Music : Try! John Mayer Trio Live in Concert |
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Rating:  - * Oh my - Here;s Johnny! ... This should be called "Promise Kept"! At times it evokes BBK, the ABB, SRV, Bonnie Raitt, Johnny Lang, and more. But it's all John Mayer. I downloaded this last night and then bought the CD this morning. This grabbed me from the first song, and gave me shivers. First new CD to get me excited in a long time. If you like good blues rock guitar, don't hesitate. If you like his pop songs, I can't help you. If you ever wondered why EC invited John Mayer to the Crossroads Guitar Festival, this should put that to rest. In case you could not tell, I really liked this. This one is destined to get worn out in all my players. Nice.... Rating: - * Excellent Live Album! ... John Mayer is a " Very Good" guitarist..I've seen and been into so many guitarist that sometimes it's hard to be fair in a review, but I saw him last year in Virginia Beach when I was on vacation and he was "very" good. So if your just getting into him and don't want the "pop" records this would be a good start, it has a mix of both pop and some nice blues riffs with a great backup band. Highlights for me are: Gravity Out of My Mind I got a Woman Rating: - * Great Sound! ... This was my first experience with John Mayer music and I love it!! The sound is unique, blues style. Rating: - * no bubble gum here ... this is not your pop radio version of john mayer. here he teams up with steve jordan on drums and pino palladino on bass to create a rockin' sound. it is quite evident that john listened to a lot of srv growing up and some of his solos on this disc show that. get it. Rating: - * Come for John, stay for the soulful talent of all ... Those who hate John don't get him. That's fine. Leaves more seats available for the fans who DO get him. Blues is blues. Soul is soul. If it sounds right, it doesn't matter if it's an 80 year old white grandma. I swear I think people hate on others out of jealousy - think they can do better but didn't get the break, or don't like to see "Wonderland" guy show even more depth and soul than he had thus far. John makes what he makes, he makes no excuses. He felt he'd done just enough of the acoustic pop, and wanted to get to his bluesy side, the side he alway felt was there but wasn't ready to come out. "TRY!" was it's time to come out. Here, he proves that he does not hide behind flawless productions in the studio - he is out there with two other KILLER musicians who are helping lift him up and get to where he's going musically, and it JUST WORKS. Watch some live performances on YouTube if you still think his guitar chops are questionable. He has proven he has the talent with the guitar, his silky, husky voice matches perfectly with not only this soulful blues/rock, but with his sweet acoustic pop. He is an "all around" musician with something to say, and we should pay attention. And lest anyone think JM has a false sense of self - he knows he's the "white elephant" in the blues room, but I think he shows you he can do it, too, no matter how he got started. How many more blues/jazz/soul endorsements do you need to get off his back??? Buddy Guy, B.B. King, Clapton, Herbie Hancock, John Scofield, etc. "Who Did you Think I Was" tells it all - you though he could ONLY sing sweet panty-dropping songs, but he shows you he can do more - MUCH more, and it's believable. Bottom line - if you're a lover of music, when it's good, then you can judge this fairly as a GREAT soulful blues rock album. I just don't see how anyone can deny the talent present by these three men. Give it a try... |
The real joy of the set, however, is nine NBA playoff games presented as they were originally broadcast and almost in their entirety. They last about 90-100 minutes with TV introductions and post-game interviews, but minus halftime, commercials, and some slower moments. The games include such absolute classics as the game in which rookie Magic Johnson started at center in place of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and the 1987 "baby hook" game against the Boston Celtics. If you're used to watching current NBA games you might be tempted to just skip to the end, but it's surprisingly rewarding to watch the game develop, to watch the game's superstars strut their stuff (or see a couple of 1972 reserves named Phil Jackson and Pat Riley), and to observe how radically the sport has changed over the years. Variable picture quality and technical glitches are unavoidable (even the 2002 game looks washed out), but this is the first time complete or nearly complete NBA games have been available in the home-video era, and they probably still look better than the VHS tapes you've been saving over the years. Yes, it'd be easy to argue about which games from the Lakers' long history should have been included, and the highlight videos don't have a ton of replay value, but the NBA Dynasty series is a major milestone in archived sports. --David Horiuchi
