The mellowed John Mayer in Paradise Valley

I do not know if this is for real and how long this mood will last but it looks like John Mayer’s tempestuous love life has finally quieted and is now home roosting with pop diva Katy Perry.  I deduced this bit of news comes not from a gossip tabloid but from a song included in Mayer’s latest album Paradise Valley. 

Among the songs included is Who You Love, which is a duet with Perry. I say the going is calm and pretty serious for these two because of the lyrics of the song that was written by Mayer and Perry themselves. Take note of how he admits he used to run before. Ask Jennifer, Jessica, Jennifer again, Taylor Swift and others. But he is not running anymore.

“Who you love/ you love who you love/ who you love/ My girl she ain’t the one that I saw coming/ and sometimes I don’t know which way to go/ And I’ve tried to run before/ but I’m not running anymore/ cause I fought against it hard enough to know/ that you love who you love.” Looks like Mayer has finally met his match in Perry.

Who You Love is in keeping with the relaxed, warm and mellow mood of the entire album. Mayer started out with pop rock, Room For Squares and Heavier Things. Then he went for the blues, Try! and Continuum. Then it was folk rock for Battle Studies and Born And Raised. I think Paradise Valley, which is country rock that blends Rick Nelson’s ’60s rock and roll with Eric Clapton’s folk rock of the ’80s is the logical off-shoot of his ongoing evolution.  

Paradise Valley has music that is completely unlike any that Mayer has done before. Could this be the result of the aging process? Mayer is now 35 years old. More likely though, as in his past releases, this change of style is caused by the natural changes that everybody undergoes regarding taste. This is how Mayer feels right now. This is the sound he likes so he made songs for that. It is nothing like his earlier albums but it is also very good. And I love it.

Mayer is a strong songwriter with a unique approach to imagery. Remember Your Body Is A Wonderland or Waiting On The World To Change? And this is very much in evidence in this new CD. See how he opens the set with this invitation in the bouncy Wildfire. “You look fine, fine, fine/ Put your feet up next to mine/ we can watch that waterline get higher and higher/ Say, say say/ ain’t it been some kind of day/ you and me been catching on like wildfire.”

This kind of simplicity pervades the whole of Paradise Valley. It is almost childlike but coupled with his arresting melodies results in massive impact. I must also add that as before the guitar playing whether acoustic or steel or whatever is always impeccable.

Paper Doll, which is believed to be his rejoinder to Taylor’s Dear John, is the first and much talked about single. For the CD’s best, I will go for I Will Be Found (Lost At Sea) and the only cut that Mayer did not write Lynyrd Skynrd’s Call Me The Breeze.

Also included are Dear Marie, Wildfire featuring Frank Ocean, You’re No One Till Someone Lets You Down, Badge And Gun and On The Way Home.

And now a look at the US charts as per this week’s issue of Billboard Magazine: The Top 20 singles in the Hot 100 are Royals by Lorde; Roar by Katy Perry; Wrecking Ball by Miley Cyrus; Hold On We’re Going Home by Drake featuring Majid Jordan; Wake Me Up by Avicii; Holy Grail by Jay-Z feat. Justin Timberlake; Blurred Lines by Robin Thicke feat. T.I. & Pharrell; The Fox by Ylvis; Applause by Lady Gaga; and Summertime Madness by Lana del Rey and Cedric Gervais.

23 by Mike Will Made It feat. Miley Cyrus; Safe And Sound by Capital Cities; Berzek by Eminem; Radioactive by Imagine Dragons; We Can’t Stop by Miley Cyrus; That’s My Kind Of Night by Luke Bryan; Sail by Awolnation; Clarity by Zedd feat. Foxes; Mirrors by Justin Timberlake; and All Me by Drake feat. 2 Chainz and Big Sean.

And the Top 20 albums are Nothing Was The Same by Drake; Mechanical Bull by Kings of Leon; Closer To The Truth by Cher; The Diving Board by Elton John; From Here To Now To You by Jack Johnson; Crash My Party by Luke Bryan; Dream Theater by Dream Theater; Get Wet by Krewella; Metalicca Through the Music, the original soundtrack from the motion picture of the same title starring Metalicca; Off The Beaten Path by Justin Moore.

The Bluegrass Album by Alan Jackson; Bones Of What You Believe by CHVRCHES; The Last Ship by Sting; Fuse by Keith Urban; B.O.A.T.S. II#METIME by 2Chainz; True by Avicii; Blurred Lines by Robin Thicke; A.M. by Chris Young; MMG: Self Made 3 by Various Artists; and Here’s To The Good Times by the Florida Georgia Line.