Jack Johnson - To The Sea

It's a triple review day on the B Side, with a second edition of New Music Tuesday. I figured since it was a long holiday weekend, I can repay the readers with an extra review! And it so happens that one of my favorite 'mood' genre acts has another drop today. If you can recall, I reviewed Mr. Johnson's 'Brushfire Fairytales' a couple months ago. While I love that album, a couple of this other studio releases were misses for me. This one reverts right back into Fairytale quality. Superior acoustics and vocals on a number of tracks makes this a must listen. In January Johnson reported that they entered the studio to begin work on a new album, and on February 1st they announced that their currently untitled fifth studio album was slated for a June 1st release, to be followed by a world tour. The album was recorded over three weeks in Johnson's two solar-powered studios, The Mango Tree in Hawaii and the Solar Powered Plastic Plant in Los Angeles. And how neat is that? When asked about the album title, his comment to press was, "I guess it's a reference to a father leading his son to the sea, with the water representing the subconscious. So it's about trying to go beneath the surface and understand yourself." As I stated earlier, check this one out. If you're a Jack fan, you'll love it.

TRACK LISTING:
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. Upsetter, The
10. Red Wine, Mistakes, Mythology
11. Pictures of People Taking Pictures
12. Anything But the Truth
13. Only the Ocean

Listen To Samples

Top 3 Tracks:
1. You And Your Heart
2. Anything But The Truth
3. To The Sea

FINAL RATING:
3.5 out of 5 stars

Jack Johnson - Brushfire Fairytales

Keeping with the spirit of spanning genres, here's another mood type guy in Jack Johnson. Now, the challenge can sometimes come when I'm not in that certain mood for music but try to review it anyway - and today is that type of day. I really enjoy Mr. Johnson's work, but not really in that mode this morning. Anyhow...this is a pretty solid record. It's got two of my favorite Jack tracks, and this album seems less poppy then others. I've always liked his laid back approach to music, and that he never really puts anything out there that makes you scratch your head and wonder what he was thinking. As far as this genre goes, Johnson and John Mayer are probably the kings of record sales and probably one of few people you've even heard of when it comes to this stuff. I guess Coldplay fits here too...but they span into that pop category as well - especially current music. Regardless, check out Fairytales and I think you'll be surprised. If you're a Jack fan, you may already know a couple tracks here, but if you've never heard his stuff - keep an open mind and play it through. You'll at least find one or two that get you going.

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

Listen To Samples

Top 3 Tracks:
1. It's All Understood
2. Flake
3. Posters

FINAL RATING:
3.75 out of 5 stars