Free Fallin' (Live at the Nokia Theatre)

What can he possibly add to this song? Makes me want to hurl. You can hear this caliber of performance at hundreds of bars around the country on any given night. I love it when people try to do TP songs because you better appreciate the original and the quality of the Heartbreakers. I think TPHB should return the favor and light up one of John's boring tunes.

The encore for his acoustic session on his amazing latest live album is a cover of the lyrical Tom Petty classic of "Free Fallin'," and even though the original didn't exactly thrill me, John Mayer has a habit of winning you over with his guitar and his ability to make any song and any good lover's point classic. This one is no different, even though it's a bit long. It still has heart, and it's still Mayer all the way. It is also a disconcerting tune as I write this while flying at 20'000 feet. I'm just saying.

When it comes down to Tom Petty's music, it has really received a whole new generation of fans, because of his performances at the Super Bowl earlier this year, and the return of his original band Mudcrutch which finally released their debut album, back in the Spring. But for John Mayer, to follow and cover one of Tom's reflective greats, is a pretty tough task, and that showed with his live cover of Free Fallin'. The single from John Mayer's live album Where The Light Is, is a bit more stripped down version of the classic song, and feels a bit mre subdued with a sense of somberness. While John has a good sense with the cover, it sadly doesn't apppeal as well as when Tom originally recorded it nearly 20 years ago. I hope that when John performs this song again, he can bring in a little more upbeat rhythm, that doesn't leave a lot of heartbreak.

Song: C