Continuum
| John Mayer
Continuum
Continuum is the third studio album by American singer-songwriter John Mayer, released on September 12, 2006 by Aware and Columbia Records. Recording sessions took place from November 2005 to September 2006 at The Village Recorder in Los Angeles, Avatar Studios and Right Track/Sound on Sound in New York City, and Royal Studios in Memphis, Tennessee. Produced by the singer and Steve Jordan, it marked a change in Mayer's musical style, incorporating elements of blues and soul more heavily than in his previous work with pop rock.-Wikipedia
Critic Reviews
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Rolling Stone
September 11, 2006. . . . a smart, breezy album that deftly fuses his love for old-school blues and R&B with his natural gift for sharp melodies and well-constructed songs.
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Billboard
April 14, 2017. Continuum is just about as iconic as they come, with Mayer’s insane guitar playing presented perhaps most poignantly as it ever will be. It’s a genius mix of the slow-tempo acoustics he brought from the start while also being the most prolific display of who he is as a musician.
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PopMatters
September 20, 2006. While Continuum doesn’t necessarily contain a sure-thing pop hit, it’s one of the few mainstream pop/rock albums that’s satisfying from the beginning to the end.
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Slant Magazine
September 25, 2006. . . . Continuum often plays like a single-disc version of Harper’s bloated Both Sides of the Gun with only occasional flourishes of Mayer’s guitar work to distinguish his brand of too-mellow R&B-infused rock.
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AllMusic
September 12, 2006. It's a bold statement of purpose that is carried throughout the album, not just in sentiment, but also tone. Continuum is a gorgeously produced, brilliantly stripped-to-basics album that incorporates blues, soft funk, R&B, folk, and pop in a sound that is totally owned by Mayer.
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Rockhaq
April 13, 2017. Many fans still consider Continuum as Mayer’s best work to date due to the way he successfully married the contemporary pop elements of his preceding albums together with his everlasting love for blues music.
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Cryptic Rock
September 22, 2016. Continuum remains an album that gives us everything we want to hear from John Mayer; a bit of Pop, a bit of Soul, and some great guitar work.
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AXS
September 12, 2016. The twelve-track album captures a modern sounding R&B and pop-like soul sound to it with a more relaxed feel from start to finish. It’s softer tones mixed with a range of acoustic and plugged in guitar sounds have kept it as one of the better pop guitar albums of the 2000s.
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Comic Vine MusicReviewer
January 16, 2016. The album overall has one of the most solid track-listings out of any popular solo artists in recent memory, with the first eight tracks being concert staples.
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The Independent
October 10, 2006. With this album, Mayer has taken his musical prowess to new heights. Continuum mixes the soft, sultry beats found in an Atlanta jazz club with the familiarity of the voice that brought us “No Such Thing.”
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Boogie Chillen
The album as a whole is pleasant but not impressive by any means. It is clear Mayer takes his music seriously, but on this album, he does not seem to be pushing himself, instead just sauntering along a path following the musicians who have influenced him.
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Compulsive Reader
December 3, 2006. . . . I do know that I found in the album assurance and relief in shared recognition. It is the humanity I see in Mayer’s work that is the most hopeful and most respectable quality (and it is a humanity that cannot be taken for granted as it is not to be found in the work of all contemporary artists).
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Alternative Addiction
"Continuum" is a solid album from not just one of today's more popular artists, but one of its best. His blending of blues, pop, and rock make his sound unique and all his own. He's in great form here, this is the best album that came out late last year, . . . .
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Snippets
September 17, 2006. Mayer’s third album finds us in new territory. . . . The result is Continuum, a mature album with stronger vocals, guitar work, and lyrics, and Mayer’s best effort thus far.
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Review by Keith
John Mayer has a deep abiding respect for the blues, and never has it been more apparent than on his superb album Continuum. Continuum is a true classic of our time, a sparkling and memorable production that deserves all the gushing and media attention that it has been receiving and will continue to get many years from now.
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chorus.fm
2016. This is the album that will ensure his legacy. I enjoy every album John Mayer has ever made, and I’d be totally fine if he continued his trek down the roads of folk and alt-country. Continuum, though, will always be his definitive masterpiece.
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Entertainment
September 11, 2006. His self-produced third album, Continuum, is a John Mayer record par excellence: taut, melodic, well sung, impeccably played…and deadly dull. The tunes are shapely throughout Continuum, and the musicianship is elegant and virtuosic — but in song after song, the music’s low-key loveliness dissipates into a sleep-inducing soft-rock haze. Mayer’s talent is beyond dispute.
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Plugged In
His bluesy acoustic rock explores meaningful issues. But before you let him operate on teens, consider his jaded commentary and salty language.
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Mind Equals Blown
May 22, 2012. While Continuum is more bearable than Mayer’s other records and comes closest to his live show, there still aren’t enough fantastic moments to make this a great, or even good, album. The fantastic moments, while truly great, are unfortunately spread too far apart.
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Concert Livewire
October 18, 2006. Continuum is much more varied, more ambitious than I had heard from Mayer before. The labelers call Continuum a blues album. I'm not sure I'd go that far, but Mayer's balladeer voice and his orchestration, if not his lyrics, sound a lot less reedy and more full and varied than the John Mayer I'd heard before.
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SoulTracks
Mayer had said that his foray into blues had given him a "rawer" sound, and that element gives Continuum a palpably more honest feel that resonates and should appeal to lovers of just about every modern genre of music. It is, quite simply, the finest album you'll hear this year.
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Guitar Chords
John Mayer shows he is ever evolving with his 2006 release Continuum. He really comes into his stride on this album. On Continuum he manages to keep his pop hit side and balance it with just downright soul.
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Daily Vault
September 19, 2006. Not only is Mayer serious, he’s graduated from the College of Blues and come out swinging for the fences. Not content just to record a credible blues album, Mayer here unveils 12 of the most potent, penetrating and relevant songs of his or anyone else’s career. Continuum is nothing short of a triumph, easily among the best albums of 2006.
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relix
September 13, 2016. John Mayer released one of his finest collection of tunes, 2006’s Continuum, ten years ago yesterday. And since it wasn’t all that cool to like Mayer then and it is now, it’s now okay to pay proper due to a very, very good blues guitar record anchored by a jaw-dropping cover of Jimi Hendrix’s “Bold As Love.”
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Prince.org
September 11, 2006. Continuum is a gorgeously produced, brilliantly stripped-to-basics album that incorporates blues, soft-funk, R&B, folk and pop in a sound that is totally owned by Mayer.
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Music Box Magazine
October, 2006. Although his latest effort Continuum isn’t quite as dramatic a shift as one might expect (or hope) it to be, he does attempt to find some semblance of middle ground among his increasingly diverse, public personas. It’s never easy, of course, for an artist to make a massive alteration in his approach, especially after achieving the level of success that Mayer has.
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iTunes Apple
. . . Continuum confirms John Mayer’s transformation into a 21st-century soul man with serious blues-rock chops.
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The Griffon News
October 3, 2006. This album shows a full release of Mayer's talent and his inspiration throughout the years. His other albums have been building blocks up to this point it seems, each one stacking carefully on another so that his experiences could lead up to this point, letting his soulful lyrics and tremendous musical talent shine as brightly as anyone has ever seen.
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Common Sense Media
Combine Mayer's well-written, poetic lyrics with his soulful vocals, superb guitar work, and perfectionist production standards (this is the first time Mayer has produced his own CD, and the loving care shines through on every track), and you've got an exquisite collection. The songs make their point without ever hitting anyone over the head.
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Radio Ga Ga
January 7, 2018. Continuum is one of my two favorite Mayer albums. Continuum also marked a change in Mayer’s musical style, infusing just enough of his love for blues and soul to move him forward without alienating his pop-rock fans. They loved it, and so did the Recording Academy . . . .
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Lets Talk Music
2018. . . . "Continuum" is a gem for a few reasons. 1) It wholly re-casts John Mayer. His albums to that point are pure pop rock. 2) It sets the foundation for future creative endeavors like The John Mayer Trio and Born and Raised. "Continuum" allows him to move away from the sound that began his career to one with more depth, clarity, quality, and sonic resonance. 3) It has lasted.
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