Song of the Week Nov 3 - Nov 9: Free Fallin'

I begin this week's post with yet another apology. I've heard reports that my version of "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" isn't loading up properly. I'm taking a look at some alternate file hosting services and so I hope to have things fixed in the next couple days.

On to business. SOTW comes to us from none other than John Mayer. To me, Mayer is a contemporary example of a musician who successfully bucked the "prettyboy-pop-singer-with-a-guitar-as-a-prop" image. When he first entered the scene, critics dubbed him "Dave Matthews Lite" and truly, Mayer bristled at the label. Mayer's debut album Room For Squares was partially to blame; with its neutered guitar fills and the college freshman anthem "No Such Thing," it created a first impression that was less-than-substantial (not that the album lacked substantial sales, but that it just lacked substance). I saw Mayer live back in '02 shortly after the release of Room For Squares and it seemed from his dialogue between songs and his onstage antics that he was very anxious to distance himself from his prettyboy image. It was understandable then, that Mayer sought to create a sophomore album that brought more legitimacy to the table than Room For Squares had. The appropriately titled Heavier Things was like Mayer saying "It's not what you think!" to all those who had weighed Room For Squares and found it wanting.

Mayer did well. He was also fortunate enough to pal around (musically, at least) with the likes of blues legends BB King, Buddy Guy, and Eric Clapton. I think this did wonders for his musical direction. Take Clapton, for example: notoriously shy, always the leader-follower in each of his bands, he managed to define himself by his music rather than by his on-stage persona. Under the tutelage of such guitar greats, Mayer's true nature as a bluesman started to emerge. The albums Heavier Things, Try! and Continuum all allowed Mayer the latitude he needed to flesh out his repertoire as he wanted to, and not merely as dictated by the requirements of his record label.

Eventually, Mayer had progressed to the point where it was time for the obligatory live album; the John Mayer version is entitled Where The Light Is. The recording was made at the L.A. Live Nokia Theater in Los Angeles on December 8, 2007. Mayer divided his concert into three sets: the first was an acoustic sampler, the second featured the John Mayer Trio (Mayer on guitar and vocals, Steve Jordan on drums and backing vocals, and Pino Palladino on bass guitar and backing vocals), and the last set included most of the musicians involved in the recording of the Continuum album. Our song this week comes from the first of the three sets. Mayer chose to end the acoustic set with a soulful cover of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers' "Free Fallin'," and Mayer's version has a serious chance of becoming my favorite rendition.

Mayer's take on the track lacks the bright musical color of the Tom Petty's 1989 original. Petty's track opens with an almost-triumphant sweep of acoustics and in fact, the entire track lacks the regretful quality that the lyrics would suggest. Mayer, on the other hand, gives an amazingly genuine performance, full of remorse and all the baggage one would associate with a "heartbreaker." I like the bare-essentials sound of Mayer's take as well. By arranging the track around a simple trio of guitars and including only the occasional harmonizing vocal, Mayer pulls away all the frills and we are left with the confessional monologue of a mournful bad boy. Mayer's vocal execution is flawless as well; his gritty midrange narrates the story and when it's chorus time, his effortless falsetto is the perfect compliment to the phrase "free fallin'."

So once again, I hope you enjoy this belated edition of SOTW. I've included both the Tom Petty and John Mayer versions this week for comparison. And while the lyrics and chord progressions are identical, to me this post demonstrates that a great storyteller can take a classic tale and make it seem new again; Mayer achieves this with "Free Fallin'." Until next time, keep listening and thanks for checking out The Sonic Landscape.