What are you listening to now?

Depsite all my (mostly internal to myself) bitching that I can't find anything new to listen to, this week was very good. So, some quickie record reviews.

John Mayer Trio - Try. We all know that John Mayer is a huge wuss that thinks your body is a wonderland. However, I started to feel a burgeoning respect for him after his hilarious appearance on the Chappelle Show, and there was always rumors going around that he could really play that guitar. Well, Try is just the proof we needed. This is not the bubblegum-ish pop radio-friendly style that propelled Mayer to the forefront of many female fantasies, but a more muscular blues trio offering. Much more up my alley. My one wish is that there was some more rocking stuff on there. As it is it's like Stevie (Ray Vaughn) Lite. Which is not a bad thing to be. (This is allowing for the fact that I still have a few more songs to listen to; I haven't gotten to hear the entire album yet.) It's also impressive that this entire album is live, and if you beleive the liner notes, thrown together really quickly, because from what I heard, the playing is top notch.

Marc Ford - It's About Time. Marc Ford is the guitar player (usually) for the Black Crowes. This album was recorded back in the period when he had left the band for a while. (I think.) So it's a little older. But I love his playing with the Crowes, so when I found it online recently I ordered myself a copy. Upon first listen it's not bad, but not great. This is not a guitar's players album, it does feature actual songs and not just wanking, but I liken it to the one Keith Richards solo album I have, which is OK, but would you rather hear Keith Richards by himself or with the Stones? Yeah, me too. Pretty good songs, pretty tame production, and some impressive guests on the album. We'll re-evaluate after a couple of listens.

Muse - Black Holes & Revelations. The good thing about Muse is that depsite all the disparate elements of the music they still sound like Muse. Which is to say: pretty awesome. This album is pretty different from their last, but it's still recognizable as them. I wasn't very impressed with the single when I first heard it, but in the context of the album it's a lot more fitting. The bad thing about Muse is that they always sound like Muse. In that in almost every song you hear something that sounds like it might have been in a few other songs by them. Sometimes it's the chord progressions, sometimes the vocal melodies. This album is also no exception to that. But overall, upon first listen, I'm pretty psyched about it.

Butch Walker & the Let's Go Out Tonights - The Rise and Fall of Butch Walker & the Let's Go Out Tonights. I don't know what's up with this super long band name, especially since on his Myspace page, Butch emphatically reasserts that he's a solo artist. Butch has been known in the past for his clever and sarcastic lyrics, and strong songwriting and production skills (in fact so much so that he's actually more known in the industry as a producer than a performer nowadays.) His last album was a little more heartfelt and cut back on the clever and sarcastic, but you can tell just by reading the song titles that the clever and sarcastic is back in force. It's almost too cutesy for it's own good in that regard. But the songs are still really solid, and the production rock solid. And well, I just down with the Butch, so I'm pre-disposed to like this album no matter what. I've listened to it a few times, and although so far it might be my least favorite by him so far, it is growing on me more with each listen. Extra added bonus is that new Butch is usually inspiring for me, such that I came up with some verse music an lyrics (half of which I've already scrapped in search of something better), and some potential chorus progressions (depending on the lyrics and melodies) that are very Butch-esque, which is to say: awesome.