I am someone that loves all kinds of music and that has certainly been prevalent this past week. Two artists that I have been listening to recently are John Mayer and Chris Stapleton – both of which are completely different genres of music. Mayer is a rock and RnB singer-songwriter and Stapleton is one of the biggest names in country music right now. Both artists are known for their dreamy guitar playing and amazing vocals.
For some time now, I’ve been a pretty big fan of John Mayer. Mayer has been around for quite some time, with his first album releasing in 1999. His name grew with his early hit songs “Neon” and “Your Body is a Wonderland”. My personal favorite songs by John Mayer are definitely “Slow Dancing in a Burning Room” and “Gravity”. Both of these songs are very complex and crafted beautifully. Mayer’s vocal performance in the songs are definite standouts as well. The thing that I love the most about these songs is the guitar playing – more importantly – the solos. For example, whenever Mayer performs “Gravity” live, he always ends the song with an amazing guitar solo that sounds like nothing you’ve ever heard before. The solo is really out of this world and makes you feel like gravity is working against you- as the title and lyrics imply.
One of my more recent interests has been country singer-songwriter Chris Stapleton. As a music lover, I have always admired country music and all of its many artists. I feel like country music has a certain vibe and feel that moves you in ways that other genres of music simply don’t. A prime example of this comes with Chris Stapleton’s music. Songs like “Starting Over”, “Tennessee Whiskey”, and “Joy of my Life” never cease to amaze me. The easy standout in Stapleton’s music is his voice. I think that Chris Stapleton has one of the best voices in music right now and I feel like this feels more true with each new song of his I listen to. Another big standout for me is his style of playing guitar. Stapleton uses a lot of unique chords and riffs that create an amazing feel.
Recently I have been learning a lot of Mayer and Stapleton’s songs on guitar. Learning these songs has been great because these songs are just fun to play. The uniqueness of them strays them away from other songs that all sound the same and are dull and boring. I will definitely continue to listen to both of these artists and encourage others to do the same.