Album of the Month: Continuum

In honor of the 20th anniversary of John Mayer’s Continuum and his recently announced performances at the Sphere in Las Vegas, this month's Album takes us back to the year 2006 when Mayer released one of the best albums of the decade.

Mayer was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut, and grew up inspired by legendary guitarists like B.B. King, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and Eric Clapton. He attended Berklee College of Music in 1997 wanting to become an elite, competitive guitar player. He soon realized that he could pursue a career in writing music, so he dropped out alongside his friend, Clay Cook, and moved to Atlanta, where he began developing his performing career. Mayer released Room for Squares in 2001—his debut album. It became a commercial success. After that, he went on to release Heavier Things and teamed up with legends Steve Jordan and Pino Palladino to tour the country as a trio dubbed The John Mayer Trio. During his time on tour, Mayer delved deep into a stripped-down blues-rock sound. This development was a huge turning point in Mayer's career leading up to the creation of Continuum.

Continuum has no weak tracks, unlike most releases where a few of the songs carry the whole album. The album features a mix of blues, soul, funk, pop, and even some shades of folk if you really listen to the messages behind his lyrics. What makes this release so pivotal in Mayer's career is that it shifted his entire image as an artist. Up until the creation of the album, Mayer was famously known as a pop singer—Continuum established his signature sound that fused blues, rock, and soul and redefined the intersection between the genres.

Reinventing your entire image as an artist is not easy to do, but Mayer pulled it off seamlessly. The album also reflects his initial goal from when he dropped out of Berklee of shifting from technical perfection to embracing mood, texture, and feel. The name of the album suits each song perfectly—the overall theme is about growing up and how time keeps moving whether you’re ready or not.

It’s nearly impossible to choose a favorite song on this record because all of them mean a lot to me, but the two that I feel are the most important are “Stop This Train” and “Gravity.” “Stop This Train” embodies the desire to slow life down. Mayer references his parents’ aging and his childhood becoming a memory. He takes a sad topic and transforms it from frightening into something comforting, instead of hopeless. It also projects an appreciation of the idea that there’s beauty in having something to fear the end of.

The song “Gravity” is a metaphor for the things in life that hold us back. What's interesting is the message: it depicts a struggle between Mayer and himself instead of another person. “Gravity” represents a personal struggle that you can’t simply win against. Instead, it captures the ongoing effort it takes to keep us from falling into old habits.

Overall, the album uniquely pairs unmatched instrumental works with meaningful, relatable lyrics. Twenty years later, these songs about growing up, confronting change, and struggling with ourselves feel just as relevant.