ALBUM SHOWCASE: Jack Johnson
- Posted on October 22, 2007 3:40 PM
- 2 comments
A New Album From Jack Johnson
(but don’t spread it about)
By Peter Coulston
Yes, it’s true, there is a new Jack Johnson album coming out, and I was lucky enough to be one of the few people to hear a preview of it on Friday. We, the chosen few from the ranks of the media, arrived at the 20th Century Theatre on Westbourne Grove at 6pm and were relieved of bags, coats and mobile phones before receiving the hospitality of Brushfire Records and Universal/Island in this pleasant venue. Security was tighter than my wallet and information sparse. By contrast, the drinks and canapés were in abundance as we awaited the evening ahead, and, in the meantime, we all admired the décor of the venue, which was made up of pieces of wood apparently found lying around in various parts of London. This probably sounds very Turner Prize, but was, in fact, extremely effective and much admired by us all even before the second glass of wine. The theme was continued later.
The show opened with Matt Costa, another fine, California based singer/songwriter signed to the Brushfire label. He played “Mr Pitiful”, which you can hear on his myspace, and “Cigarette Eyes”, before allowing Mr Johnson on stage for an excellent duet. Jack Johnson sang the album title track, “Sleeping With The Static”, before leaving us to listen to the album in it’s entirety. Other than the title track, I have no further information about the album as we were instructed to just sit back and absorb. My recollection of Jack Johnson’s earlier work is that it was quite upbeat, whereas these songs appeared rather more serious; probably a result of living with George W Bush as President of his country. We have tended to suffer similar mood changes here in the UK. The title song is, in fact, a reference to the folly of the war in Iraq. The rest of the songs are a good mix of acoustic and electric, some a little rockier than others, some with the hint of a ska beat, but all with the melodies and lyrics that you would expect from Jack Johnson. I would certainly like to hear it again and recommend that you seek it out as soon as it is available.
As we left, we were presented with a very, young tree to emphasise the hope for the future that is an ongoing feature of the album. As I live in a flat, I have given the tree to my daughter, so that she may plant it in her garden just before the birth of my first grandchild, which will happen anytime soon. Things can only get better.
For more information on Jack Johnson's new album
visit his official site
Jack Jonson on Seatwave.
Matt Costa's official site.
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Comments (2)
Tarena
Love Jack Johnson's music
Posted on March 10, 2008 1:14 PM
mike magula
if your mood has changed thats your fault Jacks music is about being happy not spouting out coments about things your f'ing liberal ass dosn't understand.
Posted on July 8, 2008 6:37 PM
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