John Mayer- "Who Says"

I feel like John Mayer gets an unnecessarily bad rap. The guy is a talented songwriter and guitar-player, and when his original EP Inside Wants Out came out in 1999, I would say that it was something that was pretty original and refreshing. I still remember getting a burned copy of this CD back in 2000 from my friend, Greg (who is an occasional A Trip Down South reader and commenter), and falling in love with it.

OK, granted, he does have a bit of a reputation for being a womanizer, celebrity-dater, and all-around douche, and I seriously doubt there is anyone who still enjoys the song "Your Body is a Wonderland" after it has been played to death. And I will be the first to admit that he definitely hit the "sophomore slump" with the release of Heavier Things (wow that was a bad album). And while it is doubtful that he will ever achieve the respect shown to artists like Radiohead or Ryan Adams, I think that his marginalization as nothing more "frat boy music" is a bit much.

He showed some promise with the release of the John Mayer Trio album, and with his last album Continuum. "Who Says" is the first release from his upcoming album Battles Studies, and I think that it sounds pretty good. At the very least, his vocals sound really solid and I think this song shares some of the same simplicity that made Inside Wants Out such a great album. Give it a listen as I don't think you will be disappointed.