Jack Johnson's first classic

I love looking back to 2000. Mostly because I had just discovered Jack Johnson's song "Please Please" (which actually turned out to be called "Flake") and I finally found a quality new artist. I went and bought this album. Little did I know it would literally change the way that I look at music forever.

If you don't already know, Jack Johnson is the ultra-mellow surfer/film maker/musician from Hawaii. He's recently become quite famous, but when this album dropped he was still a known more as a surfer and surf film maker. Even as a musician, few knew about him outside of his native Hawaii and southern California. Those who did recognize him as a musician we're drawn to his feel-good music, amazing songwriting talents and incredible lyricism. This album displays all of these perfectly.

Track Listing:
1. Inaudible Melodies (5 stars)
2. Middle Man (4.5 stars)
3. Posters (5 stars)
4. Sexy Plexi (4 stars)
5. Flake (5 stars)
6. Bubble Toes (5 stars)
7. Fortunate Fool (4.5 stars)
8. The News (5 stars)
9. Drink the Water (4.5 stars)
10. Mudfootball (5 stars)
11. F-Stop Blues (5 stars)
12. Losing Hope (5 stars)
13. It's All Understood (5 stars)

Album - 62.5/65 - 96%

The album starts out beautifully with Inaudible Melodies. The song starts with Jack crooning us with just his guitar before the rest of the band (bass and drums) comes in. Jack also ties his sung melody into guitar licks he plays. Very cool. One thing you'll find on this album is that Jack carries most of the songs himself, with the bass and drums just used to fill it out. This is an incredibly laidback track, and includes my lifetime mantra in the lyrics: "Slow down everyone you're moving too fast, frames can't catch you when you're moving like that".

Next is Middle Man. Another solid track about a lost young boy. This album is remarkably politically and socially worthwhile, even though it's very subtle. You almost have to read the lyrics to get it all. This isn't quite as feel-good as most of these tracks, but still mellow and, as always, incredibly well written.

Posters is the type of song you have to listen to multiple times just cause it's so damn soothing. It starts off with some nice electric guitar looks, then the song gets carried by Jack's light barre chords. Another social song - this ones about the pressures America puts on our youth. Really a damn good song.

The worst track on the album, Sexy Plexi, also happens to be awesome. It's somewhat arabic sounding and has a nice drum beat. The lyrics, to me, don't make much sense and it's barely over 2 minutes. Still, sonically enjoyable.

The classic track Flake is next. Why this is named Flake, I don't know. This song, however, is the first on the album where Jack deals with his own emotions - and does it well. The lyrics are near-perfect, and the song has an immensely poignant feel to it. It's dripping with doubt and desperation. My favorite song ever. Fact. Really a truly classic song. The drum and bass also carry more of the song, along with Jack's nice chord strums. The song also includes some soothing steel drums and a nasty slide guitar solo from none-other-than the immortal Ben Harper. Absolutely breathtaking song.

Next is the song that made Jack famous. BUBBLE TOES! I'm sure you've heard many people humming this catchy little tune, which shot Johnson into the mainstream. The truth is that it's quite a good song. Classic mellow Jack/guitar intro. The mellowness is sustained throughout, but it picks up and just turns into the absolute feel-good song of the history of the world. A great listening experience.

Jack also shows his piano abilities on the next track, Fortunate Fool. This is the first ballad on the disc, and it's done well. Done better, however, is the next track and ballad, The News. This song is solely Jack and his finger-picked acoustic guitar. The lyrics are poignant, and are the shining star of this track. Amazing song.

Drink the Water busts out the gates with a nice sliding electric guitar riff, followed by typical chordings. This song is most definitely about a nasty surfing accident that put Jack in a hospital bed for several months. The drums have some cool watery, flange effect that is mimicked by the guitar as well. It's really some cool sounding Johnson material. A bit more musically adventerous than his recent stuff.

Mudfootball is a great song about the childhood that you wish you had. Johnson sings of many of his childhood moments and playing mudfootball, sung over music that would cure a manic depressant. You really gotta hear this - it's pure Jack Johnson.

The album changes pace with F-Stop Blues, which is Johnson's stab at a blues song. While it's not typical blues, it's infused with that feel and musically it's quite good. The lyrics are about isolated events on a surfing trip he went on with some buddies, all tied together by the chorus (Look who's laughing now!) which is a typical little ditty that they sang on the trip. Incredible song.

Jack gets a bit more heavy on Losing Hope. This is another emotional song about... well, losing hope. The drumbeat makes this song feel very somber and adds to the feeling well. You actually sometimes miss Jack's very nice guitar in this song because of it. Another great track.

The album ends in incredible fashion with It's All Understood. This song starts out with an eerie (but very cool) vocal intro, followed by steady piano and heavy drums, as in the last song. I wish Johnson still used some of those strange musical moments in some of his new music. This song is completely free of guitar - Jack sticks to piano. Lyrically, this song is brilliant. It's a sad but beautiful song and one of my favorites on the album. An incredible way to close this incredible album.

Honestly, if you don't have this album you are really missing out on a masterpiece. Although Jack Johnson is one of the few superstars who has sustained an incredible level for his music, this album is better than his next two (although they are amazing). I guess we'll just have to wait and see what the Curious George soundtrack brings us....

Related Albums

On and On - Jack Johnson

In Between Dreams - Jack Johnson

Sing-a-longs and Lullabies for the film Curious George - Jack Johnson

Donavon Frankenreiter - Donavon Frankenreiter