Inside Wants Out

EP by John Mayer

Released

September 24, 1999

Recorded

Orphan Studios, Atlanta, Georgia; Southern Living at Its Finest, Atlanta, Georgia; Studio 737, Boston, Massachusetts

Genre

Folk rock, acoustic rock, blue-eyed soul

Length

34:36

Label

Mayer Music, LLC.

Producer

John Mayer, Glenn Matullo, David LaBruyere

John Mayer chronology

Inside Wants Out
(1999)

Room for Squares
(2001)

Inside Wants Out is the debut extended play (EP) and very first overall release by American blues rock musician 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". 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.

Production and history

Mayer 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

Critical response to Inside Wants Out, that came mostly after the Columbia re-release, was warm and optimistic. David Thigpen (with Rolling Stone) called the album's sound "the greatest pop sound of all time, melodically rich tunes that weave folk, blues, rock and jazz."^[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]

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	^[8]
Melodic.net	^[9]
Rolling Stone	^[7]

Track listing

Original version
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	2:45
9.	"Quiet"	Mayer	3:20
Total length:			34:36

Columbia re-release
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
8.	"Quiet"	Mayer	3:20
Total length:			39:18

Personnel

Musicians

John Mayer – vocals, guitars, string arrangements on track 7, production
David LaBruyere – bass guitar on tracks 1 and 5, drum loop and Moog bass on track 1, production on tracks 1 and 8
Matt Mangano – bass guitar on tracks 7 and 8, recording on track 7
Stephen Roberson – drums on tracks 7 and 8
Sigurdur Birkis – drums on track 1
Clay Cook – guitar, backing vocals and string arrangements on track 7
Casey Driessen – strings on track 7
Carrie Rodriguez – strings on track 7
Daniel Cho – strings on track 7

Production personnel

Glenn Matullo – recording on all tracks except 7, production, mastering
Russ Fowler – mixing
Vlado Miller – resequencing

Additional personnel

Tom Wages – cover and additional photography
Tyson Marsh – additional photography
Carol Farrar Norton – graphic design

References

↑ Ruth Shaut (ELLE)(2006)."Blues Brother" J-mayer.org. Retrieved on 2006-08-03.
1 2 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" AskMen.com. Retrieved on April 12, 2006.
1 2 Guthrie, Blake (2003). "Mayer of Atlanta: John Mayer plays Philips Arena, and all I got was this lousy cover story" CreativeLoafing.com. Retrieved on February 17, 2007.
↑ Alter, Gaby (2007). "Tour Profile: John Mayer" MixOline.com. Retrieved on April 23, 2007.
↑ Thigpen, David (February 14, 2002), "JOHN MAYER". Rolling Stone (889):45
1 2 Edwards, Gavin (October 31, 2002), "Inside Wants Out". 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. Retrieved March 24, 2013.

John Mayer

Discography

Studio albums	Room for Squares Heavier Things Continuum Battle Studies Born and Raised Paradise Valley

Live albums	Any Given Thursday As/Is Try! Where the Light Is: John Mayer Live in Los Angeles

Extended plays	Inside Wants Out The Village Sessions The Complete 2012 Performances Collection

Singles	"No Such Thing" "Your Body Is a Wonderland" "Why Georgia" "Bigger Than My Body" "Clarity" "Daughters" "Waiting on the World to Change" "Belief" "Gravity" "Dreaming with a Broken Heart" "Say" "Free Fallin'" "Who Says" "Heartbreak Warfare" "Half of My Heart" "Perfectly Lonely" "Shadow Days" "Queen of California" "Something Like Olivia" "Paper Doll" "Wildfire" "Who You Love"

Featured singles	"Go!" "Streetcorner Symphony" "Beat It"

Video albums	Any Given Thursday Where the Light Is: John Mayer Live in Los Angeles

Concert tours	Battle Studies World Tour Born and Raised World Tour

Related articles	John Mayer Trio (Try! and "Who Did You Think I Was") Annual John Mayer Holiday Charity Revue Dead & Company

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