Any Given Thursday [Live]

John Mayer | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 11, 2003)
• Original Release Date: 2002
• Number of Discs: 2
• Format: Live
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B000083GLC
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (96 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,955 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Any Given Thursday is a live CD/DVD by John Mayer, recorded in Birmingham, Alabama at the Oak Mountain Amphitheater on September 12, 2002, during the Room for Squares tour. The album quickly peaked at #17 on the Billboard 200 chart. It features mostly songs from Room for Squares, as well as several covers, including "Lenny" by Stevie Ray Vaughan and "Message in a Bottle" by The Police. Covers have since become a regular feature in Mayer's live shows.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Jazzy Rock Feel, February 4, 2005

By 

David E. Reynolds (Lansing, MI United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Any Given Thursday (Audio CD)

I generally characterize John Mayer as a talented chick musician - by which I mean that chicks dig him cuz he's dreamy sounding and handsome in a famous-geek kind of way. In spite of his appeal to the screaming teeny and lower-20's girls, John Mayer is a talented musician and lyricist.

Mayer's band is talented at setting up a solid groove that carries through an entire track. As a drummer, I focus in on drummers of the music I listen to. I love what his drummer lays down on this concert set: he has straightforward grooves that are very musical. They feel right and they fit.

This set has more of a jazzy feel to it than his studio work and it's a good sound. It has more of a natural, earthy feel that I think is missing from his studio work, possibly because it's harder for a producer to get their slimy hands all over the music on a live session.

Mayer's lyrics are several notches above the teeny mulch churned out by Britney et. al. His lyrics are thoughtful, poetic, innocent and at times, quite deep (how come everything I think I need / Always comes with batteries? something's missing / and I don't know how to fix it). One reviewer placed JM in the Dave Matthews camp. While not as musically versatile as DMB, JM has lyrics that are of the same level of thoughtfulness and depth, though not as consistently as DMB.

The recording quality is excellent. Very good imaging of the stage: the instruments have spatial presence in the recording and each has a proper and clear voice in the overall mix.

The single detracting feature of this disc set are the screaming girls. Jeez! You really have to focus on tuning them out but occasionally, they scream at wholly inappropriate times or for some inexplicable reason, the engineer boosts them in the mix and they just ruin the moment. What the engineer was thinking when they mixed this set is beyond me. Want to show that john is dreamy and the chicks dig him? Fine. Show pictures of swooning girls in the liner notes. Include a DVD with cuts to starry-eyed girls as JM plays. But man! Leave them out of the mix. Plech.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best live CD I have ever heard!, October 9, 2004

By 

Robin Morrison "morrison619" (San Diego, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Any Given Thursday (Audio CD)

I have to say that this is the best live CD that I have ever heard! It is so good that it sounds like he recorded it in a studio if it weren't for all that screaming, but it is amazing because you can hear how talented John is. He really shines on this CD and if you ever have a chance, you need to see him in concert. He takes the songs from his "Room For Squares" CD and puts a twist on them that I find myself liking the live versions better than his originals. For example, like his "83" song, he puts a little bit of Cyndi Lauper's "Girls Just Want To Have Fun" and Deniece Williams "Let's Hear It For The Boy" in so smoothly that you swear it was part of the song. Overall, John is an extremely talented guy and it really shows on this live CD. You guys have to check it out!

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very reminiscent of Dave...Yet in a class of its own, February 21, 2003

By 

thebarkingcat (Anywhere but here) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Any Given Thursday (Audio CD)

John Mayer's first live release can be compared to Dave Matthews's many live recordings. I have to say I love this album, but I am partial to live recordings. They conjure up the excitement felt at a concert and showcase an artists true talent, through improvisation and showmanship. This album proves John's a great talent.

One the first disc, his voice seems a little breathy, but by the middle of the first and for all of the second disc (the better of the two), he seems to be feeding off the fans: His voice becomes powerful. His interaction with the audience is playful at times, grateful at others. It is obivious that he is a gifted artist who loves to perform. The versions of "Why Georgia", "Your Body is a Wonderland" and "My Stupid Mouth" found here are worth the price of the album. Awesome!

Also recommended: Dave Matthews Band "Live at Red Rocks" and "Live at Folsom Field", John Mayer "Room for Squares".