Pack your bags, we”re riding shotgun on a road trip with John Mayer. In the video for “Shadow Days,” he takes us on a triptych across the West and Southwest– from California to Idaho and Arizona and beyond. He”s traveling solo, but there are stops along the way: a diner, a convenience story, a guitar shop.
The shaggy-haired Mayer is sporting a hat much like the kind producer Don Was, who helmed Mayer’s new album, “Born & Raised,” sports, as well as a few days” scruff so we”re thinking Was definitely rubbed off on him not only musically, but fashion-wise. And he certainly got a beautifully nuanced guitar performance out of him on “Shadow Days.”
[More after the jump…]
The solitude Mayer experiences in the video matches the feel of the song: he”s been through some tough times, made some major mistakes, but, as he sings, “I”m a good man with a good heart/had a tough time, got a rough start/but I finally learned to let it go.” There”s nothing like wide open spaces to make you reevaluate and to let go of your past.
And, as the song title would indicate, there are some beautiful shadows across the landscape during his days.
“Born & Raised” comes out May 22. Mayer was set to tour behind it, and in fact was scheduled to play Jazz Fest in New Orleans this weekend, but had to pull the tour due to continuing vocal issues.