Battle Studies
| John Mayer
Battle Studies
Battle Studies is the fourth studio album by American singer-songwriter John Mayer, released on November 17, 2009 by Columbia Records. Production took place from February to August 2009 at Battle Studies recording studio in Calabasas, California, Capitol Studios in Hollywood, and The Village in West Los Angeles, California, and was handled by Mayer and Steve Jordan.-Wikipedia
Critic Reviews
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Rolling Stone
November 10, 2009. There’s no doubting the man’s chops. Battle Studies is a real study in craftsmanship and understated guitar ninja-dom, and musos will thrill to Mayer’s deconstruction of Robert Johnson’s “Crossroads.” But the solemnity is suffocating.
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Consequence Of Sound
November 29, 2009. There is no question of John Mayer’s intent here, an attempt at pooling his best traits onto one album while trying to remain fresh — and he succeeds.
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Slant Magazine
November 22, 2009. Its title suggesting both a hard-fought, scarred perspective and a depth of insight and experience that its soporific, one-note song cycle utterly fails to provide, Battle Studies stands as a major regression for John Mayer.
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Paste Magazine
December 18, 2009. Mayer’s albums were maturing one after the other, combining electric blues and clever songwriting, but he takes a few steps back with the lovelorn Battle Studies, a superficial meditation on the jagged down-slope of a relationship—the romantic blitzkrieg that recalls, among other genres, his early acoustic sound on Room for Squares.
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PopMatters
November 24, 2009. It would be unfair to call Battle Studies an outright misfire, but it's undoubtedly a regression on Mayer's winding, forward-moving path toward artistic maturity.
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The Guardian
November 19, 2009. . . . Battle Studies's immaculate musical sheen is so pathologically tasteful, so desperately non-threatening, that it ends up sounding more like a Ronan Keating solo album.
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AllMusic
It's no secret that John Mayer is a 21st Century Fox, wining and dining women all through the tabloid headlines, so it's about time he delivered an album that traded upon his loverman persona -- and Battle Studies is that record in spades.
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Billboard
November 6, 2009. Three years after his double-platinum album "Continuum," the new release "Battle Studies" finds Mayer musing about "finding ways to keep the good alive" in romance.
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CU Independent
November 18, 2009. . . . Mayer continues to perfect his guitar chords, lyrics and vocals in his fourth studio album. “Battle Studies” is more pop than his most recently album, 2006’s “Continuum,” and more mature than earlier albums “Room for Squares and “Heavier Things.”
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Soul Tracks
The ultimate punch line of Battle Studies is that it doesn't continue the trajectory of artist development hoped for after Continuum. That said, Battle Studies is by no means a failure. John Mayer continues to be one of the most important and talented modern popular artists, and his ability to craft a song is nearly unparalleled in the rock world.
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Los Angeles Times
November 16, 2009. Musically he's exploring the moody territory of acts such as Coldplay and Snow Patrol; at the same time, he displays his debt to guitar heroes including David Gilmour, Eric Clapton and George Harrison. For the most part, he expresses himself more eloquently through his guitar than his lyrics in the 10 of 11 songs he wrote.
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Under the Gun Review
November 18, 2009. . . . John Mayer has continually pushed himself farther and farther in his career and Battle Studies may just be his masterpiece. From the overall feel of the record to the songwriting, everything flows perfectly. Though it’s said to be a handbook for the heartbroken, I think time may just show it to be a handbook on true musicianship.
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Alternative Magazine
December 12, 2009. So yes, this is a new Mayer presented to us, flawed but exposed naked and willing to be poured over. Perhaps not my favourite of his albums… yet. As I said earlier on, this is a grower.
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Independent
November 13, 2009. It's this bland aspect of Mayer's music which makes his songs easy to project one's feelings onto; but ultimately, I'd take the ZZ Top-style version of Robert Johnson's "Crossroads" over the rest of this album any day.
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Mind Equals Blown
May 22, 2012. When we initiated this exploration of Mayer’s discography thus far I OPTED for Battle Studies, in my opinion, his weakest album. Needless to say John Mayer knows what he is doing and his musicianship keeps improving. He forsook technical guitar in BS to replace it with infectious melody and it really works.
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Popdose.com
November 17, 2009. In the context of his studio work, it’s essentially a slightly more overtly commercial first cousin to 2006’s Continuum — it doesn’t scream for radio as loudly as Room for Squares did, but it doesn’t sound as conflicted as Heavier Things, and it tosses in a few pop hits-in-waiting, like the Taylor Swift duet “Half of My Heart.”
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All About Jazz
November 29, 2009. The only significant disappointment on the album is a half-assed reading of Robert Johnson's "Crossroads," which is here way too soft to be referred to as a blues. But aside from this misstep, Battle Studies is a masterpiece, solid musically and inspiring lyrically.
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Everyview
December 31, 2009. His latest, Battle Studies, might in fact be his simplest effort yet, but the quality overall might be his most consistent since Heavier Things.
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Rhombus Mag
November 30, 2009. With his new album, Mayer sends the message that he wants to be just as renowned for his lyrical ability as his musical ability, and takes a step away from the sure footing of his previous work to do so.
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HiFi.nl
December 10, 2009. His guitar playing remains beautiful and melodic. In that respect, he is undoubtedly one of the best in the world and it is right that his albums reach such large print runs. Maybe I should just accept that John on Battle Studies sounds even easier, more accessible and yes, unfortunately, more 'mainstream' than on the Continuum recorded by the majority of the reviewers in the sky.
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Express
November 19, 2009. And despite taking us to the depths of the perils of love and heartbreak with his lyrics, this still feels like a superficial or forced release for Mayer.
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Entertainment
November 11, 2009. Battle Studies is, for the most part, status quo Mayeromics — an expertly calibrated study in soft-pedal confessions, searching lyricism, and mildly groovy guitar licks.
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The Fabulous Report
November 28, 2009. Heartfelt lyrics over brilliantly composed music makes “Battle Studies” a great addition to anyone’s music collection.
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USD Student Media
February 10, 2010. John Mayer's latest album, "Battle Studies," is no "Continuum," but it's still John Mayer.
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Sputnik Music
Because John Mayer is cool, and Battle Studies is the coolest (read: easiest, breeziest, chill) collection of Mayer’s songs yet, at least measured by the standards of pop consciousness. This isn’t to mistake it for his best though – no, that title goes to Continuum, which remains the closest thing to a perfect blues-pop record ever written.
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No Ripcord
November 29, 2009. Instead of the dynamic sound Mayer is capable of, he has instead continued along the same nicely-paved road he has ridden his whole studio career, a path that has always elicited the same reaction from this writer – a shrug.
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The Recorder
November 11, 2009. Battle Studies is a good album and the original songs are very good. They are true to Mayer’s style so fans won’t be disappointed. He uses a variety of subject matter, even if the song result sounds similar.
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Redbrick
November 29, 2009. Although this album may not stack up to his previous work, it doesn't disappoint. Battle Studies presents a slightly more mature Mayer, singing about lessons he has learnt in love.
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Meet Me In Montauk
November 23, 2009. Where Continuum felt like a big step up, this record feels like a step sideways, which is never as interesting. That said, it’s a strong collection of the sort of thing Mayer does very well: mid-tempo pop and blues with jazz flourishes and some fine guitar playing.
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The Boston Globe
November 17, 2009. But even when the proceedings threaten to get turgid, the intimacy of Mayer’s expression never wavers, and in many ways that’s the album’s greatest victory.
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Marquee Magazine
December 1, 2009. . . . his recent fourth studio effort, Battle Studies, is a major step backward for Mayer as an artist. If a pop star is all Mayer wants to be remembered as, Battle Studies is going to further pigeonhole him into the teen heartthrob image he has seemingly tried to break away from over the past few years.
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Contactmusic.com
December 14, 2009. The production is high quality, the material is tight, and his talent remains clear. This is however no Continuum, which in my opinion is his strongest album to date. Battle Studies remains to be a safe release, there is no statement being made here.
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Teen Ink
September 10, 2010. “Battle Studies” took me by surprise, but in a most pleasant way. I commend Mayer for his diversity and recommend this album to any listener with eclectic tastes.
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April in San Diego
November 17, 2009. Despite the lack of instant love, hearing a Mayer song I’ve never heard before is always a treat. He incorporates very familiar-sounding guitar riffs (are they called riffs?) into his songs that kind of make the songs sound like classic Mayer while still sounding different.
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HiFi Magazine
September 16, 2010. . . . so it’s easy to write Battle Studies off as a bland lazy workout. But the grooves and Mayer’s cool demeanor – that laid-back vocal – makes Mayer too irresistible to undermine. It’s a bit more laid back and posh than Continuum.
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Stuff.co.nz
December 8, 2009. There is a slight change of theme, with most of the album's 11 tracks dealing with a broken heart.
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Plattentests.de-Rezension
Mayer drowns on his fourth album in his own unbearable soullessness. Each of the eleven songs is handcrafted, polished to perfection and produced as a standalone radio hit. That it slowly seems a bit monotonous after the third, fourth song, is the problem of the listener.
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Our Jane
December 17, 2009. . . . I found it difficult to get lost in the songs like I have with previous albums, but I guess I'm just not feeling heartbroken-Mayer, . . . .
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Fushion Magazine
September 30, 2009. The seven-time Grammy winner’s new release incorporates the warmth, melodies and simplicity of 70’s and 80’s California rock/pop. Battle Studies is a confessional, relaxed and liberated album . . . .
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RockTimes Archiv
January 7, 2010. "Battle Studies" is an album of individual lyrics and in love with details to discover. Mayer's music has an imaginary appeal and he has delivered a very notable record.
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Family Friendly Daddy Blog
November 25, 2009. John Mayer’s newest album, Battle Studies, is a hybrid of two of my favorite things of his: 1) The album Heavier Things and 2) his very much underappreciated song “I Don’t Trust Myself with Loving You” from his 2006 album Continuum.
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Mercury News
November 17, 2009. So here is his latest album, “Battle Studies,” and it appears master Mayer has gone all soft around the edges and relented to laying what can only be considered an epic egg. But make no mistake about it, this is pulseless pablum.
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Campus Circle
November 16, 2009. Although well crafted, it would be naïve to describe Battle Studies as a conclusive depiction of Mayer’s genre. Instead, the album simply proves that Mayer has yet to settle in a skin, if he even has the intention to ever do so.
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Shaftment
December 17, 2009. JOHN MAYER is one of the most misunderstood and brilliant musicians of his generation. An incredible guitarist and gifted songwriter Mayer recordings always display craft over guitar heroics. Battle Studies his new cd continues this trend. Everything on this Cd screams solid songwriting and excellent vocal work.
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THe Michigan Daily
November 17, 2009. Despite John Mayer’s claims that his newest album would deviate from his older work and exhibit some experimentation, Battle Studies does not live up to this prelude — it's about 45 minutes of Mayer’s usual defining vocals and traditional blues-rock-pop sound.
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ABC 12 Listening Room
February 26, 2010. . . . "Studies" just feels flat in too many places to earn a solid thumbs up. "Studies'" biggest problem is that it doesn't have enough spunk. There's plenty of good tunes, but everything feels sullen, tentative and a little empty.
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