Why do people insist on taking on a classic? Okay, I admit. Sometimes the newer artist pulls it off, but in the case of John Mayer and Tom Petty … It’s just NOT the case!
I don’t hate John Mayer or anything. I’m a fan of his singles but that’s about it. His voice is really hit or miss for me. It’s so airy and wispy that I can get annoyed by it fairly quickly but the gals love him for some reason (as you’ll hear in the clip of the song I’ll provide later). His appeal goes up even more for them as he covers the classic, “Free Fallin’.”
“Free Fallin'” is one of those songs you hear EVERYwhere: radio, TV, movies, parties and amazing music blogs that feature a particular shelled reptile. Tom Petty’s classic spent 33 weeks on Billboard’s Album Rock Tracks, peaked at #7 on Billboard’s Hot 100 and made it on to Rolling Stone Magazine’s list of 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
Tom Petty’s version starts off with acoustic guitars and Petty’s soft and slightly shaky voice. I’ve talked about perfect driving songs before and “Free Fallin'” has got to be one of the best! The drawn out yells of “I’m free/Free fallin'” and harmonizing vocals over all the mid-tempo acoustic guitars automatically make you envision cruising down a highway along the coast, the wind blowing through your hair. Ugh, it’s perfect!
You can hear a little bit of effects here and there such as a bit of wah-wah and slight distortion on a guitar in the background. The bass is there but not overpowering and the drums set the tempo for a great song that you can just close your eyes and chill to. There are more harmonizing vocals in the third verse behind Petty’s lyrics that show Petty’s ear for a great musical track.
Near the end of the track a muffled electric guitar and tambourine come in to give the song a rockin’ kick to finish the song off. The song has so many cool elements to it that make it so great and Petty’s voice and great lyrics are the cherry on top!
John Mayer recently covered “Free Fallin'” for his live CD/DVD “Where the Light Is.” It’s an interesting take on the song but I’m really not a huge fan of it. It doesn’t sound very similar at all, which is not particularly a bad thing but when covering a classic you’d better bring your best shit if you want to do it right! Mayer puts his own twist on the song but it just isn’t the same.
I must admit that the guitar skills sound good but, like I said before, I’m not a fan of his voice and that’s what kills the song for me. Also, the way he changes the song by using different inflections in his voice doesn’t do the song justice either.
Because of Mayer’s playing style the song loses its intensity. It’s pretty difficult (if at all possible) to get the same feeling listening to this song when Mayer sings it than when Petty sings it. In the original version, Tom Petty’s voice is nearly at a strain and conveys a lot of emotion and energy. Mayer on the other hand still has that wispy voice and turns it into a falsetto at some points. Where’s the energy?
“Free Fallin'” is one of those songs that is an instant classic and one that lights up people’s faces when they hear those opening guitar strums. Tom Petty wrote and perfected this song and while John Mayer tried to duplicate it, he fell short. He should just stick to making ridiculous guitar faces for a living!
Tom Petty’s “Free Fallin’”
John Mayer’s “Free Fallin’“