1. Born and Raised - John Mayer
John Mayer received an enormous amount of backlash when his interview with Playboy magazine went viral. In case you haven't read it, you can get the run-down from
this Huffington Post article. Despite being an a**hole (which he has since apologized about, several times), John Mayer is undoubtedly one of the most talented musicians of this era. Virtually every one of his albums has received critical acclaim, and his evolution from angst-filled 20-year-old pop icon with is album
Room for Squares to his introspective, blues-infused
Continuum, and finally to his most recent album
Born and Raised. I'll be honest, I was highly skeptical when this album came out. Mostly because I was still PO'd with him for his Playboy interview, but also because I was disappointed with his album
Battle Studies (which after several listens, I love). As it turns out,
Born and Raised is my favourite John Mayer album to date. The album, released in late February 2012, breaks out from every previous album, only maintaining remnants of the bluesy roots from
Continuum. The overall vibe of the album is a beautiful mix of Americana morphed with folk/country/Southern rock. Every song on the album is filled with passion and emotion, from the opening track "Queen of California" to the title track "Born and Raised," and to the finale "A Face to Call Home."
Born and Raised spent over a week as number 1 on the US Billboard 200, selling over 219,000 copies in the first week. The album reached number 1 in Canada, a first for Mayer, and sold approximately 18,000 copies. By September of 2012, the album was certified Gold and had sold over 500,000 copies. Rolling Stone magazine placed
Born and Raised at number 17 on their Top 50 Albums of 2012. The album received praise from Absolute Punk, Allmusic, Billboard, Boston Glove, Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, and Uncut. Here is the 7th track from John Mayer's
Born and Raised, "If I Ever Get Around to Living." http://youtu.be/Y4rcXJonFus
There's my list of 10 Recent Must-Have Albums. What do you think about the list? What are some recent albums you think are excellent? Let us know in the comments!