John Mayer

Two years after his full-length debut, Inside Wants Out, singer/songwriter and guitarist John Mayer recorded this sophomore offering, Room for Squares. The album was produced by John Alagía. The producer had worked with artist Dave Matthews on a few albums first and those influences show through clearly on this recording, taking it in a somewhat different direction than Mayer's first, and mostly acoustic, release. There are 13 tracks on Room for Squares. Mayer wrote or co-wrote all of the songs. He does a decent job performing them, but many of the numbers show a singer who hasn't quite reached his zenith. The talent is there and with time to find himself and his own style and voice -- instead of Dave Matthews' -- the rest will fall into place. Still, this album is one that Mayer fans won't wish to pass over. It does have more than enough strong points to make it worthwhile. [The DualDisc edition features the entire album in 5.1 Surround.] ~ Charlotte Dillon, All Music Guide