Mellow, catchy, dreamy and crafty- all of these adjectives adequately describe the style and persona of Jack Johnson in the musical world. His acoustic guitar, his blues/folk influences and his very pure, soothing singing voice welcome the listener with open arms, starting with the very first notes of the first song. “Brushfire Fairytales”, Jack Johnson’s first album, is easy on the ears and a thankfully unique sound from the punk or alternative that fills the radio stations these days.
Jack Johnson proves two things to me on this wonderful 13 song disc: he has an incredible way of balancing deep, meaningful, descriptive lyrics with soft, gentle melodies and he keeps the music fresh through the entire album. A casual listener would probably suggest that the songs sound too similar to each other but if you’re actively listening to the songs, each of them has a different purpose, different content, different chord structure. Of course, the beauty of the music is that as unique as it is, each song shares a common beauty and eloquence which allows for an easy listen while driving, relaxing, anything.
But, alas, I have yet to mention my favourite tracks on the release. To me, the obvious choice for best song is Flake, which features Ben Harper on slide guitar. What an awesome song, “Flake” is both lyrically and melodically great- definitely one of my favourites of the year. Great examples of Johnson’s lyrical capabilities can also be found on Inaudible Melodies, Bubble Toes, The News and Losing Hope. And his varying style, whether it be easy-going lyrics to a peaceful ballad sound or a stronger drum and guitar sound with quick-paced lyrics is shown in Fortunate Fool and Mudfootball respectively. To me, Jack Johnson is one of the best musicians out there right now, bringing back the folk sound of past years and making it credible, new, appealing and popular all over again.
By: Cousy
