Jack Johnson - On and On

Wed 7th Apr, 2004 in Music Reviews

I don’t really know why it took me so long to review such a simplistic album.

Jack Johnson’s ‘on and on’ is, at first listen, an explosion of naïve ramblings about an unattainable nirvana accompanied by sparse arrangements of guitar, bass and minimalist drums.

I have listened to this album, now, many times in varying circumstances and it has dawned on me that the beauty of it is that it is never out of place. There is a depth that allows you right inside the recording sessions with a different mood depending on how loud you want to listen to it. The innocent prettiness of ‘On and On’ is immediately apparent but the groove of the album is what has won me over.

It is restrained but makes you move slow like an old jazz standard that crackles. Subliminally, the message Jack offers can seep through the melody before you realise you’ve taken any notice of the lyrics. If his poetry is the fourth element of the band then his phrasing is the fifth. It can sometimes be a manic, phonetic syncopation and sometimes almost surging like waves he chases the world over. The one constant in his vocals is the effortlessness of the delivery. He can relax you one minute and fire you up the next without seeming to try.

That’s what I mean by this album never being out of place. It is like a pair of shoes that you can’t and won’t stop wearing once you have walked them in. I thought I would love this album as immediately as I did Jack Johnson’s first album, ‘Bushfire Fairytales’ but there is a subtle difference which takes a while to sink in. I didn’t want another one just like the other one and ‘On and On’ showcases his progression as a songwriter and a musician.

I know Jack Johnson is King of the kids but this album is seriously multi-generational. Go out and buy it; if you like good music that is.