Jack Johnson's (almost) second classic

You may blame Jack Johnson for making the same sounding music for 3 albums, but aren't we losing sight of what being a musician is all about? Making great music? Well, that's exactly what he does here. If Johnson doesn't expirement musically it's okay with me as long as the music is still good. We can't forget the horrible expirements by great artists. The Rolling Stones and Disco. The Grateful Dead and Synthesisers. Rick James and cocaine? The point is, the music is still good, so I'm content.

This album is much more personal than his last 2, as well. Lyrically, it's more focused on relationships, unlike On and On which is subtlely political and Brushfire Fairytales which is a mash-up of relationships and social commentary. Musically, it's also great. Jack expirements with piano not played by him (courtesy of Zach Gill) and often layered acoustic and electric guitar or acoustic guitar and ukelele. There's even some accordion here and there. It sounds great. I wouldn't call this album a classic, but it's about as close as you can get.

Track Listing:
1. Better Together (5 stars)
2. Never Know (4.5 stars)
3. Banana Pancakes (5 stars)
4. Good People (5 stars)
5. No Other Way (4 stars)
6. Sitting, Waiting, Wishing (5 stars)
7. Staple It Together (3 stars)
8. Situations (4 stars)
9. Crying Shame (4 stars)
10. If I Could (4 stars)
11. Breakdown (5 stars)
12. Belle (2.5 stars)
13. Do You Remember (5 stars)
14. Constellations (5 stars)

Total - 61/70 - 87%

The album kicks of with the beautiful Better Together. Obviously written for a lover, the theme is exactly what the title indicates - they are better together. It has possibly the best lyrics on the whole album, and the music is sweet and soft, which fits the perfectly. It starts with a great sliding acoustic guitar riff, then the serenading begins. After the first verse the bass and light cymbals come in, which carry this song very well. We also get the first taste of Zach Gill's piano skills; he mimics Jack's opening guitar riff on the keys in between the chorus and the verse. Incredible way to start the album.

Next comes Never Know. It starts out with simple strummed chords, with percussion in between. Then Jack start faithfully and continously strumming away. This song's got a great feel to it. This is one of the few songs on the album that shows Jack's very intelligent social commentary through the lyrics. Basically, he speaks of the state of society, how we want to strive to be good but don't know how. Great song.

The light raining sounds of Banana Pancakes come next. I've heard this song live before the release of this album, and Jack reworked this a bit. He put a nice guitar and vocal bit to kick it off, and finished his unfinished lyrics. The guitar in this song is incredible. It's typical Jack - where the guitar playing and melody are intertwined. Lyrically, this one is a gem. It's a song to his daughter, and how he wants to waste the day with her inside on a rainy day... making banana pancakes. This is an incredibly poignant and beautiful song. On top of that, it manages to stay fun and loose.

The bouncy Good People is next. This song starts with a very bluesy acoustic guitar lick, and kicks into a nice acoustic and electric layered verse. This song has great music. Lyrically, it's, just like Never Know, a social commentary. Overall, this song is a great track, and a great pick for a single (it was the second single off the album). By the way, where did all the good people go?

No Other Way is Jack's first ballad on this album. It's, once again, about his wife. It's has a very nice finger-picked guitar riff throughout, in addition to the splendid intro, and great percussion. Lyrically, this one never really hit me like some of his stuff does. It seems a bit vague. It's still an incredibly solid track, and a great slow Jack song.

The first single off the album is Sitting, Waiting, Wishing. This track is incredible. With nice, full guitar chordings, and very truthful lyrics, this song really hits you. This song is also a great full band song. The drums and bass both are played to perfection. Here's a sample of the lyrics:

I sang your songs, I danced your dance
I gave your friends all a chance
Putting up with them wasn't ever worth having you
And maybe you've been through this before
But it's my first time so please ignore
These next few lines, 'cause they're directed at you

Tell it like it is, Jack!

Staple It Together is the first of two weak tracks on this album. Surprisingly, it's completely electric. The real downfall are the very vague and unstimulating lyrics. They seem a bit arbitrary and useless. There are redeeming qualities however. It's got INCREDIBLE percussion (especially on the intro) and it's good to hear Jack solely on electric guitar. He plays it well.

The next song is the short but incredibly sweet Situations. The music is a very dreamy, whispy acoustic guitar , with Jack singing with what sounds like some type of muted mic. The lyrics are pretty good, and even better on paper than when sung. After the four short "situations" (verses) end, the song ends with a nice acoustic guitar plucking. Sweeeet song, but too short to be anything too amazing.

Crying Shame is next. This song was one of the songs I used to skip over when I first got the album. The instrumentation really isn't the best on the album, and neither are the lyrics. It isn't all mediocre though. The content is heavy stuff. Personally, I think it's some commentary on our current military position in a certain foreign country, and the wasted life in this situation. It's also got some nice guitarring (is that even a word?) in there as well. Overall, it's a pretty good track that grows on you as you listen.

The super-emotional If I Could comes next. It's not as good as the Phish song of the same name, but excellent. It starts off with some wierd, useless instrument, then Jack's beautiful sliding guitar lick comes in, backed by some nice congas on percussion. The wierd instrument comes back making it not so useless anymore. The lyrics in this song are absolutely beautiful as well. He speaks of the natural progression of life and when one dies, another is born. Take a look:

Down the middle drops one more grain of sand
They say that new life makes losing life easier to understand
Words are kind they help ease the mind
I miss my old friend and though you got to go
We'll keep a piece of your soul, one goes out, one comes in

We are hit with an incredibly unexpected treat with Breakdown. This honestly may be Jack's best song of his short career, definitely the best song on the album, and atop my list of favorite Jack Johnson songs. The music is really incredible. It starts with a beautiful acoustic intro, with a guitar and ukelele gently strumming. I hope this old train breaks down, then I could take a walk around, see what there is to see, time is just a melody, with all the people in the street walking fast as their feet can take them, I just roll through town. And though my windows got a view, well the frame I'm looking through seems to have no concern for now. Amazing stuff. The song stays beautiful and immaculate even when the drums and the bass comes in. Every word spoken in this song is perfect. The meaning of the lyrics are amazing, the flow of his voice is FLAWLESS, and the emotion behind them is moving. This song is absolutely remarkable. Everything about it is perfect. This price of the album is worth this song alone.

Unfortunately, the incredibly lackluster Belle comes next. Huge dissapointment after hearing the track right before. This is a 100 second long song with almost no lyrics. It's got very Mediterranean feeling guitar and some accordian. This definitely fits the lyrics about how he can't speak to a French lady because he doesn't speak French. Honestly, those are what the lyrics are about. There's like six lines in this song and four of them are in French. I thought you couldn't speak French, Jack?! Worst song on the album by a landslide. It's, however, saved by the fact that Johnson could attain that French feel in a song. He's pretty talented I tell you, but I still despise the lyrics on this one.

Jack comes right back to life with the wonderful album-ending tracks Do You Remember? and Constellations. These songs both have an incredible nostalgic feel to them and are excellent ways to end the album. Do You Remember? is a wonderful love song towards his wife, full of emotion and great lyrics. It's also played solely by him. This has the classic Jack tactic of having the guitar and the sung melody intertwined perfectly. Beautiful. He speaks of specific references about times involving the two of them. Although the rhyming in this track is weak, he more than makes up for it by the emotion and raw love in this tune. Classic track. Constellations is the next of the nostalgic pair. Having my own love affair with stars and space, I am really drawn to this song. It's got a great finger-picked intro, which is carried throughout the song once the rhythm section comes in. It's got incredible images that I can only guess are inspired from his childhood. The music and the lyrics in this tune are both very strong, and Jack serenades us very sweetly. Amazing track to end the album.

Buy this album, it will be a very well spent $12, or $20 if you shop at FYE. It's not quite a classic due to a couple weaker tracks, but is incredibly close. Although it gives Brushfire Fairytales a run for its money, it's not quite there in my opinion. Brushfire Fairytales didn't have a weak moment, and this does. This album, however, may appeal to more people because of it's lovey-dovey feel to it. Lyrically, it's all about relationships, which many people do like. I look for the bigger picture, however, and it's not quite as beautiful on this album. Quite a step up from the slightly monotonous On and On, however. I guess we'll have to wait to see what Sing-A-Longs and Lullabies for the film Curious George brings us.....

It was just another night with the sun set
And the moon rise not so far behind
To give us just enough light
To lay down underneath the stars
Listen to all the translations
Of the stories across the sky
We drew our own constellations...

4.5 stars.... rounded up to 5 (It's Jack, can't round down!)

Related Albums:

Brushfire Fairytales - Jack Johnson

On and On - Jack Johnson

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