Just noticed the review formatting has returned, thank god for that
Just noticed the review formatting has returned, thank god for that
Member since:29.08.2002
Reviews:627
Members who trust:281
While James Blunt seems to be hogging the British music presses attention, Jack Johnson has crept in with his third album. The former Hawaii surf champion exchanged his board for an acoustic guitar a few years ago and released a couple of albums. It seems to be his third album, In Between Dreams, though that has finally helped him to break through. The current focus on singer songwriters shows that Jack's return this year with his third album was certainly well timed.
Of course in the States and many other parts of the world he is a pretty established artist and has been for sometime. This year though Jack finally broke into the UK market with first "Never Know" and more recently "Sitting, Waiting, Wishing". As a surfer Jack seems to have adopted a part of the laid back and relaxed lifestyle to his music and that will have been one of the main reasons for his success in both Australia and America. His music captures a nice mellow vibe that sounds deceptively upbeat for what are really quite slow paced tracks.
I wasn't really familiar with
Jack until this album was released but after seeing the advert for this album and hearing a couple of tracks I decided to take a chance on the album. At the same time I also picked up the James Blunt album and a couple of Elliott Smith's older albums. As it happened I had four alums with a pretty similar sound and Jack's album seemed to get forgotten about for a while. A couple of months ago I found the album whilst clearing up a few things and stuck it on.
As a lot of similar artists the album is mainly Jack and his guitar with a couple of guys accompanying him on the drums and bass and for a couple of songs he drafts in the help of a pianist. The guitars create a nice soothing sound that sounds a lot more upbeat than the slow tempo really suggests. Each track is backed up with a slightly up tempo drum beat and a supporting bass line that give the tracks a little more depth than purely the acoustic guitar would. When the piano Is added for a couple of tracks it gives and even more laid back feel to the album and I think this is something that works in Jack's favour.
It's not only musically that this album sounds laid back and easy going. The evidence is plain to see in both Jack's vocals and the lyrical content of each track. I get the feeling that a lot of Jack's songs are written and thought up on Sunny evenings around a fire on the beach. They all seem to have that real summer vibe to them that would sound excellent laying around on a beach in a hot climate. I was worried when I first heard the album that it might be quite depressing and too down beat but in fact I really found the opposite. It doesn't seem to matter how I'm feeling I can put this album on and just drift away with the soothing sound of both musical and vocal content.
There are some truly brilliant pieces of music on this album. There are the songs that obviously attracted me to the album in the first place. Both "Never Know" and Sitting, Waiting, Wishing" are excellent examples of what Jack is all about. I thought however that there are some equally good tracks on the album itself. My favourite would probably have to be either "Staple it Together" or "Breakdown".
"Staple It Together" has a nice upbeat tempo to it and is a little quicker paced than the rest of the album. His vocals really stand out and you really get the summer feel whilst listening to it. This for me is one of the plusses as even though it's quite cold outside a track that reminds me of the warmth of summer is most welcome. From there "Crying Shame" is probably one of the least summery tracks on the album but the pace and combination of drums and guitars make it a pleasure to listen to. Johnson's vocals also sound amazing on this track and both of these prove he can adjust his vocal qualities to a wide range of styles.
There aren't any real weak tracks on the album but there are a couple of shorter tracks that seem like fillers but even these serve a purpose on the album. "Situations" and "Belle" see Jack on his own for around a minute and a half. While these are both really good pieces of music I cant help feeling the short punchy style of both tracks don't fit in with the overall feel of the album. They are still both good songs and the whole album is made up of decent tracks, more fitting than not.
Overall this is an excellent main stream introduction to the British music Scene for Jack. He's making his name at a time when singer songwriters seem to be all the rage. The progression from Surfer to musician seems to have been an easy one for Jack and this album certainly challenges the likes of James Blunt for the best singer songwriter's album of the year. If you like mellow songs that help you to relax and unwind then Jack Johnson is a must buy and an artist whose album I can't recommend enough.
Bangcd.com: £6.99 Amazon Market Place: £6.35
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
great review i love this album. i listened to it so much over the summer. excellent. ~curious
Pomcamgirl 03.10.2006 15:14
I really love his songs!
Em_Foster 27.03.2006 15:06
I loved ur review it reallt struck me as this was the exact same way i found jack! My fav song on the album is banana pancakes. Great review will look forward to reading some more of them. Em xx
Dec 3rd, 2005
exceptional by (12%):
very helpful by (88%):
![River Is Wide, The [Remastered] - Forum (The)](http://imagesb.ciao.com/iuk/images/products/small/251/prod_small-6006251.jpg)
