Inside Wants Out is the debut EP by American singer-songwriter 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". Basic tracks were to be recorded at Full Moon Studio in Athens, GA. 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.
| Inside Wants Out | ||||
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| EP by | ||||
| Released | September 24, 1999 (Mayer Music, LLC.) August 2, 2002 (Columbia) | |||
| Studio | Orphan Studios (Atlanta, Georgia) Southern Living at Its Finest (Atlanta, Georgia) Studio 737 (Boston, Massachusetts) | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 34:36 | |||
| Label | Mayer Music, LLC. Columbia CK 86861 | |||
| Producer |
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| John Mayer chronology | ||||
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Production and history
editMayer 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
editCritical response to Inside Wants Out, which came mostly after the Columbia re-release, was warm and optimistic. David Thigpen (with Rolling Stone) called the album's sound "curving melodically rich tunes that weave folk, blues, rock and wisps of jazz [and] place him in the company of David Gray and Jeff Buckley, minus the melancholy."[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]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [8] |
| Melodic.net |  [9] |
| Rolling Stone | [7] |
Track listing
edit| No. | Title | Writer(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: | 34:27 | ||
| No. | Title | Writer(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: | 31:51 | ||
Personnel
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References
edit- ^ Ruth Shaut (ELLE)(2006)."Blues Brother" Archived 2008-10-24 at the Wayback Machine J-mayer.org. Retrieved on 2006-08-03.
- ^ a b Small, Mark (2005). "John Mayer '98: Running with the Big Dogs" Berklee.edu. Retrieved on April 23, 2007.
- ^ (2005). "Men Of The Week: Entertainment - John Mayer" Archived 2008-01-18 at the Wayback Machine AskMen.com. Retrieved on April 12, 2006.
- ^ a b Guthrie, Blake (2003). "Mayer of Atlanta: John Mayer plays Philips Arena, and all I got was this lousy cover story" Archived 2008-01-10 at the Wayback Machine CreativeLoafing.com. Retrieved on February 17, 2007.
- ^ Alter, Gaby (2007). "Tour Profile: John Mayer" Archived 2014-09-04 at the Wayback Machine MixOnline.com. Retrieved on April 23, 2007.
- ^ Thigpen, David (February 14, 2002), "JOHN MAYER". Rolling Stone (889):45
- ^ a b Edwards, Gavin (October 31, 2002), "Inside Wants Out" Archived 2015-09-24 at the Wayback Machine. Rolling Stone. (908):154
- ^ Ruhlmann, William. "Inside Wants Out - John Mayer". Allmusic. Retrieved November 21, 2009.
- ^ Wippsson, Johan (1999). "John Mayer - Inside wants out". Melodic.net. Archived from the original on February 1, 2014. Retrieved March 24, 2013.