Ubermusic: Reviews: John Mayer - Room for Squares/title> </head> <body bgcolor="#000000">   <div id=aws_1225 align=center> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="margin:0 auto;"> <tr> <td width="130" class="mwst" style="vertical-align:top; padding:5px 15px 5px 0;"> <a href="http://50megs.com/?refcd=MWS_20040713_Banner_bar"> <img src="/cgi-bin/image/images/bannertype/100X22.gif" width="100" height="22" border="0" /> </a> </td> <td width="130" class="mwst" style="padding:10px 0 10px 10px;"> <div align="right"> <a style="padding:5px 15px; color:#FFF; font-size:14px; display:block-inline; background-color:#166DC2; border: 1px solid #166DC2; border-radius:4px;" href="/cgi-bin/login" target="_blank">Sign In</a> <a style="font-size:14px; color:#41c5e4;" href="/cgi-bin/path/signup?refcd=MWS_20040713_Banner_bar">Sign-Up</a> </div> </td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan=2 class="mwst" align="center" style="width:730px;"> </td> </tr> </table> <DIV id="setMyHomeOverlay" align="left" style="position:absolute; top:25%; left:25%; width:358px; border:1px solid #AEAEAE; background-color:white; z-index:200000; display: none;"> <div style="height:59px; padding-left:22px; background:white url('/cgi-bin/image/images/sethome_top_border.gif') repeat-x;"> <div style="float:left; width:182px; height:35px; margin-top:12px; font:bold 38px arial,sans-serif; color:#454545"> Welcome! </div> <div style="float:right; padding:6px 5px 0px 5px;"><a href="#" onclick="javascript:do_set_homepage('close'); return false;"> <div style="background:url('/cgi-bin/image/images/sethome_x.gif'); width:21px; height:21px; cursor:pointer;"></div></a></div> <div style="float:right; font:bold 12px arial; margin-top:10px;"><a style="text-decoration:none; color:#004182;" href="#" onclick="javascript:do_set_homepage('close'); return false;">Close</a></div></div> <div style="height:170px; background:#ffffff;"> <div style="padding:30px 20px 0px 20px; font:normal 14px arial; height:80px;"> Would you like to make this site your homepage? 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Thanks to the hit "No Such Thing" and an extremely dedicated fanbase, he is the primary singer-songwriter to rise in the past year and a half . It's just too bad the album doesn't quite live up to the hype. Comes close, though. <p> The name of the game is "overproduced," and it's a game played by some of the tracks here. Unnecessary additions such as the chorus of "My Stupid Mouth" being injected into "Your Body Is a Wonderland" hurt the song. However, the songs themselves are borderline brilliant. <p> The main problem is lack of real energy throughout the album. Listening to any live recording from a Mayer show shows that the live versions, for some inexplicable reason, just sound better than the studio tracks on Room for Squares. "Why Georgia," an excellent song on its own, just doesn't sound right in its studio form here. <p> But the songs that do work well here are great, at least. "No Such Thing" is just fine, and made a good first single. "Your Body Is a Wonderland," other than the aforementioned "My Stupid Mouth" chorus is another highlight. "Neon" and "Love Song for No One" are the last of my list of highlights <p> Furthermore, none of the songs are bad, either. None. They're just not exciting here, rather like the Dave Matthews Band's Before These Crowded Streets; great songs, just missing something in the studio versions. Both artists thrive and sound much, much better live. <p> Mayer's work here is solid. The guitars and Mayer's hoarse-styled voice work perfectly for the mood of the album. Lyrically, the work is solid. No lyrics I'd consider "lame," and hey, even a few that are quotable. Nice work, John! *thumbs up* <p> The least I can say about Room for Squares is… It's "OK." Boring in spots, exciting in others, much like anyone else's debut. At the very least, it shows a lot of potential that undoubtedly will come into play later in his career. If he can keep the momentum going, his next one might surpass anyone's expectations. <p> </font></td> <td width="4%" style="border-style: none; border-width: medium"></td> <td width="20%" valign="top" style="border-style: none; border-width: medium"> <p align="left"><font face="Verdana" color="FFFFFF"><b><u>John Mayer</u></b>:<br><i>Room for Squares</i></font><br> <font face="Bookman Old Style" color="#0000FF">Posted: 9/6/02</font><br></p> <font color="#FFFFFF" face="Bookman Old Style"><p align="right">-<a href="mailto:Jerocrowe@hotmail.com?subject=Mayer RFS">Jere</font></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td align="center" width="70%" colspan="2" style="border-style: none; border-width: medium"> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> </table> <p align="center"><font color="#FFFFFF" size="1">© 2002 UberMusic.</p></font> </body> </html>  <script src="/fs_img/js/pt.js" type="text/javascript"></script>   <script type="text/javascript">  </script>