Paradise Valley

An enormous waste of talent.

The first four songs on this album are his best writing on any album after Continuum. Battle Studies and Search for Everything are amazing albums, but this album is seriously John Mayer after completing yet another evolution. His first evolution was the original material. The second began with Heavier Things and culminated in Try/Continuum. The third ran through Battle Studies, Born and raised, and hits its peak in this album, Paradise Valley. It seems John delvs into a specific style for several albums, until mastering it and integrating it into his overall "sound," then moves on to the next challenge. Do I like every song on this album? No, a few are still two country-twangy for me. But it's a 5 star album all the same. Buy it on disc.

don’t you think she was too young

All i can say is i love this album to death. I love the vibe on it. I love wildfire. I love every song on the album.

This is one of my personal favorite John Mayer albums. This album has a great flow, track after track. This album also has great vocals, great drum solos, and great guitar solos as well. Finally, the instruments wrap around the vocals like no other, and intertwine perfectly. Definitely looking forward to the next limited play album, and extended play album from John Mayer.

Best John Mayer album. True.

I like the one about Taylor lol

This album is so good. Such a different vibe than that of the pop-radio play songs. Please, more albums like this!!

You gotta love John Mayer. He's a bankable artist who never puts out a bad/weak album. Track for track he nearly always hits the mark. I seriously can't believe how good this album is. Aside from being just very pleasant background music, this is the best Mayer album since Continum and possibly better than Battle Studies. And it blows the doors off the last album. It's as if the last album was practice for this one. It has the same feel and tone, but it's clearly much more solid. The writing is so much more generalizable and universal. Much more poetic and it reaches me more than the last album does. I hear hints of Jim Croce at moments - like the line about the key hanging where it used to be. He's clearly tapped into some of the heart of folk music - the base of all good genres. And this album does veer towards folky brilliance. I mean, there's the pop and new country twang going on, but it's more folk than anything. But the country influence that so many artist have run to recently with underwhelming results works well for Mayer. It's a very comfortable addition into his sound unlike it has been for many others. The thing that proves to me that Mayer is brilliant is that I don't hear genres when i listen. I hear John Mayer. He transcends genre and defies categorization. Mayer is a genre unto himself. It's as if he created a new sound with this album. A feat he achieves with seeming effortlessness. His guitar work is also possibly stronger than ever. It's not the front and center focus as with the Trio, but it's presence is ever felt. Stunning solos that speak as well as his vocals. Seriously, it's as if he's talking with it at moments. Just constant weaving throughout the tunes. Highlighting his vocal sections without obscuring them. Perfect. He is the guitarist of our generation. Period. Even the weakest songs on here are still just great. Mostly both strong and weak 4 star songs with one or two three and one or two five star songs. Wildfire, You're No One, and Badge and Gun are my favorites. There is only one mis-step here. The short Frank Ocean version of Wildfire is garbage - a total outlier throwaway. It's hard to fathom how he does it. He does what so few can do - write and play creatively and consistently well. No filler. No borrowing and piggy-backing. Minimal fake sounds/studio tickery. It's mostly all Mayer. This all being said, Paradise isn't a perfect album. There are still far fewer 5 star songs on here than on Continuum. And the lyrics are a little less deep/impactful overall than on some of his previous albums. Songs like Dear Marie sound great, but are too personal and very difficult to relate to. Overall there's one 5 star song on this album in Wildfire, seven 4 star songs, two 3 star songs and just the one throwaway in the Frank Ocean version of Wildfire.

A natural follow up to "Born And Raised" with a bit of a bend towards the blues and Memphis... What continues to stand out about John is his songwriting and impeccable playing. Impossible not to like this record (and all of the others...)