GAMES: GameSpot | GameFAQs | SportsGamer MUSIC: Last.fm | MP3.com MOVIES: Metacritic | Movietome TV: TV.com
Home | About Metacritic | About Metascores | What's New | Wireless Versions | Discussion Forums | Advertising Inquiries | Contact Us | RSS
Metacritic.com: We Deal With Criticism
     Help
> Switch to Advanced Search  
Film Video/DVD Music Games TV

Music

Upcoming Release Calendar
All-Time High (And Low) Scores
Best Of 2008
Best Of 2007
Best Of 2006
Best Of 2005
Best Of 2004
Best Of 2003
Best Of 2002
Best Of 2001
Best Of 2000
How Metascores Are Calculated
Discuss Music In Our Forums

 

Upcoming & Recent Releases

sort by name sort by score

74 Absentee
69 AC/DC
72 Ryan Adams
66 Trace Adkins
67 The Aliens
66 All That Remains
93 Amadou & Mariam
80 Amon Amarth
66 Anastacia
46 Brett Anderson
75 Theresa Andersson
66 Annuals
79 Antony And The Johnsons
76 Apollo Sunshine
58 David Archuleta
76 Aterciopelados
72 Attic Lights
75 Joan Baez
80 Belle & Sebastian
61 Beyonce
80 Blitzen Trapper
69 Bloc Party
83 Bound Stems
73 Brightblack Morning Light
64 The Broken West
64 The Bronx
74 Ane Brun
50 Buckcherry
77 Lindsey Buckingham
92 Buena Vista Social Club
78 Calexico
73 Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan
64 Castanets
69 Catfish Haven
66 Chairlift
63 Tracy Chapman
73 The Chemical Brothers
60 Kenny Chesney
66 Tony Christie
82 The Clash
66 Cold War Kids
69 Coldplay
67 David Cook
70 Nikka Costa
51 Cradle Of Filth
60 Crooked Fingers
78 Rodney Crowell
75 Crystal Stilts
77 Rivers Cuomo
70 The Cure
62 Kimya Dawson
72 Dead Confederate
72 The Dears
81 Deerhoof
81 Deerhunter
70 Brett Dennen
78 Department Of Eagles
73 Angela Desveaux
68 Devin The Dude
73 Dido
79 Ani DiFranco
58 DJ Khaled
82 DJ/rupture
66 The Donkeys
54 Dr. Dooom
61 Dragonette
79 Dungen
86 Bob Dylan
82 Eagles Of Death Metal
79 El Guincho
57 Electric Six
74 Brian Eno + David Byrne
64 Everlast
75 The Fireman
62 Ben Folds
69 Free Blood
74 Friendly Fires
84 Fucked Up
71 Fujiya & Miyagi
77 Gang Gang Dance
78 Morgan Geist
74 Giant Sand
81 Girl Talk
69 Girls Aloud
82 Glasvegas
67 Gojira
83 Grails
61 Growing
67 Guns N' Roses
67 Gym Class Heroes
76 Hauschka
65 Her Space Holiday
75 High Places
49 Hinder
71 Jolie Holland
79 David Holmes
81 Horse Feathers
64 Howling Hex
58 Jennifer Hudson
78 Hush Arbors
70 I'm From Barcelona
68 Jack's Mannequin
72 Jake One
73 James
59 Japanese Motors
64 Jem
80 The Jesus And Mary Chain
81 Johann Johannsson
68 Grace Jones
60 Tom Jones
75 Damien Jurado
69 Kaiser Chiefs
64 Keane
76 Toby Keith
70 The Killers
63 Kings Of Leon
77 The Knux
78 Koushik
74 Lady GaGa
72 Ladyhawke
75 Lambchop
73 Ray LaMontagne
74 Land Of Talk
68 John Legend
75 Jenny Lewis
71 Little Joy
60 The Little Ones
57 LL Cool J
81 Los Campesinos!
76 Love Is All
81 Patty Loveless
73 Ludacris
79 Luomo
73 Madlib
65 Margot & The Nuclear So And So's
68 Mercury Rev
78 Metallica
70 Metronomy
57 Ingrid Michaelson
76 Mogwai
77 Juana Molina
67 Monkey
79 Mount Eerie
46 Mudvayne
73 Murs
61 Nelly
51 New Kids On The Block
77 The New Year
79 Ne-Yo
51 Nickelback
57 Nightmares On Wax
60 The Nightwatchman
62 Noah And The Whale
66 Oasis
68 O'Death
70 Of Montreal
79 Okkervil River
77 Old Crow Medicine Show
54 The Organ
65 Joan Osborne
77 Brad Paisley
82 Pale Young Gentlemen
78 Amanda Palmer
65 Parenthetical Girls
76 Parts & Labor
74 Passion Pit
67 Peter Bjorn And John
66 The Peth
51 Kellie Pickler
69 Pink
73 Benoît Pioulard
70 Pivot
54 Plain White T's
40 Daniel Powter
74 The Pretenders
51 Pussycat Dolls
84 Q-Tip
42 Queen + Paul Rodgers
71 Rafter
74 Raglani
57 Razorlight
69 Lou Reed
74 Religious Knives
62 Rex The Dog
65 Rise Against
76 Roots Manuva
74 The Rosebuds
66 Darius Rucker
83 Arthur Russell
82 Raphael Saadiq
60 Sam Champion
68 School of Seven Bells
75 The Sea And Cake
60 Seal
69 Seasick Steve
65 Secret Machines
81 Pete Seeger
71 Serena-Maneesh
68 The Shaky Hands
72 Blake Shelton
58 Jessica Simpson
89 The Smiths
72 Todd Snider
68 Snow Patrol
62 Spinto Band
68 Squarepusher
65 Starfucker
82 Marnie Stern
62 The Streets
73 The Subways
81 Taylor Swift
74 T.I.
66 Talkdemonic
64 James Taylor
66 Ten Kens
72 Robin Thicke
67 Thievery Corporation
79 Tindersticks
88 Shugo Tokumaru
75 Emiliana Torrini
70 T-Pain
65 Travis
70 Tricky
66 Trivium
88 TV On The Radio
92 Underoath
56 UNKLE
74 Chad VanGaalen
76 Vivian Girls
78 Volcano!
84 Butch Walker
57 Scott Weiland
74 Kanye West
73 White Denim
78 Wild Beasts
78 Wilderness
71 Hank Williams III
72 Lucinda Williams
67 Michelle Williams
70 Brian Wilson
73 Lee Ann Womack
75 Women
63 XX Teens
72 Rachael Yamagata
60 Yo Majesty
72 Young Jeezy

Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed albums.

 



Printer-Friendly Version Email This Page Discuss In Our Forums

Heavier Things
by John Mayer

John Mayer reviews
Critic Score
Metascore: 67 Metascore out of 100
User Score  
8.9 out of 10
based on 10 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
based on 52 votes
Read user comments
Rate this album

The Atlanta-based singer-songwriter (who is frequently compared to Dave Matthews) attempts to duplicate the unexpected success of 2001's 'Room for Squares' with this third album.

LABEL: Columbia / Aware
RELEASE DATE: 09 September 2003
DISCS: 1 disc
GENRE(S): Adult Alternative, Singer-Songwriter

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

91
E! Online
This body of work will be a wonderland of hits in time.
Read Full Review
80
All Music Guide
Those who just enjoyed the sound and feel of Room for Squares should feel right at home.
Read Full Review
80
Rolling Stone
An equally available yet more sophisticated album.
Read Full Review
70
Blender
Like [Norah] Jones, Mayer never lets his personality talk over his elegant melodies, but unlike her, he has range. [Oct 2003, p.112]
70
Mojo
As Mayaer talks himself in circles you hear an artist facing massive success, and retreating from it. [Dec 2003, p.112]
60
Q Magazine
It's the kind of record you hate yourself for liking. [Dec 2003, p.132]
60
PopMatters
A sophomore effort that doesn't have as many drawbacks as one might assume.
Read Full Review
58
Entertainment Weekly
Overall, ''Heavier Things'' is snappier than, say, a Bruce Hornsby CD, if not as rockin' and emotion-drenched as the latest from Dashboard Confessional.
Read Full Review
50
Village Voice
While he's technically adept at playing the blues, it's perfectly clear the only heartache Mayer knows how to emote comes the morning after a night of hearty partying.
Read Full Review
50
Spin
Sadly, Mayer's idea of a good time involves hiring jazz musicians to make himself sound like '80s James Taylor. [Dec 2003, p.128]

What Our Users Said

Vote Now! The average user rating for this album is 8.9 (out of 10) based on 52 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Aaron L gave it a10:
Certainly becoming one of my most listened to albums to date... I think its almost worn out now.. haha.. Unreal!!! Every song is like poetry... John has a true talent when it coms to writing lerics that really mean something... and I'm sure most of us can relate to... BRAVO... I will continue to indulge in this album for many more years... Taking something different from it each time I listen!

izat a gave it an8:
an okay album.. i've been trying to soak up the melodies n feel the lyrics but i can't... sometimes this albumis boring but sometimes its great, too... CLARITY is the best..

Luis G gave it a9:
... not so much heavy but ever so resonating... aside from the last two tracks heavier things is an incredible album.. clarity is my fav track there..

David A gave it a10:
RIcky needs to calm down a bit hahah. So what if John Mayer did a Hendrix cover? I think it was pretty good. The guy's got credible guitar skill. You sound like you would start worshipping Hendrix's testicles if you got a hold of them. Relax dude.

rodowobo gave it an8:
I was introduced to John Mayer's music (Room for Squares) by a Mayer-rabid girlfriend. I can't say I enjoyed that entire album, but what songs I DID like on it, I liked a LOT. On road trips with said girlfriend, if she popped in SQUARES, at least I knew that I could not only stomach the next 45 minute stretch of road; but that I would enjoy it quite a bit as well. But I read an interview with Mayer wherein he stated that he knew his next record would be great because "he knows what he's doing" or something like that. And I found myself HOPING his next record would suck, just to keep this obviously talented pop-miester humble. Nope. Evidentially he DOES know what he's doing. Other then the dreadful "Daughters" which is just too cleverly sappy for my taste (and for which he won an award - go figure!), I love this record. There are a couple of almost-too-obvious, straight up made-for-pop-radio "hits" on here (but less of them then on Squares), as well as more thoughtful, introspective tunes; but the overall effect is that this guy has more on his mind than the standard pop-craftsman. Each song has a definite feel and mood of their own, while the whole record comes off as just as accessible as Squares, but a little more sophisticated. I later saw him in concert for the HEAVIER tour, and he was not as cheesy as I was worried he would be; and a much better player than I thought he was. And even with a multitude of teenage girls in the audience, he took the time to talk about his love for the guitar and guitar players; touting the talents of Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix (the former of which most of his audience probably only knew through “Tears in Heaven”). He even did extended versions of songs from each of the aforementioned artists, and encouraged his young audience to open their ears to their music. I would encourage anyone to give them album a decent listen. From the polished players on the tunes, to the thoughtful lyrics, to the clever liner notes/graphics for each song in the booklet, this is a project well-done; I look forward to his next release.

[Anonymous] gave it a9:
I can't give this a 10 because... well you can't give anything a 10. This is by far my favorite album. His first album was nice but it was unmatured and was more of a pop debute. Now comes Heavier Things and the melodies are great but more importantly it's something you can wrap your self around. Through fantastic lyrics you can really get a sense of what Mayor means by Heavier Things. John gives a great sense of growing up past those "adolescent" years onto the love and longing years. In a big way this album reminds me of the reflective nature of "Catcher In the Rye" (which is also hated and loved). This album like so many other things is about growing up.

Gigi gave it a7:
Fans of Mayer's previous album might be a little confused by this jazz-styled CD. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but if you're looking for Mayer's acoustic guitar you'll find it mostly absent here. He's still got some awesome guitar riffs, if you can get past the one or two songs that sound manufactured for the masses. The album's a little too 'pop' for me to truly enjoy, but damn if Mayer can't play that guitar.

Read more user comments...

Discuss this album in our forums

Return to top of page
Home | FILM | DVD/VIDEO | MUSIC | GAMES | TV | Forums | About Metacritic metacritic.com

Popular on CBS sites: MLB | Spore | iPhone 3G | Paris Hilton | Antivirus Software | GPS | Recipes | Shwayze | NFL

About CBS Interactive | Jobs | Advertise

© 2008 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use