John Mayer is often dismissed (sometimes rightly) as a mellow soft rock artist aimed a little too squarely at the Starbucks crowd.

But anybody who doubts Mayer’s considerable guitar chops, or his affinity for the blues rock of his idols Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix, should check out his 2005 release Try!, recorded live with stdio stalwarts Steve Jordan and Pino Palladino as the John Mayer Trio.

This 11-track live collection features just a couple of Mayer’s more famous tracks, leaning instead on blues covers and new material that makes good use of the bare-bones, no-fuss lineup.

Mayer lets this sound seep into his studio albums on occasion, but not as often as he should. His more polished work could use a stronger dose of the grit and sweat he exudes on this album.