Surfer-dude, sometime film-maker and environmental activist Jack Johnson is the quintessential poster-boy for the eco-generation. If there’s any doubting his credentials in that department, we are informed that his latest album was recorded using “100% solar energy”, while the accompanying digi-pack has the whiff of something biodegradable, re-cyclable and no doubt carbon-neutral!.
His previous record, the soundtrack to the movie Curious George, was something of a let down, coming as it did in the wake of the multi-platinum In Between Dreams, which featured the hit single ‘Sitting, Waiting, Wishing’. However with an album proper to offer this time around, it seems that Johnson is back with a vengeance – fans of his effortlessly laid-back acoustic fare will immediately warm to this strong collection of songs.
Featuring a gently strumming acoustic guitar, ‘Angel’, an ode to marital bliss, is a definite highlight and there are hints of Paul Simon on the plaintive, ‘While We Wait’. Johnson occasionally gets funky, as on ‘Monsoon’ which recalls the West Coast ’70s jazz-rocker Boz Scaggs but he’s clearly more comfortable on the quieter numbers: “I gotta get home, there’s a garden to tend,” he croons on the low-key final track ‘Home’ and that just about sums up the appeal of Johnson. Organic and sure to be huge.