Have you ever listened to the Mamas and the Papas' "California Dreamin'" and thought to yourself, "Dude, this song is cool and all, but it'd be even better if it had about 5 times more bluesy licks and 10,000 times more guitar-face?" Me neither! John Mayer has, though, and since he is John Mayer and we are us, he got to play his version of the '60s classic on The Tonight Show With Conan O'Brien last night. It was fine, I guess? In addition to his John Mayer Trio bros, J.M. was joined by a children's choir, which makes me want to refrain from saying any more possibly mean things about this performance since those kids are really just innocent bystanders. So watch it for yourself below (clip spotted at Idolator), and you tell me: Is there any reason for this cover to exist?
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There’s NO reason for any cover of this song to exist. It’s perfect as it is. Wistful little pop ditty.
I haven’t watched this and can’t at work. But I can guarantee you there is a reason for it. His cover of Free Fallin’ is amazing. Better than the original. As is his cover of Message in a Bottle. Step off my JM.
That felt “off” to me. The Mamas and the Papas don’t deserve that.
I liked it.
why is JM so impressed with himself? no one else is.
why is JM so impressed with himself? no one else is.
There is no reason for John Mayer to exist, other than to remind folks he is this decade’s Michael Bolton/Pat Boone.
There is no reason for John Mayer to exist, other than to remind folks he is this decade’s Michael Bolton/Pat Boone.
I’m quite impressed with him and proud to say it. He’s a freakin’ lyrical genius.
There is no reason for John Mayer to exist, other than to remind folks he is this decade’s Michael Bolton/Pat Boone.
I HEARD IT AND IT WAS AWESOME! HE KNOWS HOW TO PLAY THAT GUITAR. WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE? JEALOUS?
There is no reason for John Mayer to exist, other than to remind folks he is this decade’s Michael Bolton/Pat Boone.
There is no reason for John Mayer to exist, other than to remind folks he is this decade’s Michael Bolton/Pat Boone.
There is no reason for John Mayer to exist, other than to remind folks he is this decade’s Michael Bolton/Pat Boone.
I love when people are so wrapped up in “the original” of any tune that they can’t see genius in a remake even when it’s right under their nose. I also love when people are so deadset on hating (read: being jealous of) John Mayer that they can’t appreciate that he’s the best blues guitarist since SRV, and could make musical gold out of The Macarena if he wanted to.
The pretentiousness of believing that songs can only exist in one version – the original – is annoying and ridiculous. This also applies to the less annoying, but equally pretentious belief that a reinterpretation of a song automatically equals disaster. Lighten up, haters.
THANKYOU! Finally someone making sense. Easily the best blues guitarist of this generation
I thought it was appropriate considering Conan just moved over to California. And from a musical standpoint, it was well done. And the song has been covered before by other artists many times. And your article seems a bit frivolous defending a classic song being covered when is seems your real concern is with the faces the person playing the song is making.
After about 10 seconds, I muted the tv and went to my ipod for the original. John Meyer never sounded better.
It was OK musically, but aesthetically…they should’ve just went with some back-up singers instead of the children’s choir.
man the people who write these popwatch blogs are about as dumb as they come. a few days ago a dude had a problem with buffy being considered #2 sci fi heroine because she was more fantasy. lo and behold, the list he was talking about was 25 sci fi/fantasy heroines. another fail here, that was pretty good. it seems like this guy just has a problem with cover songs. ew.com’s watch bloggers are miserable.
I love JM – he’s an amazing guitarist. Who cares what kind of faces he pulls – he’s a phenomenal musician, and it’s the music that matters. That said, I agree with Leroy – would have been better with two or three back up singers, rather than the kids. Otherwise it was great!
It was just too much. And those poor kids in the box. you could barely hear them over the guitars.
I thought it was strange how the children had to be kept behind that glass wall. Did they think that they’d get bored half way through the song and start running around? Very odd.
I thought it was a mess. Those kids behind what looked like bullet proof glass? WTF? And musically, it was just awful. It sounded like they were all playing different songs. Lack of rehearsal? I have no problem with putting your own spin on a classic but this was just a bunch of noise.
The guitar solo in the middle was great, but I felt that overall the cover was too much. The song works better in simpler form; I like the Beach Boys cover better than this one.
“That sucked.” John Phillips from beyond.
I thought it was a terrible performance.
I love John Mayer but the song was too much over the top at the end. He should have remixed it using The Mamas and The Papas as the background besides the kids.
He’s talented, it was loud and smoking hot!
I liked it. Thanks for passing that on.
woooooooooooooow, amazing.
i think that cover was great…no one can beat john mayer