Review - John Mayer Trio: Try! (Live)

by Eric Hancsak
December 16, 2005

Early on, John Mayer made no bones about the fact he was greatly influenced by the late, great Stevie Ray Vaughan. But that wasn't the reason for his selling millions of records. Writing strong pop songs was. Selling those millions has afforded him the freedom, and luxury, to explore.

On his newest release, "Try! (Live)," he does just that, and explores the blues. He teams with 2 accomplished music veterans, Pino Palladino (Eric Clapton, Phil Collins, Elton John, The Who) on bass, and Steve Jordan (George Benson, Aretha Franklin, Steely Dan) on drums, to offer a set of tunes that crosses from straight-up blues to pop to funk and back.

On Try!, Mayer's guitar playing is excellent. However, while he is nowhere near Stevie Ray's God-like ability, he has made some impressive strides.

Pay attention to: "Who Did You Think I Was"

Rating: 4 out of 5