BORN AND RAISED is John Mayer's fifth studio album and to my ears, it sounds like a side of John Mayer that he has been dying to get out and that we most likely will hear for the duration of his career. It's a very folksy sound almost bordering on contemporary country at times. Mr Mayer and four other musicians make up the majority of what you hear and the sound is crisp and perfectly appropriate for this style of music. There isn't a worthless track on the CD. Standouts are THE AGE OF WORRY, LOVE IS A VERB, A FACE TO CALL HOME, and the title track. One of the most fascinating tracks and the only one that I immediately played again after hearing it is WALT GRACE'S SUBMARINE TEST, JANUARY 1967. It must be heard to fully appreciate the poetry behind it. This is an interesting choice of style for Mr Mayer. None of the tracks have the sound of an obvious "chart hit". You don't listen to the CD and hear something like SAY, FATHERS, WAITING FOR THE WORLD TO CHANGE or YOUR BODY IS A WONDERLAND that you know will immediately shoot to the top of the charts. The music on BORN AND RAISED is more introspective and although incredibly catchy and appealing, none of the melodies are ones you are gonna hum while walking through the mall. This isn't a complaint, just an observation. For my tastes, this might be the most mature CD Mr Mayer has released yet. It marks a new chapter for John Mayer and it already makes me anticipate what comes next from him.
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