If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.

Such is not the case with John Mayer. A self-educated and self-taught guitarist, Mayer had success in years past with “Room for Squares,” mainly due to the soft-core lullaby “Your Body is a Wonderland,” and again with “Heavier Things,” backed by “Daughters.” For a man whose career has been dominated by radio hits and videos on VH1, the young artist easily could rely on the same formula over and over again to further himself musically.

So why would Mayer need to “Try!” something new?

The answer is simple. The Connecticut-born singer/songwriter needed to put his lyrics to rest for a bit and focus on where his true talent really lies – in the electric guitar.

The album opens with “Who Did You Think I Was,” and Mayer’s raucous guitar soars through the melodic bass lines of Pino Palladino (The Who) and the precision drumming of Steve Jordan (Bruce Springsteen).

The trio blisters its way through seven new songs, while covering “Wait Until Tomorrow” by Jimi Hendrix and “I Got a Woman” by Ray Charles, thusly showing today’s youth that Kanye West took his “Gold Digger” refrain from Charles.

Mayer treats his hard-core fans to two past hits, “Something’s Missing,” in which the audience yells “check” against cymbal crashes, diminishing the song somewhat, and then putting a bluesy twist to “Daughters,” something Mayer has been dying to do since the song hit the airwaves.

True Mayer fans should stay away – this live album is something only a true blues lover would cherish.