Last Name1
Essay 1 Revision
ENG 1121-30
6-17-10
Where the Light is: A Portrait of John Mayer
In this new day and age of iTunes, a person can surf the web to simply pick and choose his or her favorite songs by the latest one-hit wonders and discard the rest of the music world as they please. The public ignores the effort that goes into releasing an album by talented musicians and replaces them with the heartbroken musings of a fourteen-year-old boy such as Justin Bieber, or the finished product of an insomniac who managed to figure out how to use Garageband, like Owl City. Yet, there is hope still for traditionalists who seek more than a three-minute escape from boredom in traffic, who want to get to know a musician through their music rather than reading about them in a tabloid. The 2007 live concert album Where the Light is paints a perfect picture of John Mayer’s musical and personal identity because it combines heartfelt lyrics with catchy rhythms, displays versatility by adding new adaptations to classics and cover songs, and shows John’s mastery as a musician by consistently deliveringstrong performances in different band dynamics.
This live album is packed with songs from his previous endeavors that sold millions of copies. These originals have significant meaning to not only John, but are universally relevant because the powerful lyricism comments on the human condition. For example, the opening song for the full band set, “Waiting on the World to Change,” is all about how the public is in an awkward position concerning the war in Iraq, the press, and the government. He sings, “We see everything that’s going wrong with the world and those who lead it/ We feel like we don’t have the means to rise above and beat it, so we’ll keep waiting/ Waiting on the world to change.” This comment is indicative of a popular sentiment, which is why this song rings so true and has become a hit single. Another song, titled “Belief”, reflects the nature of war and the cause behind it. The lyrics, “What puts the folded flag inside a mother’s hands?/ Belief can, belief can/ What puts a hundred-thousand children in the sand?/ Belief can, belief can,” create powerful imagery designed to instill strong feelings about the current situation in politics, transcending far beyond the typical scope of a musician singing about relationships.
Yet, he also performs songs on the album that have a more aesthetic appeal, such as “Slow Dancing in a Burning Room.” This particular song is unique because it is not the average sappy love song that plays on the radio. The words are sad, but beautiful in a very poetic way: “We’re going down, and you can see it too/ We’re going down, and you know that we’re doomed/ My dear, we’re slow dancing in a burning room.” All the while, the soulful guitar in the back carries the melody, seemingly echoing the desperate, failing attempt to escape impending disaster. John Mayer’s songwriting talent allows any listener to experience the emotion behind each message.
Another strong point of this album is that throughout the entire concert, John reveals his versatility by displaying many sides of his musical personality. He starts the evening off by appearing onstage with an acoustic guitar. He begins to rapidly fingerpick the strings in a down-tuned key and forges a unique, driving funk that does not appear to have any real agenda, yet captivates the listener as it pulses to a strong beat. The audience is extremely tense, not recognizing this piece. John winds his way around for a while, then jams an odd chord, finally culminating in a fan-favorite, “Neon.” The way John holds the final note before starting the song keeps the listener in suspense, and when the song is over, the audience realizes that the strange intro was in the same key and accented the same notes that were used in the song. This sort of surprise shows John’s musical sense of (for lack of a better word,) humor.
His nature shines through particularly during his rendition of the cover song “Free Fallin’,” as he changes the key and style. This song varies from Tom Petty’s original in the fact that John changes the voicing of the vocals, and because he has added extra dynamics intended to have high and low points in the song, keeping this cover song interesting and unique. The performance clearly shows the crowd that John constantly enjoys reworking and improving upon his (and other’s) music.
Another good example of John’s revealed personality is the track “Out of My Mind.” Many people argue that because the songs is over ten minutes long, it becomes boring and cannot hold even the most dedicated fan’s attention. Music critic Fred Mills of Blurt Magazinewent so far as to imply in his article “Where The Light Is: Live In Los Angeles”that this is a good song to play while performing some other mind-numbing task, due to its exhausting nature (Mills). However, because this song is a slow twelve-bar blues, the intended purpose is not to woo the audience with a thoughtful message, but to highlight the instrumental skill of the artist. This track does a wonderful job of highlightingJohn’s inventive style and technical prowess when a casual listener may not even know the full extent of his skill.
Possibly the most representative aspect of the entire album is that it shows John consistently performing at a very high level, even when the band dynamics change. Another critic Jeff Gileswriotes[SW1]in his review,“John Mayer: Where the Light Is: Live in Los Angeles”about John’s erratic behavior in releasing a live album instead of working on new material (“John Mayer: Where the Light Is: Live in Los Angeles”Giles[SW2]). However, aAs an overall musician, instrumental proficiency and songwriting technique are not enough to be successful. A live album is the perfect test of a musician’s strengths and weaknesses. Each performer has to be aligned perfectly with the others, and especially in live settings, must be able to live up to the standard of the record. In the solo set, during songs such as “In Your Atmosphere” and “Stop this Train”, any listener will find that John handily carries the vocal melody while sustaining a strong rhythm behind it. “Stop This Train” has an especially difficult finger-picking pattern, but he plays it well and sings effortlessly over it.
In the next set by the trio, John is able to step out a little further from his contained acoustic role and into one that allows greater freedom. In “Who Did You Think I Was,” John leads the group in an exciting experience by starting a fast-paced blues rock riff and keeping up the stellar vocals, using the high-energy atmosphere to propel him on to break out into a massive solo full of tone and attitude, relying heavily on his band mates to support the rhythm beneath.
Then, during the full band set, John pulls out all the stops, singing higher and stronger than ever before, leading more solos, and adding new voicings and tags and even key changes to make each song better than the last. Before “Gravity”, John starts with an intro of “Dreams to Remember,” and blends it right into the following song seamlessly. During the song, he hits a note significantly higher than the studio version that catches the audience by surprise, and is rewarded by seven-thousand cheers and screams. In “I Don’t Trust Myself,” the key change after the bridge leads into an extended solo, vastly elevating the song from really good to amazing.
FSo for any music lover that wants to truly experience a hit, look no further than John Mayer’s live experience. It is a beautiful collection of songs that illustrate the power of thoughtful lyrics, versatility in multiple styles, and the mastery of musicianship that only John can bring to the table. In today’s world of the weekly trend and single-use pop artist, John Mayer’s live album definitely keeps me where the light is.
Works[SW3] Cited
Giles, Jeff. “John Mayer: Where the Light Is: Live in Los Angeles”. Bullz-Eye.com. n.d. Web. 13 June 2010. where_the_light_is_live_in_los_angeles.htm
Mills, Fred. “Where The Light Is: Live In Los Angeles”. Blurt Magazine. 03 July 2008. Web. 13 June 2010.
Criterion Point Values Your Scores
Thesis/ Purpose / 10 / 8 / 5 / 3 / 0 / 1010 possible points / Clear, well-phrased,
appropriate thesis;
Effective focus
Addresses purpose and
form of the assignment. / Clear appropriate thesis;
Appropriate focus;
Addresses purpose/ form of assignment / Less clear thesis;
Minimal focus
Addresses purpose and form, but slights some tasks / Inappropriate, unclear, or missing thesis;
Lacks focus
Shows confusion about purpose of assignment.
Organization & Structure / 10 / 8 / 5 / 3 / 0 / 10
10 possible points / Order and pattern of ideas is logical, coherent, and perhaps even dramatic / Order and pattern of ideas is logical and coherent / All parts of essay are presented, but may not be in the best order or may lack coherence / Incoherent or illogical organization
Critical Thinking & Support / 20 / 15 / 10 / 5 / 0 / 20
20 possible points / Insightful critical thinking and reasoning
Strategic use of concrete and relevant support.
Appropriate depthof research
Sources arerelevant, credible, varied, and of high quality / Sound critical thinking/ reasoning
Effective use of relevant & concrete support.
Less depth of research
Sources are relevant and credible. / Predictable thinking and reasoning
Adequate support
Research lacks depth. / Little evidence of critical thinking
Irrelevant and inadequate support
Lacks relevant
sources
Audience Awareness / 10 / 8 / 5 / 3 / 0 / 10
10 possible points / Strong audience awareness
Rigorous; consistently engages reader / Awareness of needs and expectations of readers / Limited audience awareness
Shifting point-of-view / No audience awareness
Language Style / 10 / 8 / 5 / 3 / 0 / 10
10 possible points / Appropriate, consistent tone and voice
Sophisticated language and sentence structure
College-level vocabulary / Tone or voice wavers at times
Less sophisticated language and sentence structure
College-level vocabulary / Inconsistent voice
Repetition and redundancy
Less sentence variety
Limited vocabulary / Inappropriate tone or voice
Lacks sentence variety
Basic vocabulary
Grammar/Technical Specifications / 10 / 8 / 5 / 3 / 0 / 10
(10 possible points) / Generally free from errors
Essay specifications are followed. / There may be a few minor errors;
One essay spec is not followed. / Patterns of errors
More than one essay specification is not followed. / Frequent errors impede readability
Many essay specs are not followed.
Documentation / 10 / 8 / 5 / 3 / 0 / 8
(10 possible points) / Writer documents in-text and list of works cited correctly / Writer documents sources correctly, but there may be some minor errors / Writer attempts to document sources but is sometimes incorrect
Formatting is inconsistent / Documentation is missing or incorrect / Plag
78[SW4]/80
[SW1]He “criticizes” Mayer for this?
[SW2]Since you have the author named in the signal phrase, put the article title in the citation marker. See
[SW3]Should be on a final page of its own.
[SW4]Nice work.