Shining Light

Shining Light
A review of the John Mayer’s Album “Where the Light Is”


The crowd explodes as John Mayer walks onto the stage and starts meticulously strumming his guitar. Mayer’s recently released “Where the Light Is” ranks among the best concert albums in the last decade. This is his second concert album, attesting to the fact that he has one of the best live shows of any artist this generation. Although nothing can compare to seeing an artist live in concert, this album is as close as it comes.

The return to an acoustic version of a fan favorite, “Neon”, opens the show. Although a soulful blues version this song was the closer to his last concert album “Any Given Thursday,” the acoustic rendition provides a refreshing reminder of his early studio albums that diehard fans will appreciate. The next song “Stop This Train,” is also preformed without his band and electric guitar. The live and alone vibe of the beginning of the cd draws the audience, making you feel as though Mayer is performing just for you. The previously unreleased “In Your Atmosphere” is a refreshing but classic Mayer style tune. After two albums that were heavily electric, the new version of these songs alone makes the album worth a listen.

Mayer spares you his obnoxious and self-centered banter until track eleven, which any true fan knows is quite the accomplishment (for Mayer or the sound editor). The ten minute version of “Out of My Mind” transports you into the concert as Mayer and his band mates simply jam on stage. The Jimi Hendrix cover, “Bold as Love” also displays his electric guitar skills, but is unfortunately utterly ruined by Mayer’s egotistical self-analysis placed in middle of the song. As great as the cover is, hearing about how impressed he is about “making things happen for myself,” wrecks the song. But this is nothing new for diehard fans that have largely learned to overlook his rants. For the casual fan, you should probably stick to the studio version of this one, but for the hardcore fan, go ahead and buy it. When he is actually singing, it’s a phenomenal cover helps to create the overall mood of the album.
“Waiting on the World to Change” brings the show back on track and sucks the listener into his catchy lyrics. From those who have only heard his hits to the fanatics, the last section of the album will leave you with a newfound appreciation of Mayer and the blues. As entertaining as Mayer’s facial expressions are while playing, this CD lets you focus on his mind-blowing talent. The rest of the show is largely dedicated to his performing songs off of his last studio album, “Continuum” with a Ray Charles cover thrown in as well. The live performance of these tracks breathes new life into them that a studio recording just cannot mimic. Mayer rips into the guitar during “Gravity” making it one of the best tracks on the CD. During this section of the album you will find yourself singing along with Mayer and the LA audience more than once.

“Where the Light Is” is the type of album you can put on while you read a book on a rainy day or sing along to in your car. This is one of the rare albums you can listen to all the way through in one sitting. It is well worth buying every song off of itunes. Mayer proves he is worth the praise by magazines such as The Rolling Stone as a “Guitar God” with this concert.