Grade: A –

If John Mayer is anything like his music, he has several personalities.

First, he was the one-man, acoustic coffee-house set — minus the political views — on his 1999 debut, “Inside Wants Out.” Then he glossed over his sound, becoming a pseudo-Dave Matthews with the mega-hit album, “Room For Squares,” that made googily-eyed teenagers everywhere gush when he cooed, “Your Body is a Wonderland.”

After that, he grew out his hair and attempted a so-called “New York sound” — falling a bit short — on a less-commercial “Heavier Things,” earning him a Grammy for “Daughters.” But regardless of what he thought, it sounded just about the same as his previous album.

In an effort to reinvent himself, Mayer teamed up with veteran musicians Steve Jordan and Pino Palladino to form the John Mayer Trio. But even with all the talent, the group’s live album “Try!” sounded just like that — Trio was trying much too hard.

Despite the guitar strengths, the group was more comparable to a mediocre blues cover band found in every bar in America, covering the likes of Hendrix and Ray Charles and sounding a bit too much like Eric Clapton.

Mayer’s latest effort, “Continuum,” no longer has the reek of desperation that moments on his previous albums have had. He sounds like himself, and in doing so, he’s made one of best pop/rock albums of the year.

Mayer has always been a good songwriter, but now his lyrics have a different tone. Now he’s offering excuses for our generation’s political apathy in “Waiting on the World to Change,” a song unlike anything on the radio right now. Mayer also beautifully articulates the fears and confusion of youth on “Gravity” and “Stop This Train.”

It took about seven years, but Mayer has found a way to mesh his pop sensibility, worthy guitar playing and earnest lyrics into one, making for quiet an enjoyable listen.

If “Continuum” shows us the real John Mayer, let’s hope he’s lost his personality complex.

Steve Brown is the Managing Editor for the

Northern Star