In Between Dreams - Jack Johnson
June 9, 2005
Gabriel Alan Kalahan Gross
Upon hearing In Between Dreams, the words of Derek Zoolander came to mind: “Is there more to life than being really really really ridiculously good looking?” Although he is not quite as shallow as Derek Zoolander, pretty boy, beach bum Jack Johnson fails to outdo Brushfire Fairytales and On and On with In Between Dreams. While a couple tracks on his newest album have the potential to make it as successful radio singles (”Never Know” and “Good People”), as a whole, it fails as a show stopper.
Every time I circled the tracks, I felt obliged to brush my teeth. The layered sweetness of the oh-so delicious vocals and buttery acoustic guitar are hypnotic enough to make you buy a hammock and tie it between a couple of palm trees.
“Staple It Together,” a call of action to magically make bad things good, and “Banana Pancakes,” a lethargic, rainy day jingle, are by far the two weakest songs on the album. As far as fluidity goes, the tracks seem to fizzle out at the end of the album – by the four- teenth track, you’re all Johnsoned out.
If you’re afraid In Between Dreams isn’t worth buying, Jack Johnson has guaranteed consumers that one percent of his album sales are going toward improving the environment (onepercentfortheplanet.org). I’m not sure if this is a sales tactic to get his hippie fans to buy the CD or if he actually cares about the environment. If so, one per cent isn’t jack, Jack.
Now you go...
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