John Mayer - Battle Studies (2009)

Battle Studies is the fourth studio album by American recording artist John Mayer, released November 17, 2009 on Columbia Records in the United States.
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. Retaining more than a modicum of the slick soul-blues undertones of Continuum, Mayer fashions a modern groove album, a record that maintains a smooth seductive vibe so thoroughly it spills into a weird one-man band cover of "Crossroads," turning Clapton's contained Cream masterwork into something about vibe, not virtuosity. Mayer remains a disciple of Slowhand, but he shows an unusual interest in the big AOR stylings of Journeyman, along with Stevie Ray Vaughan's In Step, creating a coolly clean blend of synths and Strats, one that's as much about texture as it is song something perfectly appropriate for a make-out album like this.
Sometimes, Mayer dips too heavily toward the texture not just in the sound sculptures in the bedding of "Heartbreak Warfare," but even the strum-n-croon of "All We Ever Do Is Say Goodbye" and his love-as-war metaphors land with the thud of a dud bomb, but he can't resist a good, tight melody and builds the bulk of Battle Studies upon them: the elegant "Half of My Heart," the stoned self-deprecating wit of "Who Says," the softly soulful "Perfectly Lonely." Here, Mayer is effortlessly seductive and somewhat irresistible, and it's easy to see why the ladies love cool John.

Track listing

01.  "Heartbreak Warfare"  - 4:30
02.  "All We Ever Do is Say Goodbye"  - 4:35
03.  "Half of My Heart"  (featuring Taylor Swift)  - 4:10
04.  "Who Says"  - 2:56
05.  "Perfectly Lonely"  - 4:28
06.  "Assassin"  - 5:14
07.  "Crossroads" (Robert Johnson)  - 2:29
08.  "War of My Life"  - 4:15
09.  "Edge of Desire"  - 5:32
10.  "Do You Know Me"  - 2:30
11.  "Friends, Lovers or Nothing"  - 5:59

iTunes bonus track version
12.  "I'm on Fire" (Bruce Springsteen)  - 2:52

All songs written by John Mayer, except where noted.

Credits
John Mayer – vocals; guitars; keyboards; sound effects; percussion; art direction; graphic design
Steve Jordan – drums, percussion
Pino Palladino – bass
Ian McLagan – Hammond organ, Wurlitzer electric piano, piano, pump organ, celeste
Jamie Muhoberac – keyboards
Robbie McIntosh – guitar
Waddy Wachtel – acoustic guitars
Bob Reynolds – saxophone
Bryan Lipps – trumpet
Taylor Swift – vocals

Production
Chad Franscoviak – engineering
Charlie Paakari – engineering assistance (Capitol Studios)
Justin Gerrish – engineering assistance (Avatar Studios); mixing assistance
Ghian Wright – engineering assistance (The Village Studios)
Martin Pradler – digital editing
Michael Brauer, Manny Marroquin, Joe Ferla – mixing
Erik Madrid, Christian Plata, Ryan Gilligan – mixing assistance
Greg Calbi – mastering
Producer - John Mayer, Steve Jordan

Additional personnel
Jeri Heiden – art direction; graphic design
Albert Watson – photography
Gari Askew – photography
Carlos Hurtado – tracking

Notes
Release dat: November 17, 2009
Recorded: February–August 2009 Battle Studies (Calabasas, California), Capitol Studios (Hollywood) The Village, (West Los Angeles, California)
Genre: Pop, Rock
Length: 46:36
© 2009

Label - Columbia