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Product details
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Track Listings
| 1. You And Your Heart |
| 2. To The Sea |
| 3. No Good With Faces |
| 4. At Or With Me |
| 5. When I Look Up |
| 6. From The Clouds |
| 7. My Little Girl |
| 8. Turn Your Love |
| 9. The Upsetter |
| 10. Red Wine, Mistakes, Mythology |
| 11. Pictures Of People Taking Pictures |
| 12. Anything But The Truth |
| 13. Only The Ocean |
Product Description
Review
Nice guys finish… first, in the case of Jack Johnson. The surfer, filmmaker and middle-of-the-road acoustic songwriter has never pushed any creative envelopes with his pleasantly forgettable fare, yet his last two albums were UK number ones. Neither Sleep Through the Static (2008) nor In Between Dreams (2005) received much in the way of praise from the music press, but Johnson is in the same mould as Katie Melua: a musician whose fortunes appear impervious to negative reviews, rendering opinions expressed in pieces such as this absolutely irrelevant.
Indeed, such is the armour plating surrounding Johnson’s material that one wonders, while one writes, what the point is of even penning a review that won’t influence a potential buyer’s decision. The conclusion: to be objective, to relay the globally significant background of To the Sea and what’s to follow. That the album follows in the sonic footsteps of what’s come before should go without saying (whoops), and that it’s as challenging as committing a felony in a Grand Theft Auto video game (not very) is another needless statement of abject obviousness. But what’s not apparent from these songs is just how brilliant a man their maker is.
Not musically, you understand. Jack Johnson realises his strengths, limited as they are, and plays to them. Should he ever stretch himself as a musician the results could be fascinating – think The Beach Boys before Pet Sounds, and what they felt capable of afterwards – but right now he’s operating in a comfort zone that should guarantee continued commercial success. But here’s where the brilliant bit comes in: he doesn’t need the money. All profits from touring this record, all around the world, are to go to charities supporting the environment and the arts. He will strive to offset all carbon emissions. He even recorded this in two solar-powered studios. The music might be lightweight, but Johnson is a man on a serious mission, and should be applauded accordingly.
Johnson’s behaviour, his philanthropy and awareness-raising activities in the name of saving this world, should stir other globally known and financially stable artists into doing similar. Pretty though these songs occasionally are – even the harshest critic must concede that My Little Girl and Anything But the Truth are lovely – they’re of secondary importance to their creator’s enthusiasm in other, more important areas. It’s enough to have one forgiving the prevalent listlessness of the man’s catalogue, almost. --Mike Diver
CD Description
To the Sea is the fifth studio album from American singer/songwriter Jack Johnson. Recorded at Johnson's own solar powered studios, The Mango Tree in Hawaii and produced by himself, the album sees Johnson deliver another collection of laidback, acoustic numbers in the vein of his previous work. The lead single "You And Your Heart" is included.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
... I really got into this album. I love Jack Johnson's music because it is so calming and easy to listen to. The problem I sometimes find, and particularly with this album, is that for the first few listens it is difficult to differentiate between songs and I certainly couldn't relate a song to one of the titles on the back of the album cover. But the more I listen the more each song takes on its own identity and at the moment this album is a constant companion of mine. Stand out song for me comes right at the end; 'Only the Ocean' is a truly beautiful song that I will never tire of listening to.
26 of 30 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Jack Johnson has always come across as a thoroughly
decent chap. The sort of dinner party guest who would
manage the order of his cutlery with confidence.
I imagine that the contents of his kitchen cupboards
are very well arranged and that he would not dare to
wear brown brogues with a blue suit.
His new album 'To The Sea' is nothing to be embarrased
about either. Thirteen tracks which deliver more of those
rounded, well-behaved and perfectly affable qualities
which we have come to expect from him.
Easy listening in the nicest possible way.
Mr Johnson knows how to craft a good tune and perform it
impeccably with a minimum of fuss and uneccesary decoration.
The absence of artifice is its greatest strength.
Recorded in his own studios over a brief three week period the
album possesses a vividly 'live' ambience. The eschewal of
overcomplex multi-tracking allows the simple arrangements room
to breathe and to make the strongest possible impact without
evidence of any undue strain, stress or tribulation.
Mr Johnson has an innate ability to relax and keep it real.
There are some really lovely songs in this collection.
The plaintive harmonica on 'No Good With Faces'
emphasises the tired and lonely emotional ambience of
the composition. Mr Johnson's laconic vocal delivery
pins down the mood of the piece with world-weary aplomb.
'From The Clouds' shimmers with sunny Caribbean charm.
Like Robert Palmer before him Mr Johnson understands
the importance of harmony and loose-limbed rhythm.
It is a delightfully laid-back performance.
'My Little Girl' and 'Turn Your Love' both tug at
our heart-strings. The backing vocals of the latter
are absolutely delightful. Simply perfect stuff!
'At Or With Me', a mid-paced rocker, shows off his fine
band firing on all six cylinders. Merlo Podlewski (bass),
Zach Gill (keyboards) and Adam Topol (drums) help our
hero (kicking out some impressively rugged guitar lines
himself) realise the good energy embedded in this fine song.
Final track 'Only The Ocean' is a beautiful invention;
one of the finest creations of his career in fact and
a worthy conclusion to this truly stunning album.
Mr Johnson just gets better and better.
Highly Recommended.
decent chap. The sort of dinner party guest who would
manage the order of his cutlery with confidence.
I imagine that the contents of his kitchen cupboards
are very well arranged and that he would not dare to
wear brown brogues with a blue suit.
His new album 'To The Sea' is nothing to be embarrased
about either. Thirteen tracks which deliver more of those
rounded, well-behaved and perfectly affable qualities
which we have come to expect from him.
Easy listening in the nicest possible way.
Mr Johnson knows how to craft a good tune and perform it
impeccably with a minimum of fuss and uneccesary decoration.
The absence of artifice is its greatest strength.
Recorded in his own studios over a brief three week period the
album possesses a vividly 'live' ambience. The eschewal of
overcomplex multi-tracking allows the simple arrangements room
to breathe and to make the strongest possible impact without
evidence of any undue strain, stress or tribulation.
Mr Johnson has an innate ability to relax and keep it real.
There are some really lovely songs in this collection.
The plaintive harmonica on 'No Good With Faces'
emphasises the tired and lonely emotional ambience of
the composition. Mr Johnson's laconic vocal delivery
pins down the mood of the piece with world-weary aplomb.
'From The Clouds' shimmers with sunny Caribbean charm.
Like Robert Palmer before him Mr Johnson understands
the importance of harmony and loose-limbed rhythm.
It is a delightfully laid-back performance.
'My Little Girl' and 'Turn Your Love' both tug at
our heart-strings. The backing vocals of the latter
are absolutely delightful. Simply perfect stuff!
'At Or With Me', a mid-paced rocker, shows off his fine
band firing on all six cylinders. Merlo Podlewski (bass),
Zach Gill (keyboards) and Adam Topol (drums) help our
hero (kicking out some impressively rugged guitar lines
himself) realise the good energy embedded in this fine song.
Final track 'Only The Ocean' is a beautiful invention;
one of the finest creations of his career in fact and
a worthy conclusion to this truly stunning album.
Mr Johnson just gets better and better.
Highly Recommended.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
I was waiting with bated breath for the new Jack Johnson album to arrive and it hasn't really lived up to my expectations. I find myself making an effort to play it to see if I like it more but so far it hasn't really captured my imagination, put it this way there are no tracks so far that make me want to sing along, it's just there playing in the background! Maybe it will grow on me who knows!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Glad Ive got it - good Jack Johnson tunes
Enjoying the music on my journey to work - like Jack Johnson and this is as good as his other albums - I waited to get this album and decided to get it now - Thanks
Published 5 months ago by A. Sheppard
Another great album from Jack Johnson
I could never say Jack is lacking of originality or quality because I don't think he will. This album is a prove of it. Doesn't contain a bad or average song. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Kaan Sensoy
Relaxing
If you've liked Jack Johnson all the while, you won't be disappointed! I'm a new fan and I absolutely like it. Read more
Published 12 months ago by YL
disappointed ..
The package was alright. The CD was new too. The only problem: there is a stain of glue on the CD, which does not allow the CD to be played :( Not the mistake of the seller, but... Read more
Published 13 months ago by Iryna Litvinova
My girlfriend was happy.
This Cd was not fore me but fore my girlfriend so, i havent really listen to really, but she gave me a big kiss and hug, and listen to it all the time, so she's happy and iam... Read more
Published 16 months ago by August Nor Helsinghoff
Disappointed ...
We have enjoyed 3 other cds so far of Jack Johnson's - wonderful, mellow stuff - played constantly by the whole family. Read more
Published 21 months ago by Maz
Jack Johnson
Arrived very quickly and in perfect condition. As usual, Jack Johnson is every bit as good as expected!!
Published 22 months ago by Carol
Jack Johnson - To the Sea
This CD is Summer. Typical Jack Johnson, new songs that give a variety of tempo and moods. This is the one to take out for a walk on the beach, sit on a rock or lie by the waves -... Read more
Published 22 months ago by C. Richardson
Another great listen from Jack
Have all the other Jack Johnson albums and this one does not disappoint. Higher tempo than some of the others, it still has all the classic Jack Johnson riffs. Read more
Published 22 months ago by Mark Booth
To the sea we go
Another excellant album from Jack Johnson, an album for a nice quite night unwinding and chilling out.To The Sea
Published 22 months ago by Mr. Keith Tozer
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