Is the world ready for the return of John Mayer? Even a kinder, gentler on?
Mayer, who proved himself less than a gentleman when he made certain comments about past bedfellows Jennifer Aniston and Jessica Simpson to Playboy in 2010, is on the road to redemption. He showed up at the National Assn. of Music Merchants (NAMM) on Wednesday to flog a very limited edition custom Martin guitar and to talk about his new album.
“Born and Raised” has been delayed as Mayer has recovered from vocal issues, but he told the NAMM audience that the new set was “organic cowboy guitar sounds,” many of them created on his new Martin guitar (dubbed the 00-45SC John Mayer Edition), of which only 25 will be manufactured.
Mayer pondered, “What would it sound like if I wrote an album of cowboy songs on this guitar under the stars,” reports Rolling Stone. Though fans may not notice a huge difference between albums, he continued that he starts with a clean slate each time. “Every new record I start, a new aesthetic comes in. I can”t help it.”
No word yet on when he”ll be ready to go with the new album, his first since 2009″s “Battle Studies,” he told the audience that his vocals are still healing. He first announced that he was putting his recording and touring plans on hold in September. At that time, he said the album is largely completed, other than finishing his vocals on a number of tracks.