body is largely hollow and contains the active electronics and two 9 volt batteries (the lower fin or wing unbolts to access them). I feel my mini head is a better idea than the 'standard' headless design as it does away with any wood screws going straight into the neck's end grain and weakening it, also it prevents any string tension being transmitted into the fingerboard which could cause the glue to fail and the board detach from the neck.

It has a great vibrant tone (far better than the Westone's muddy thud!) and sounds quite loud acoustically. It also balances perfectly on a strap and on your lap. (More by luck than judgment!)

Please post you comments, either good or bad I'm interested in what you make of it! And I'll try to answer any questions.

Andy

More guitars, etc, on my myspace.

It's nice to see imaginative recycling such as this in action. Andy claims that this build didn't cost him a penny!

UPDATE: Andy has provided some more photos so as to better illustrate how the tuners are located.


Andy says that the roller support bracket in the tuners photos was made from a bracket from an old school chair!

Mel Galley, RIP

The former Whitesnake guitarist Mel Galley has died from cancer of the esophagus, aged 60.

On discovering he had only weeks to live in February, he told The Daily Telegraph, "It happens, but I've had a fantastic life. I have been very lucky. I have seen some great bands, and played with many great musicians. I am thankful that I can say a proper goodbye to all the friends I have made, who are now rallying round me."

See full story here.

Kyle Petty signed Gretsch 6120 up for grabs

Here's one for fans of NASCAR and for fans of Gretsch guitars. This beautiful Gretsch 6120 guitar, donated by the Gretsch company, has been signed by NASCAR star Kyle Petty and is due to appear on a well-known auction site on Thursday, 10 July.

All proceeds will benefit the 14^th Anniversary Chick-fil-A Kyle Petty Charity Ride Across America, which raises funds for and awareness of Victory Junction Gang Camp and other children's charities.

Minimalist Bass Guitar - Underwater Bass?

This custom stainless steel headless fretless bass certainly looks very intriguing. I wonder how well it would play, each string having its own tubular "fingerboard". I wonder how well it would handle string bends.

The seller also claims that this is "the only bass you can play under water", but doesn't elaborate as to how exactly this is achieved.

I'm reminded of the minimalist Gittler guitars that were also constructed from stainless steel tubes and resembled a cross between a television aerial and a fish skeleton. I actually got a chance to play one of these way back in the days when we used to have the British Music Fair. It was a weird playing experience, especially with the lack of a neck as such, but I quite liked it.

[Thanks to KC who recommended that I check out this bass on eBay. Content suggestion for this blog is always welcome, so don't be shy, get in touch. I'd also like to feature more readers' own guitars, but would prefer unique instruments, interesting customizations and self-builds. Please, no bog standard Strats, Teles, Les Pauls, etc.]

Grant Nicholas' Jazzbird

We were listening to "Silent Cry", the latest album by Feeder, in the office yesterday, which reminded me do a search for that guitar that Grant Nicholas plays, the one that looks like a Gibson Firebird with a Fender Jazzmaster neck on it. Now, that's a strange combination, because Gibsons typically have glued in necks whereas Fenders have bolt-on necks.

I could find very little about this guitar, other than Wikipedia's mention of Grant Nicholas owning a "green Custom Jazzbird". Does anyone out there know who built it?

I think it's a very cool looking guitar; somehow the Fender head looks correct teamed up with that particular bodyshape. It would appear that he's got a Jazzmaster tremolo on it too.

I am reminded of John Entwistle's "Fenderbird" basses which married a Gibson Thunderbird body with a Fender Precision neck.

Bubblegum guitar

If you've been following the coverage of the Summer NAMM 2008 show (for example, over at Modern Guitars Magazine), you'll have seen the rather bizarre Helmet Guitars which are styled after American football helmets and are available in a wide range of colours so as to match your favourite team, if indeed you have a favourite as such.

However, if you click through to the gallery of other guitars produced by the parent company, NEO Products Inc, there are a whole bunch of oddities including guitars that double as aquariums complete with goldfish, guitars with neon lights inside them, and my favourite, this guitar that is also a bubblegum machine.

Sympathetic Slide Chicken Cooker in Open G

I've blogged about Iner Souster and the Experimental Instruments He Lives With before, about two years ago. I'm glad to report that he's still busy making weird and wonderful musical instruments out of assorted found objects and pieces of junk, and am even more pleased that he documents it all in his splendid blog.