Guys - I stand on the sidelines for this always, but i gotta give my 2 cents this time....

I was into blues long before hearing John. I heard "No Such Thing" and I thought, nice message, but I'm not digging the vibe. It wasn't til somebody insisted I would like John if I "knew what he was really about." That person gave me "Lenny" and "The Wind Cries Mary" and being that I knew the originals, I grew appreciation for JM in his tributes.

Seemingly, CIR qualified all that. But still, in my estimation, CIR is John doing Stevie. Yes, there are melodic moments of originality. Some jazz moments even. But largely, that's all SRV tribute.

Likewise, "Out of My Mind" is direct BB tribute.

Furthermore, the majority of CONTINUUM contains Clapton tribute.

John doesnt hide this. He flat out says it.

In my opinion, and from all the interviews - what is happening is that John is studying his influences, using them, and now attempting to meld them together and find out who HE is.

Whether you prefer CIR or Gravity...they're all part of a learning process. Look at "Sunshine of your Love," then look at "River of Tears." There's evolution. If you're going to grow as a guitarist, you need to evolve. It doesnt mean your older work sucks. Hell, Clapton still will play tribute to his old solos! But you need to evolve.

Stevie had such a short life, and even he showed evolution. Listen to the "Texas Flood" album and then listen to "In Step." The guy was evolving.

Mayer's doing that too. Credit where credit's due.

What's most important I always think, is to play within the song. Dropping the band volume down to show off licks can be cool live, but that's not what we need. What's important is what serves the song.

Solos are great. But songs change lives.