ShareThisBy CHUCK CAMPBELL
Sunday, November 19, 2006
"CONTINUUM," John Mayer (Aware/Columbia)
"Continuum" puts John Mayer on the fast track to middle age _ in all the good ways.
The 28-year-old singer-songwriter sounds remarkably seasoned as a performer and far more contemplative as a lyricist than he did on both 2001's "Room for Squares" and 2003's "Heavier Things."
Obviously, his current solo release was strongly influenced by his blues work with veteran musicians Pino Palladino and Steve Jordan _ with whom he recorded the live 2005 release "Try!" as the John Mayer Trio. However, "Continuum" isn't a blues album so much as it's a blues-flavored pop album, and Mayer's mature musings are a product of his mind, not musicians in a studio.
Set in the context of the bluesy textures of warm grooves, fat guitar chords and Mayer's world-weary vocals, "Continuum" unfolds with polished timelessness.
The release is life affirming, if rarely uplifting (an understated and light "The Heart of Life" is a notable exception). Mayer attempts to explain his generation's inaction on first single "Waiting on the World to Change," and after he frets about the death of his parents on "Stop This Train," he concludes, "So scared of getting older / I'm only good at being young."
"Gravity" feels like the pivotal track, a smoldering showcase of Mayer's ability to emote with restrained passion on par with R&B's best icons. The piano-supported "Dreaming With a Broken Heart" is nearly as powerful as he adopts an affecting desolation, singing, "Do I have to fall asleep with roses in my hand? / And would you get them if I did?"
"Continuum's" adult pop is likely too subdued to produce the kind of hits that might bulldoze the mainstream Top 10, but it's solid throughout _ apart from an awkward cover of Jimi Hendrix's "Bold as Love" that pushes Mayer beyond his comfort zone.
Yet, as he gently croons on the bittersweet "In Repair" _ "I'm not together, but I'm getting there."
And he's almost there.
Rating (five possible): 4
"THE DUTCHESS," Fergie (A&M)
Fergie proves she's not just a prop for the Black Eyed Peas with her solo breakout "The Dutchess," which separates the singer from her quirky urban-pop act and emphatically defines her as her own woman.
Just kidding.
Produced largely by BEP's will.i.am, "The Dutchess" shows that though she has the moves and the 'tude, Stacy Ann 'Fergie' Ferguson is modeling clay for her producers. And will.i.am cuts up her background with urgent eclecticism parallel to his work with their band.
Visualize whirled Peas.
However, "The Dutchess" is more than "Fergie Featuring the Black Eyed Peas" _the deliriously addictive best track (and first single) "London Bridge" was actually produced by Polow Da Don, who amped up the beat to create the most explosive party song of the year (so far).
Yet the second, third, fourth and fifth best cuts were all produced by will.i.am, who fashions a casual cadence for Fergie's sly braggadocio before flowing it through the manic twists of "Fergalicious," slams in an apt sample of The Temptations' "Get Ready" on "Here I Come," delicately crafts a near-conventional ballad construction for "All That I Got (The Make Up Song)" and chops up girl-group nostalgia on "Clumsy." He also chips in guest vocals for both "Fergalicious" and "All That I Got (The Make Up Song)."
Elsewhere, Fergie attempts to establish herself as a torch-song chanteuse ("Velvet"), a rock-ish bellower ("Pedestal") and a reggae vocalist ("Voodoo Doll"). She's got the sass down, but her limited range blunts distinctiveness.
"The Dutchess" takes a particularly disheartening turn with its final handful of tracks, with neither the singer nor her producers even attempting to create anything more than by-the-numbers R&B/pop.
Like the most recent Black Eyed Peas releases, "The Dutchess" is fitfully fun and generally rewarding. It only turns sour with the album-ending bloat.
Rating: 3
"DESPITE OUR DIFFERENCES," Indigo Girls (Hollywood)
Despite their creative differences, Indigo Girls' Amy Ray and Emily Saliers have held their Georgia-based duo together for 20 years, thanks largely to their simpatico spirits and their killer harmonies.
The two are on conspicuously divergent artistic paths on their new "Despite Our Differences" _Saliers is a little bit folky, Ray's a little bit rock 'n' roll _ a disparity made all the more apparent by their customary practice of alternating turns at lead vocal, each singing her own songs.
Saliers maintains her status quo on the Mitchell Froom-produced "Despite Our Differences," which is to say her songs fit comfortably in a listener's head as she effortlessly delivers instantly gratifying, if familiar, melodies. Her output is tender and sweet, whether she's proclaiming the title of "I Believe in Love" or being political on "Pendulum Swinger."
Froom effectively exploits the natural vulnerability in Saliers' voice by leaving in the imperfections, letting her vocals stray as she climbs the arcs in the chorus lines of "Run" and crack in the intricate sway of "Lay My Head Down," where she sings, "I don't know what to believe / I just show up and breathe anymore."
The acoustic orientation of Saliers' songs is flipped by Ray's electric tendencies, which are more of a challenge for Froom to frame. A few tracks don't work well: "Rock and Roll Heaven's Gate," featuring guest vocals by Pink, is muddy, the swaggering "Three County Highway" is sluggish, and "Money Made You Mean" is off-putting in its stridency.
However, Ray's connection to her past on "Little Perennials" results in a compelling, full-bodied first single, and her ominous stand on "They Won't Have Me" makes her the commanding conductor of a slow-chugging locomotive. And Ray's most striking turn comes with her heartfelt and haggard delivery on the disquietingly bleak ballad "Dirt and Dead Ends."
Ultimately, "Despite Our Differences" isn't the best Indigo Girls' release, though all fans will get something out of it: Those who might be dissatisfied with Ray's experimentation can take solace in Saliers' stability, and those perhaps bored by Saliers' sameness can enjoy Ray's bolder moves.
Rating: 3-1/2
