Review:
Musically, Jack Johnson is one of the better guitarists in pop music today. He experiments with different styles throughout the album, taking influences from blues, jazz and folk- coming out with a sound of his own. He demonstrates that he is no simple strummer in the opening track 'Inaudible Melodies,' which opens up with a nice, bluesy lick. Jack's voice isn't the most powerful in vocal history, but it fits the music very well; it has a relaxing quality to it. This cd screams "rainy days at the beach" to me- that's just how it feels, in my opinion.
Songs that stood out to me are 'Sexy Plexi,' 'Flake,' 'Bubble Toes,' and 'The News.' The first of these is seductive and sensual, it's soft and exotic. 'Flake' is the big single off of Brushfire Fairytales, and I'd say it's a good pick. It's probably the catchiest song off of the cd, but it's definatly not annoyingly so. The rhythm of 'Flake' is used in four of Jack's songs off of this album, which I found to be a tad bothersome. 'Bubble Toes' is my favorite song off of Brushfire Fairytales. It's relaxing, and it covers more ground musically than any of the other songs on the cd, it's quick and it's catchy, and you'll probably catch yourself moving to the groove before it's over. Finally, 'The News' is a look at the sad state of world affairs. Jack opens up with "A billion people died on the news tonight/ But not so many cried at the terrible sight/ Well mama said/ It's just make believe/ You can't believe everything you see." The music fits the song- it's slow and gloomy, unlike most of the songs on Brushfire Fairytales.
On a final note, the lyrics of the album are magical in a sense. Jack is a great storyteller and all of the songs on the album fit their respective music wonderfully. His life spent in the water is obvious throughout the cd, as he references beaches and the ocean frequently.
[Accidentally hit enter...I'm adding this in an Edit]
Overall, the album is awesome. I'm definatly going to keep this in my collection for those trips to the beach with my friends... It all fits together incredibly well, and the only complaint I have is that he tends to revert back to the same rhythm pattern in four or five (maybe more...) songs.
I liked this album quite alot, i'm a bigger fan of his latest album but there is some nice guitar work here. Flake is my favorite song from the album even if it has been played about 384739 times on radio.
[QUOTE=hybridofsound]Nice review, simple but effective.
I liked this album quite alot, i'm a bigger fan of his latest album but there is some nice guitar work here. Flake is my favorite song from the album even if it has been played about 384739 times on radio.[/QUOTE]
Thankee, sir(/mam). This is my first (I think...), so if anyone has any tips for improving on my next, it'd be awesome.
[QUOTE=AmericanWeiner]Thankee, sir(/mam). This is my first (I think...), so if anyone has any tips for improving on my next, it'd be awesome.[/QUOTE]
My only suggestion would be to either put the standout tracks in bold, or do a seperate review at the end for one individual track. Just thinking of people who'll be downloading stuff to check out. Otherwise, very nice review. :thumb:
I'm sure I've heard this CD in a friends car.
Is this line from any of the songs.. "what a terrible thing for you to do, what a terrible thing for you to say"?
If so, then I have heard it, it's good driving music.
[QUOTE=blueyxd]I'm sure I've heard this CD in a friends car.
Is this line from any of the songs.. "what a terrible thing for you to do, what a terrible thing for you to say"?
If so, then I have heard it, it's good driving music.[/QUOTE]
I could be wrong, but I can't recall that line from this. It sounds a lot like Chris Isaak- Wicked Game, but he says wicked instead of terrible.
Yeah. His acoustic stuff is his classic and my favorite. If you'd like to hear him with more of that clean electric stuff, try out his newest album, its not my favorite, but he mixes things up a bit and it works. I still love this type of acoustic stuff more.
