All-round music genius Jacob Collier has dropped his first single of 2022, Never Gonna Be Alone, for which he’s recruited the electric guitar services of John Mayer.
With the help of fellow singer-songwriter Lizzy McAlpine, Collier creates the perfect canvas for Mayer to solo over, with the Sob Rock star arriving at the 2:07 mark to deliver the six-string ear candy.
It’s nearly a full minute of full-blown Mayerisms hosted by the unrivaled fat-yet-sweet tone of his PRS Silver Sky signature, containing the customary B.B. blues nods, a carefully descending lick that trails into some neat harmonies and a finale punctuated by some hefty string attack and quick-fire bends.
Speaking to Rolling Stone, Collier said, “To have the masterful John Mayer lend such pristinely dulcet guitar tones to the song is a surreal thrill for me, having grown up listening to his music in such a deep way.
“His sound is utterly uniquely his, and it’s the most amazing feeling to have had him join Lizzy and me in the creation of this song.”
Mayer has become something of a session veteran in recent months. Earlier this year, it was announced that Mayer would feature on Justin Bieber’s as-yet-unnamed upcoming album to provide a “wicked” guitar solo.
“It was mind-blowing to see him actually operate in his gift like that, being able to see it firsthand,” Bieber said of Mayer’s contribution. “Because, like, he is on another level. It's insane.”
More recently, Mayer teamed up with another pop superstar Harry Styles, featuring two tracks of the latter’s latest album, Harry’s House. The tracks in question are Cinema and Daydreaming.
Elsewhere in his illustrious collaborative career, Mayer has soloed alongside JP Saxe during a spot on The Late Show, performed a number of times next to Ed Sheeran and offered up a tasteful lead effort on Shawn Mendes’ Like To Be You.
It’s likely that Mayer’s tried-and-trusted session setup – headed up by an Akai MPC – was used for his Collier gig, with Mayer telling Guitar World his “guitar parts are getting on three times more records these days” thanks to his streamlined rig.
“A Bassman amp with three mics put on it literally will not fit inside the song,” Mayer said. “There’s a lot of resistance to that from producers.”
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