Amazon.co.uk Review
Jack Johnson has found himself a groove with
On and On. Indeed, the Hawaiian surfing champion turned alternative pop-folk star really hasn't changed things one iota for his second release. Fans of
Brushfire Fairytales should be delighted with the results. The groove is a mellow one--most of the 16 tracks here are semi-acoustic--and that easy-going spirit filters into Johnson's lyrical philosophies. "What will be will be / And so it goes" he sings on "Times Like These", the opening track. Thankfully, Johnson is never too mellow, and there's a "Don't worry, be happy" vibe to most of his music--"The Horizon Has Been Defeated" even has a pseudo-reggae feel to it. Although classified as an alternative musician, the singer-songwriter's compositions owe much to past hits. "Traffic in the Sky" is reminiscent of
Jim Croce's "Operator" and
Looking Glass's one-hit-wonder, "Brandy". On the splendid "Taylor", Johnson sounds an awful lot like
Donovan, and "By the Way" recalls the
Lovin' Spoonful.
--Bill Holdship
Description
Something of a slacker renaissance man, prototypical mellowsurfer-dude Jack Johnson is not only a BILLBOARD-charting recording artist, but also a world-champion athlete and award-winning documentary filmmaker. On his second full-length album, ON AND ON, the sandy-toed singer/songwriter delivers a bare bones set of acoustic folk rock as soft and soothing asthe Hawaiian breezes that serve as his inspiration.
As on his debut disc, BRUSHFIRE FAIRYTALES, Johnson serves up a groovy, yet slightly melancholy stew in his trademark breathy voice, which at its best recalls everyone from Steve Miller to Chet Baker to Evan Dando of The Lemonheads. This time around, however, the vocalist/guitarist isn't afraid to gently stir pinches of reggae, hip-hop, and Harry Belafonte stylepop-calypso into his usual hippie jam-band roux. Mario Caldato Jr.'s ultra-sparse, live-sounding production carefully reveals the subtle sadness that lurks behind even Johnson's poppiest tunes, making ON AND ON the perfect album for a midnight beach party on the last night of summer vacation.
(33)
£6.47
(21)
£6.98
(6)
£4.98
(
