Review: John Mayer sticks to his songwriting roots

It would be an understatement to say that John Mayer's newest album "Battle Studies" has left fans wondering "what happened?"

I think it's safe to say that fans have been exposed to a few different types of Mayer. There is the "Your Body Is a Wonderland," and "Neon" Mayer, who writes pop songs that attract teenyboppers from across the country. And then, there is the John Mayer Trio and "Where the Light Is" live album Mayer that puts him into the ranks of the greatest rock legends and guitar heroes.

For those who loved his last album, "Continuum," one can only hope you didn't purchase "Battle Studies" with high hopes for a repeat. Where "Continuum" is perhaps a small step away from what his pop fans and record label wanted him to be, "Battle Studies" exhibits growth through Mayer's musical endeavors by enabling him to stick to his songwriting roots.

"Battle Studies" is dominated by the themes of heartbreak and life lessons with a consistent theme of war throughout. With titles like "War of My Life," "Assassin" and "Heartbreak Warfare," he takes the album in a completely new direction in terms of production by stepping away from the Continuum familiarity of blues all-together.

And there's no doubting that he's got guts for sure. On "Heartbreak Warfare" Mayer busts out with lyrics "Clouds of sulfur in the air/ Bombs are falling everywhere." One can only ask one question: Was the break upwith Jennifer Aniston that bad?

The only apparent blues threat on the album is seen with his rendition of Robert Johnson's "Crossroads" - made most famous by Cream in the '60s.

While Mayer has managed to find middle ground by straying away from singer/songwriter classic's "Room for Squares" and "Heavier Things," there is no doubt that this album is headed in a more mature direction stylistically. Songs like "Did You Know Me," "All We Ever Do Is Say Goodbye" and "War of My Life" show the softer side of the Borat-costume wearing musician. Yet, if you're not looking to kick back and relax with the possibility of an earlier than expected sleep - then stray away from these bedtime melodies.

Yet the largest and most massive fail with "Battle Studies" is found on the track "Friends, Lovers or Nothing." Despite his good intentions, the execution is poor at best. An attempt at an epic-closing track for the album, it falls short.

Bass driven "Assassin," is arguably the best track on the album. Perfectly executing a love battle of one-upping one another, the song reinforces the ups and downs of relationships with a fierce yet gentle musical style. Mayer sings, "You get in, you get done and then you get gone/ You never leave a trace or show your face you get gone." With lyrics like that, how could you genuinely hate the guy?

Overall, Battle Studies does a fantastic job adding a ton of compression used on the mixing and mastering this album to create a older, fuzzier sound. This familiarity and comfort does Mayer well. Remove his "Crossroads" attempt and the hilarious joke of "Who Says," and the album is pretty solid.

Check out: "Assassin," "Heartbreak Warfare" and "Did You Know Me"