John Mayer - Inside Wants Out

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Free Music Notes for Inside Wants Out

Free Music Review: Honesty in Acoustics
Hit: 5 Stars

"Room for Squares" came out, and I heard "No Such Thing" on the radio, and I did pick it up, and it remains one of my favorite singer/songwriter albums, but then I heard about "Inside Wants Out." The album is John's earlier work, recorded independently with him on acoustic guitar and no fancy mixes or backing. The four tracks present on both this album and "Room for Squares" (No Such Thing, Back to You, Neon, and My Stupid Mouth) come across as more honest and heartfelt in this version, with an intimate, rough-edged quality to them that brings to mind private concerts or livingroom performances.

In my personal opinion, if you haven't heard "My Stupid Mouth" done acoustically, you haven't heard it. The "Inside Wants Out" version of this song is by far my favorite John Mayer song, bar none, and is presented the way the song was meant to be heard--as an open, honest ballad rather than a big production. "Neon" stands out in this album, as well, and while I believe it superior to the "Room for Squares" version, both are excellent and worth listening to (perhaps simply in different settings). "Back to You" comes across almost exactly the same on both versions, and "No Such Thing" is equally good on both albums.

The real gem of this CD is the new content--the B-Sides Victoria, Love Soon, and Comfortable. The wistful, romantic "Comfortable" is a song for a dearly-missed ex-lover, and tugs at the heartstrings of all who have loved and lost, even if we loved again. "Victoria" is a melancholy, sad ode to someone who had to move on rather than stay where she was, with lovely but depressing lyrics and progression. And finally there's the upbeat, optimistic "Love Soon," the song for a man in love with an older woman, presenting an ages-old situation in a fresh-faced light.

While acoustic music may not be everyone's bag, this album is definitely worth getting, and makes a fantastic companion to "Room for Squares" rather than seeming superfluous due to overlapping tracks. The differences are marked enough that it's almost like listening to a different song entirely.

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