Don't take the title of John Mayer's Heavier Things
literally. Mayer offers nothing heavy on the follow-up to
his breakthrough hit, Room for Squares — nothing heavy in
the music and nothing heavy in the lyrics. No, Mayer is
smooth, slick, and streamlined on his second or third
album (it all depends if you count his 1999 debut, Inside
Wants Out, half of which was re-recorded for Room for
Squares, which itself was released in two different
incarnations), playing things straight and following the
blueprint his big radio hit, "Your Body Is a Wonderland,
" provided. The title Heavier Things does reflect his new
directness, lacking the lithe playfulness that resulted in
a Hank Mobley joke, of all things, for an album title last
time out. That extends to the rest of the album — the
humor and interesting wordplay have been toned down,
leaving very little ambiguity. Actually, there's little
left unexplained on the record, with every song on the
album spread across several grids explaining wher...