John Mayer

Song titles on John Mayer's fourth album remind us that love is a battlefield: "Heartbreak Warfare," "War of My Life," "Assassin." Broken hearts figure in the set's first two songs; by the third, a duet with Taylor Swift, Mayer's heart has split in half. Sometimes his response to emotional combat is to be a conscientious objector, writing declarations of independence. But in the end, he's just a vulnerable guy. So his guitar solos mostly stay sensitive; occasionally, though, he beefs things up a bit. And when he revives Robert Johnson's "Crossroads," he gives it some real Stevie Wonder funk.

John Mayer — what a curious case. As a pop personality, the guy's a barrel of laughs. He's a
tabloid fixture who wears his celebrity with a wink: modeling Borat's onesie swimsuit,
starring in goofy YouTube videos, and generally disarming, with wit and self-deprecation,
the millions inclined to hate a starlet-shagging guitar virtuoso. But then Mayer steps into a
studio, and the fun spigot claps shut. It's as if Mayer, burdened by his status as h... More >