In Between Dreams (Special Edition) [Digipak] - Jack Johnson

Advantages: A great chill out album, perfect for summer evenings
Disadvantages: Very similar songs, not much variation

Everybody has those days in their life when they don't want to do much of anything. Maybe you've had a bad week, or things just haven't gone the way that you'd like them to. Whatever the case may be, it just seems like a good day to do nothing. And relish in it. Until recently, I called these days Mondays. But now I have a different name for them: "Johnson Days." (Now let's not take this to a weird place, it's far too early in the review for that.) ...
...In Between Dreams. A few months ago, my aunt purchased this CD that she was incredibly excited about. So she popped it in his CD player while we were driving and I was treated to my first meeting with Jack. Cool, mellow, simple Jack. Since that first listen, I guess you could say that I've been somewhat immersed in a world of soothing melodies, swooning lyrics, and simple rhythms. This was a sound that I wasn't used to. My album collection is full ... Read review

Advantages: Some beautiful songs, makes you believe that you are sitting on a Californian beach
Disadvantages: Some tracks have not got such a high melodic standard

...bridge chorus, which you find in many rock albums but in terms of a singer songwriter form this method can be found with more subtlety in Damian Rice's O. Don't get me wrong this does not ruin the album in anyway, and this work is certainly not like anything Mr. Rice has ever made, but it means that some tracks can be a little predictable. However it works very well in the tracks Banana Pancakes and Good People, which help to make up a fantastic ...
...downloaders out there. Please bear in mind this works really well a s a complete piece of work so do buy the album, and not resort to downloading to 2 year old demos. Anyway here goes Better Together: A wonderful opener, from the lines "There's no combination of words I could back of a postcard", this track will whisk you away on what Jack Johnson does best, write relaxing music, perfect for driving in the summer. If you are going on a road trip ... Read review

Advantages: See review
Disadvantages: See review

...of the twenty first century. In my opinion this is a complete untruth. Jack Johnson can sing! This is bound to be a slightly controversial view but in my opinion Bob Dylan was rubbish! Ok he was a great lyricist, but his singing was dreadful. This is however just my opinion and not one to be judged in this review. I'm just trying to convey how much I like Jack Johnson and his music. In Between Dreams is Jack Johnson's third album after 'On and ...
...to really get any attention in the UK. I'm sure that many of you are aware of the adverts on TV proclaiming that he is the best thing since sliced bread and about to explode onto the UK music scene. Well for once the TV is not lying to you! Jack Johnson comes from Hawaii and has devoted much of his life to surfing and surf culture. After a bad surfing accident several years ago he devoted himself to making and directing surf movies. He also composed ... Read review

Advantages: easy toe-tapping summer tunes
Disadvantages: some saminess between the tracks

...for me of his favourites in an attempt to 'educate' my music tastes. I resented the implication but liked the music (don't tell him). ~ PRICE Then I made a wee visit to the US and got the cd for 11 dollars (about £6.10) at Target which seemed fair, so I bought it. ~ COVER Let me get the peripheral stuff out of the way - the cd cover is cardboard which I guess is environmentally friendly but I'm nervous about it getting rained on. I'm not personally ...
...some similarities with each other in terms of style but not so much that you'd confuse one song with another, because they have quite strong lyrics and melodies. Here's the track list and some lyric snippets: 1. Better Together - "like a shoebox of photographs with sepia-toned loving" 2. Never Know - "our hearts are strong, our heads are weak" 3. Banana Pancakes - "but just maybe, hala ka ukelele" 4. Good People - "we got heaps and heaps of what ... Read review

Advantages: Carefree easy listening, some great tunes
Disadvantages: Very similar to other albums, very samey throughout

...of his then new album, In Between Dreams. So I'm a bit behind a few of you and, to me at least, this is Jack Johnson's first album. Johonson's sound is characterised by accoustic guitar with light drum beats in the background and soft vocals cast across the top. It makes for a very mellow, summery sound. We played the snippets album all day one day, with no changes. That's no mean feat bearing in mind that I work an eight and a half hour day and ...
...my new CD, it continues in the same vein as the snippets album did. But that's actually the problem. Rapidly the music becomes monotonous and annoying, and Johnson's voice appears to be able to generate one kind of sound and is unversatile in terms of creating variation through the songs. Lyrically speaking, there is nothing wrong and occasionally there are lines that stand out as very apt. The rhyming sequences are strong - there are few places ... Read review