2. Born And Raised (2012)
Best Track: Queen Of California Worst Track: Walt Graces Submarine Test. January 1967 Around the time Born and Raised, Mayers fifth studio album, was set to be released, it was fair to say he wasnt in everybodys good books. After doing what is now a very infamous interview with Playbook Magazine mentioned earlier, Mayer didnt do himself any favours. It was coming off the unsuccessful Battle Studies album and he needed a change. Moving to Montana to stay out of the spotlight and focus on his music. It proved to be a masterstroke with Born and Raised, although triggering the change in musical style, proved to be an incredibly human, strong album, redefining what Mayer could bring to the table. This was the introduction to John Mayer as a country, folk rock, Americana musician. In previous albums he stayed in the rock/pop genre trying to make it big on the charts. While with Born and Raised, Mayer changed everything from previous endeavours, he didnt feel the pressure to create a #1 record, making an album that satisfied him, singing about what mattered to him and in the genre he wanted. The result brought John Mayer back into the spotlight but for the right reasons, for his music. Every song on that album conveyed so much emotion, every song had a story, for arguments sake it was the best album he made if we were ranking it on his lyrics. Songs from If I Ever Get around to Living and the title song Born and Raised talked about actual issues and although it wasnt new to Mayer fans to hear him sing about troubling situations or self-thought, the way in which he presented these lyrics were. Finding the perfect style of music in which to show off what the song was actually about and from the wider music community it was more enjoyed and appreciated. Keeping up with the regular trend of not releasing too many singles, Born and Raised released three singles. The first being the Neil Young-ish Queen of California and for a singer who had a strong history for starting his albums off with a bang, Queen of California was perfect, it was the perfect introduction to this new style of music he was doing. With the breezy mix of soft country and some awesome guitar work, it might not have been huge on the charts but it gave everyone the reminder that Mayer Was Back and quickly became a fan favourite. Two more singles followed, Shadow Days and the other being Something like Olivia both given good reception from fans and as a whole the album received critical acclaim. Mayers critics slowly diminished as Born and Raised received rave reviews. The album sold over 500,000 copies and was certified gold. It was an album where every song was enjoyable and narrowly missed out on top spot. Born and Raised showed us the articular range that John Mayer had achieved over the years and every track on Born and Raised whether that be Age of Worry or ending track A Face To Call Home is now still a pleasure to listen to.