JOHN MAYER

“Where the Light Is: Live in Los Angeles” (Columbia): B-

Everyone wants to tear Johnny down. It’s easy - or at least it was before we learned the boy can play. On Mayer’s third live album in five years, his groaning vocals are inanely overwrought (will he ever pass that Georgia peach pit he’s been struggling with?), his originals corny and cute at best (“Come When I Call”), infuriatingly maudlin at worst (“Daughters,” “Waiting on the World to Change”). But he knows his way around a Stratocaster and a blues scale and he shows it on three sets (acoustic, electric trio, full band) spread over two CDs. He actually pulls off a terrific version of Hendrix’s “Bold as Love” - before ruining it with a stupid speech about his quest for fulfillment. Download: the Stevie Ray Vaughan-esque “Who Did You Think I Was.”