His sound in this album is strengthened by a solid band (among others, to be found is Matt Chamberlain who's played drums for the likes of Tori Amos and Brad Meldhau) and though the lyrics might not be the deepest he's written, the album as a whole has a more original and mature feel than his debut album, which did happen to sound like a Dave Matthews ripoff more than once. Due to its variety of tempos and rhythms included in this work and the somewhat "heavier" electronic component (interestingly enough a little song tempo chart by sequence is included in the booklet!) it remindes of Clapton's 'Pilgrim' at times, such as the case with "Come Back to Bed". It is no coincidence, therefore, that he shared the Holiday Blues Revue ay NYC this past December alongside blues legends Buddy Guy and Double Trouble (the formed band of the late Stevie Ray Vaughn).

All in all, a step in the right direction, an evolution from his first album and most definitely a young artist to keep a close eye on: if he doesn't steer away from his current path, he's bound to becoming a musical legend of our times.

14 of 14 found the following review helpful:


I hated it at first.....  Sep 12, 2003
...but that's how it goes with sophomore releases. You compare it to the freshman release(which in John's case, blew my mind. I loved it. Especially 3x5), and you're bound to be severely disappointed. It's definitely different from Room for Squares....but all in all, I like it. It took maybe....3 runs of the entire cd, but I ended up jumping the fence. But. One song on Heavier Things that stood out from the first listen(albeit sentimental)was....DAUGHTERS. This is my favorite song on the entire album. As I listened to it, my mouth fell open like it did when I heard the alternate take of Alanis Morrisette's "You Oughta Know". It pulls you in, and makes you listen.....Very surprising. I think John is developing well as a musician. But adolescent agnst-ridden teeny boppers won't like it (yay!).....except for maybe Bigger than My Body and Only Heart (the latter makes me nauseated, lyrically). Overall, this album displays John's ability, potential, and his inherent verve. I don't know if he reads his reviews, but in the event that he does: John, you've definitely earned some more cool points with me. Nice work.

20 of 22 found the following review helpful:


Pretty good, but DVD side is *not* DVD-Audio  Feb 28, 2005 By B. Shea
While I think this is a pretty good album in general, note that the DVD side of the disc is *not* DVD-Audio, but rather DVD-Video. In other words, the 5.1 mix is not the DVD-Audio 'advanced resolution' quality, but just as Dolby Digital compressed audio. While I'm sure some folks won't care about this, there are certainly audiophiles who will, and I would think those would pretty much be the only folks who would be interested in the DualDisc version of this album. Other DualDiscs have been released with DVD-Audio on the DVD side, and they don't do a good job of explaining what version is on the DVD side on the packaging.

16 of 17 found the following review helpful:


Recommended Listening: Heavier Things  Jan 17, 2004 By Aaron Blight
Heavier Things is my first John Mayer album. I bought this album because I loved the singles "Your Body Is A Wonderland," off his debut album, and the big recent hit off this release, "Bigger Than My Body."

Heavier Things seems to follow the melodic, sleek, catchy feel of these two hit singles. Mayer's breathy vocals are uniquely appealing but also deliver effectively in slower tempo tunes. More importantly, the depth of John Mayer's musical talent is evident on this album - he's a compelling songwriter with remarkably attuned pop sensibilities; he plays his own guitar; AND he can sing. Such a combination of talent gives Mayer the enduring appeal that will likely allow him to obtain and retain devoted fans for years to come. Yes, Mayer stormed the music scene with his debut album, but if he continues to write songs like these, he'll never be some Johnny-Come-Lately.

I find the hit "Bigger Than My Body" to be a spiraling, upward ascent that is impossible to resist. While that track is well-known from all its radio play, it is only the beginning of the great tunes on this album. "Clarity" is an enticing opening track, delivered poignantly mid-tempo with the wonderful backing of a trumpet. "Something's Missing" and "New Deep" are slower and introspective but sung in Mayer's typically earnest manner. "Come Back to Bed" bears a bluesy, jazzy feel, after which Mayer picks up the tempo and spirit with "Home Life," a smooth song laced with perfectly placed keyboards. "Split Screen Sadness" is another melancholy but magnetically delivered song. Next, "Daughters" is an acoustic, quaint tune with a straightforward, honest message revealing some of Mayer's obvious male sensitivities. "Only Heart" again picks up the pace and sounds like one of Mayer's big radio hits. The closing track, "Wheel," is one of my very favorites on the album, containing thoughtful lyrics and a beautiful pause of a chorus.

I also have to mention that Heavier Things gets my vote for the BEST LINER NOTES I've ever seen in an album! If you don't believe me, check them out - they're filled with charts and graphs including interesting tidbits of information about the songs on the album. Totally cool!

36 of 43 found the following review helpful:


great album, but the sound is horrible  Mar 02, 2005 By Raymond G. Lopez "mr me"
sorry folks, this title on dualdisc does not live up to the hype, the cd layer is 16 bit 44khz and the sound cant even match that of the sacd CD layer (hmmm??, no surprise there), and the dvd layer is 16 bit 48 khz and guess what? no difference in sound quality what-so-ever!!, i have by far am above average system consisting of arcam and b&w so i like to think i know what im talking about. do yourselves a favor and stay away from ALL DUALDISCS BY SONY!!!, enhanced stereo is just a nice way of them saying sacd failed and they will never support dvd audio!!! and a dolby 5.1 mix doesnt hold a candle to even a 24 bit 48 khz dvd audio 5.1 mix, let alone 24/96.

sorry sony, i am not buying into your dualdiscs!!!

p.s. i returned this disc to the place i purchased it and got a full refund and told the management about sony's obvious bait and switch. and they agreed to post signs pointing out the lack of superior sound on the sony dualdisc titles.

See all 639 customer reviews on Amazon.com