Johnson fans groove to unreleased tracks
By Derek Paiva
Advertiser Entertainment Writer
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| Jack Johnson's debut CD, "Brushfire Fairytales," became a surprise hit.
Danny Clinch 'On And On' tracks
— Amazon.com |
In recent weeks, visitors posting to message boards on singer/songwriter/guitarist/surfer Johnson's Web site, www.jackjohnsonmusic.com, have been boasting of having compiled entire copies of the 16-track CD. Near-unanimous positive comments on the boards include "sooo chill and tight," "very good," and "perfect."
Still, an advance review from Rolling Stone awarded "On And On" only two out of a possible five stars, calling Johnson's vocals evocative of "the mellow-yellow moan of Donovan but without the weirdness that made that psychedelic folkie compelling." Hmmm ... in what decade did Donovan move from one-note 'shroom head to compelling, anyway?
"On And On" was produced by Mario Caldato Jr. who has worked with Beck, John Lee Hooker, Ozomatli, and most notably, The Beastie Boys.
Engineered by Caldato Jr. and Robert Carranza, the CD was recorded at The Mango Tree Studio. On board again were "Brushfire" musicians Merlo Podlewski on bass and Adam Topol on drums, with Johnson on acoustic guitar and vocals.
"On And On" will be released on Moonshine Conspiracy/Universal records. The CD, according to a Universal press release, "mixes heartfelt ballads of love and simple joys with more serious subjects of materialism, industrialization, school shootings, offshore oil drilling and war."
Johnson's 2001 debut CD, "Brushfire Fairytales," became a surprise hit last year when Adult Top 40 radio stations nationwide put the tracks "Flake" and "Bubble Toes" into heavy rotation. "Brushfire" has sold more than 1.5 million copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan sales data. Having reached a peak No. 34 position on the Billboard Top 200 album chart last year, "Brushfire" is still on the chart after more than 18 months.
The first single from "On And On," "The Horizon Has Been Defeated" recently began receiving airplay on local radio.
Johnson is sharing a co-headlining tour with Ben Harper (who contributed a tasty solo slide guitar to "Flake") set to run through August, with no dates as yet earmarked for Hawai'i.
