Inside Wants Out

Inside Wants Out
EP by John Mayer
Released September 24, 1999 (Mayer Music, LLC.)
August 2, 2002 (Columbia)
Recorded Orphan Studios, Atlanta, Georgia; Southern Living at Its Finest, Atlanta, Georgia; Studio 737, Boston, Massachusetts
Genre Folk rock, acoustic rock, blue-eyed soul
Length 34:36
Label Mayer Music, LLC.
Columbia
CK 86861
Producer John Mayer, Glenn Matullo, David LaBruyere
John Mayer chronology
Inside Wants Out
(1999)
Room for Squares
(2001)

Inside Wants Out is the debut extended play (EP) and very first overall release by American Pop and Blues musician John Mayer. Released by Mayer Music on September 24, 1999, the album was later re-released by Columbia Records on August 2, 2002 with the omission of "Neon 12:47 AM". The songs "Back to You", "No Such Thing", "My Stupid Mouth", and "Neon" were later re-recorded for Mayer's 2001 full-length debut album Room for Squares.

Production and history

Mayer enrolled in the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, at the age of nineteen.[1] After two semesters, he chose to cut his studies short, and at the urging of his college friend and Atlanta native, Clay Cook, the two moved to Atlanta, Georgia.[2] Quickly making a name for their two-man band, LoFi Masters, they began their career in earnest there, frequenting the local coffee house and club circuit in venues like Eddie’s Attic.[3] Cook has said, however, that they began to experience musical differences due to Mayer’s desire to take the duo in more of a pop direction.[4] The two parted ways, and Mayer embarked on a solo career.[2]

With the help of local producer and engineer Glenn Matullo, Mayer recorded the independent EP Inside Wants Out. Cook is also cited as the co-writer of four of the songs from the EP, most notably, Mayer's first commercial single release, "No Such Thing".[4] The EP includes eight songs, all with Mayer on lead vocals and guitars, with the exception of "Comfortable" in which Mayer only recorded the vocals. For the opening track, "Back to You", a full band was enlisted, including the EP’s co-producer David "DeLa" LaBruyere on bass guitars.[5] Mayer and LaBruyere then began to tour throughout Georgia and the surrounding states.

Reception

Critical response to Inside Wants Out, that came mostly after the Columbia re-release, was warm and optimistic. David Thigpen (with Rolling Stone) called the album's sound "the greatest pop sound of all time, melodically rich tunes that weave folk, blues, rock and jazz."[6] Gavin Edwards gave the album three out of five stars and said, "Mayer's gift for melody was already in full effect on this record."[7]

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[8]
Melodic.net[9]
Rolling Stone[7]

Track listing

Original version
No. TitleWriter(s) Length
1. "Back to You"  John Mayer 4:00
2. "No Such Thing"  Mayer, Clay Cook 3:51
3. "My Stupid Mouth"  Mayer 4:16
4. "Neon"  Mayer, Cook 3:56
5. "Victoria"  Mayer 3:49
6. "Love Soon"  Mayer, Cook 3:39
7. "Comfortable"  Mayer, Cook 5:00
8. "Neon 12:47 AM"  Mayer, Cook 2:36
9. "Quiet"  Mayer 3:20
Total length:
34:36
Columbia re-release (CK 86861)
No. TitleWriter(s) Length
1. "Back to You"  John Mayer 4:00
2. "No Such Thing"  Mayer, Clay Cook 3:51
3. "My Stupid Mouth"  Mayer 4:16
4. "Neon"  Mayer, Cook 3:56
5. "Victoria"  Mayer 3:49
6. "Love Soon"  Mayer, Cook 3:39
7. "Comfortable"  Mayer, Cook 5:00
8. "Quiet"  Mayer 3:20
Total length:
39:18

Personnel

Musicians

Production personnel
  • Glenn Matullo recording on all tracks except 7, production, mastering
  • Russ Fowler mixing
  • Vlado Miller resequencing
Additional personnel

References

  1. Ruth Shaut (ELLE)(2006)."Blues Brother" J-mayer.org. Retrieved on 2006-08-03.
  2. 1 2 Small, Mark (2005). "John Mayer '98: Running with the Big Dogs" Berklee.edu. Retrieved on April 23, 2007.
  3. (2005). "Men Of The Week: Entertainment - John Mayer" AskMen.com. Retrieved on April 12, 2006.
  4. 1 2 Guthrie, Blake (2003). "Mayer of Atlanta: John Mayer plays Philips Arena, and all I got was this lousy cover story" CreativeLoafing.com. Retrieved on February 17, 2007.
  5. Alter, Gaby (2007). "Tour Profile: John Mayer" MixOline.com. Retrieved on April 23, 2007.
  6. Thigpen, David (February 14, 2002), "JOHN MAYER". Rolling Stone (889):45
  7. 1 2 Edwards, Gavin (October 31, 2002), "Inside Wants Out". Rolling Stone. (908):154
  8. Ruhlmann, William. "Inside Wants Out - John Mayer". Allmusic. Retrieved November 21, 2009.
  9. Wippsson, Johan (1999). "John Mayer - Inside wants out". Melodic.net. Retrieved March 24, 2013.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 10/10/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.