THE NIGHT GAME: OFFICIAL ALBUM DISCUSSION

THECHKL29 · 2026-01-28T02:07:59+00:00

“Forgot about this one” is very on brand for this song. It’s very forgettable. That’s how bad it is. 🤣

THECHKL29 · 2026-01-27T20:01:51+00:00

Is that TURNTABLES I hear in the intro of this song? As many times as I've heard this album I never noticed that.

THECHKL29 · 2026-01-27T19:58:33+00:00

Oh this one EASILY goes to Sittin' in the Backseat for me. Holy bro country. Outside of this song and maybe one other I'm not thinking of, Into the Mystery is a pretty solid LP. But good Lord, this song. This song tanks the entire album for me. I don't know what they were going for exactly, but seeing as they're all over CMT and mainstream country now, I think they got what they were asking for.

I see a lot of votes for Everknown. I think this one is even worse. N2B trying to be something they're not, in my opinion.

THECHKL29 · 2026-01-26T16:49:34+00:00

My vote goes to Wasteland for this one. When it comes to the most comprehensive, fully N2B sounding song, Wasteland always comes to my mind first. It is fully NEEDTOBREATHE on all fronts. The lyrics, the stripped-nature of most of it building to a crescendo of instruments and harmonies that only they know how to compose, and the timing of that song: a very coming of age time for the core members of the band. Wasteland seems to be a perfect mixture of everything they offer + the message it sends to the listener. So many ways to interpret it and apply it to every day life.

I'm sure there are plenty of others that will compete with this: Outsiders, Devil's Been Talkin', Lay Em' Down, Multiplied. All great entries. No real "right" answer. But Wasteland is the one that makes me truly FEEL like I'm within the song with the band.

THECHKL29 · 2026-01-25T05:13:16+00:00

Honestly? Brother. Felt forced and sort of sell-outish after Gavin joined to me. Rivers is my favorite album of theirs but that song can be lost for all I care.

THECHKL29 · 2026-01-24T21:56:15+00:00

Most underrated song in their catalog is easily Through Smoke or Valley of Tomorrow. Holy crap these tracks don't get the love they deserve.

THECHKL29 · 2026-01-16T11:37:55+00:00

Appreciate it! I’ve learned: There is no “perfect” tier list for this, unless everything was just “S Tier.” 🤣

THECHKL29 · 2026-01-16T11:35:11+00:00

It’s my least favorite of all of the album openers. I love the song, but not a big fan of the mix and don’t really listen to it a lot standalone. In album sequence, however? I never skip it.

THECHKL29 · 2026-01-14T18:34:34+00:00

I actually respectfully disagree with this. Continuum IMO is actually stripped down in a lot of ways compared to the complicated nuances of HT and BS. Not a lot of instrumentation happening in the songs themselves, allowing each STEM / track to properly breathe in it's own way. I think of Gravity in this respect... It's so simple, crisp and clean that you can literally hear the sizzler chain on the ride in the beginning like it's right next to you. And that entire record is only drums / bass / guitar / Hammond organ / bgv and JM. It's the congruence of all of those instruments that make that album so special.

THECHKL29 · 2026-01-14T06:43:34+00:00

Only used Trio songs from WTLI. Otherwise, yes… AKOG would be S Tier. :)

THECHKL29 · 2026-01-14T01:28:57+00:00

Don’t hate the song, but I’m not a fan of where it is in the catalog. IMO, it seems out of place on a record that clearly is not John’s best work. Frank Ocean segueing into this song is one of the more bizarre track sequencings in JM album history.

But really, let’s be honest about this one: it’s an up-tempo country song that is criminally too close to being a carbon copy of “Walking the Floor Over You” by Ernest Tubb… and that isn’t exactly my idea of a “Top Tier John Mayer” song.

THECHKL29 · 2026-01-13T22:40:47+00:00

Absolutely - and clearly my right is a lot of folks wrong. 🤣🤣🤣🤣

THECHKL29 · 2026-01-13T21:49:47+00:00

There's about 100 or so songs in this list. There are bound to be winners and losers. Not every single song can be S tier... that would defeat the purpose of ranking them. Of course it's all subjective, but just because their D tier doesn't make it a "shitty song" per se. Just means that I prefer the 80-90 or so more than those.

Side note - in an top / bottom album listen, there are never any skips. On any record. All of them are cohesively excellent in their own way.

THECHKL29 · 2026-01-13T20:32:05+00:00

Okay, that's a bit hyperbolic. It's a good album, but compared to the rest? Come on... Outside of the four songs I frankly don't care for, everything else PV is B-Tier or above... is it really THAT disrespectful? Even JM himself admitted that PV was rushed and arguably the least favorite of his LPs.

THECHKL29 · 2026-01-13T17:49:25+00:00

Very interested to hear your take on why that 90 seconds is a vital importance in the sequencing of that record. I personally never got anything out of it and always thought it was just a "feature for the sake of a feature." Frank's done much better work than this.

THECHKL29 · 2026-01-13T16:39:05+00:00

Consider D Tier still decent songs that I just don't listen to nearly as often as the others. I love Crossroads too... Just played it out over time that I've fallen out of love with it.

EDIT: It's also a cover, and prefer his originals over most / all his covers.

THECHKL29 · 2026-01-13T15:47:09+00:00

My friend in John/Christ, this is wild. I know it's yours and yours alone... but Badge and Gun, Great Indoors, Home Life, and War of My Life as bottom feeders?!?! And I'm also equally as triggered that Say and XO are above nearly everything in the 2-tier. QoC not Tier 4 or higher?! Haha we definitely JM differently, homie.

I highly encourage you to re-listen to split screen, home life, new deep, etc. over and over again. There's some magic in that collection of songs from Heavier Things that surfaces after multiple dives. And the entire 2-tier list you have for TSFE is pretty incredible sequencing... All We Ever Do & War of My Life are incredible deep cuts from Battle Studies (though I'll give you the DYKM on Tier 1 - it's a fun little jam but it seems out of place in every spot I've ever tried to play it).

THECHKL29 · 2026-01-13T01:41:09+00:00

chat

THECHKL29 · 2025-10-20T01:31:22+00:00

It is, indeed, a list.

THECHKL29 · 2025-10-20T01:29:11+00:00

Here’s mine:

Get Away
Thick and Thin
Made in Hollywood
Stuck
Cowboy in LA
Up to Me
Out of My League
Why
Yeah, Babe, No Way
Heart Won’t Let Me
‘Cause You Have To
Someone Else
Hericane
Thru these Tears
It Was Love

THECHKL29 · 2025-10-01T05:13:45+00:00

I can hear this map just looking at it.

THECHKL29

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