‘Battle Studies,’ John Mayer, Sony Music

Tuneful songs, check. Tasty guitar licks, check. Songs about misery, loneliness, and Jennifer Aniston, triple check.

Forget the guy who sang “Your Body Is A Wonderland”– John Mayer brings on the heartache on this latest effort, “Battle Studies.”

It’s not that he is not into the female form anymore. Short of demonizing his main muse, Mayer, goes more than skin deep, as he tries to make sense of them; understanding their ways, their psyche, exploring their minds through the context of a relationship gone awry. Thankfully, in the process, he manages to come up with compelling music which we could enjoy all the more.

From the hypnotic album opener “Heartbreak Warfare” to the Beatle-esque finale “Friends, Lovers Or Nothing,” Mayer ‘s grasp of melody is still very much intact; even as he keeps on punctuating them with catchy falsettos and firm slide guitar solos.

The album’s highlights include “Assassin” and “War Of My Life.” The down-on-the-dumps, “All We Ever Do Is Say Goodbye,” however, is where we really get to appreciate what Mayer is on to in this outing – to serv up a classic.

The same goes for his earnest, old school rhythm and blues approach to the flawlessly melodic “Perfectly Lonely,” and in the pizzicato styled “Edge Of Desire.”

Truth be told, “Battle Studies” is more than just about girls and heartbreaks – it’s also about musical experimentation.

“Battle Studies” is Mayer also  exploring pop, like in the finger-picked beauty of “Who Says,” and “Do You Know Me;” in the adult contemporary sounding “War Of My Life;” and in the pop-country ditty “Half Of My Heart” in duet with teen star Taylor Swift.

“Battle Studies” also allowed Mayer to revisit a favorite genre: blues.

He particularly salutes blues masters Robert Johnson and Eric Clapton via a searing if briskly confident cover of “Crossroads Blues.”

In as much as “Battle Studies” is a breakup/heartbreak album, it is never depressing.

Mayer’s latest is cathartic pop at its finest.

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‘Crazy Love,’ Michael Buble, Warner Music

After Tony Bennett, who else is keeping the torch of big band swing, crooner music alive?

Michael Buble has been preaching the gospel of Sinatra, Darin, Bennett and them big band swing music to a whole new generation of listeners for some quite some time now. In “Crazy Love,” he delves deeper into the style and does a scintillating job of singing the classics, giving them renewed vitality as exemplified on his take of the Ray Charles original “Georgia On My Mind,” and the title track, a Van Morrison original.

Aiming for the classic feel of those old great records he loves, Buble recorded his vocals live in the studio along with all the musicians. Result: Organic, warm ambiance.

Indeed, one could actually hear and feel the effort in songs like “You’re Nobody Till Somebody Loves You,” “Baby (You’ve Got What It Takes),” and most especially in his cover of Hoagy Carmichael’s “Stardust” (with vocal act Naturally 7 providing lush back-up voices).

Though “Crazy Love” also includes ramped up versions of “Cry Me A River,” and a (surprising) take on the Eagles’ “Heartache Tonight,” it’s not in anyway a mere covers album as Buble also injected some of his original tunes, like “Hold On” and “Haven’t Met You Yet,” in the compendium (and they’re not bad either!).

Buble swears by his music, and he’ll be the first to admit that he is still moved by the standards.

But he also wants to grow and the music to grow with him.

With “Crazy Love,” a compromise has been reached.

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