Jack Johnson - On and On

Ever since I heard Jack Johnson's saltwater-saturated version of Jimmy Buffett's "Pirate Looks at 40" on the September Sessions Soundtrack, I was hooked on the laid-back surfer with pearls of wisdom swirled around in his gently culled oyster songs. Jack Johnson just makes you feel good. You don't have to be any certain "thing" or "way" to get what he's saying, and the music, mostly acoustic guitar backed by reggae-ish bass and drums, is so easy to vibe to. In short, it's like Sublime without the pogo and Bob Marley without the Rastafarian element: Simplicity. And, as the Quakers say, "'tis a gift to be simple / 'tis a gift to be free." Jack Johnson's album On and On is simple, free, and wholly gorgeous. Everyone else just needs to catch on. Hell, it's produced by Mario of Beastie Boys fame, yo. When you can incorporate the lyric "Hallelujah zig-zag nothing / Misery is on the loose / 'Cause people are lonley and only animals with fancy tools" ("The Horizon Has Been Defeated") without silliness, tell a story about the life of a delinquent ("Taylor") in a scat, semi-rap without pretentiousness, and make lovelorn desire an un-jaded boogie ("Tomorrow Morning"), you have accomplished something. Johnson's lyrics and melodies are like a bench swing on a Southern Summer porch - swaying, welcoming, warm, and moving. The whole album makes you happy: there's not a stinker in the bunch. And don't be worried - It's too earnest and real to be easy listening. With groovy, Roots-y songs like "Rodeo Clowns" keep Johnson's album from falling into adult contemporary, and his ease with shuffling guitar plicking make you want to move. In short: On and On is the album to take to the beach with you, because it'll put you in the mood for fun and sun, memories and the melancholy that can come from staring at everyone moving around, staring at the moving of the ocean waves. Even the lovesick can bask in "Cocoon" ("Mend your broken heart / And leave"). Even the cluttered headed can dwell on the anti-metropolis anthem "Traffic in the Sky." I cannot say anything negative about this album, I love it. Hopefully you will too. [www.jackjohnsonmusic.com]