Never seen nobody move the way she did, but she did and she does and she'll do it again.......... (Brushfire Fairytales - Jack Johnson)

Member Name: pmcds

Product:	Brushfire Fairytales - Jack Johnson
Date:	24/07/09 (42 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Fab raw talent on this album

Disadvantages: Just the one Bad Apple - Sexy Plexi

This album was my first experience of Jack Johnson, before his music became overly commercialised and too 'samey'. For me and a lot of others I know, we were surprised a few years later when people started going on about this 'new' artist, when we'd thought he was awesome for a while beforehand....

However, such is the case quite often in music, with artists needing that break before hitting the heights. Johnson is a prime example of someone who has made brilliant music for a while before being discovered and getting that all important break.

Brushfire Fairytales kicks off with Inaudible Melodies, first words being the title of the album, and sets the tone as very melodic and thoughtful. Middle Man is a bit more frenetic with its acoustic chords, and the vocals are a bit confused to start with, but the chorus fits perfectly, and the tune is one that grows on you.

Indeed, the whole album has that special 'quirky' element that is sorely lacking for me in a lot of his later work. There is no particular structure to a lot of the tracks, which could have gone either way, but lands firmly on the side of being brilliant. Bubble Toes is by far my favourite track on the album, with some fast vocals and a funky chorus that consists of singing 'La da dada da-daaaa!' over and over. Simple yet effective, and his relaxed and casual vocals and acoustic style just fit perfectly.

Mudfootball is also classically written, using the familiar US medium of sport combined with romance to add a sort of catchy acoustic love ballad. This one's got a bit of a beat, and is in stark contrast to such tracks as Fortunate Fool and The News, which are very sombre and almost morose, lyrically and in their tunes. The alkbum also features some classic guests such as Ben Harper giving some quality sound to Flake with his slide guitar.

I wasn't so much of a fan of Sexy Plexi. The deliberate move to make the vocals catch a bit on the instrumentals makes it not so comfortable to listen to, and it felt it was out of context with the rest of the album. Jonson's style overall is so raw and everything slots in with seemingl no effort, yet displaying a wide range of style and variation between the songs. However, Sexy Plexi didn't fit in with this, and I find myself skipping over it each time I listen to the album.

Overall, this is a funky and fun acoustic sound from Jack Johnson. There is enough variation on here from him, and those of you who are a bit fed up with constantly the same formulaic tunes coming from him in recent years will be pleasantly surprised, I think, by such a variation. Released before he got the international commercial appeal, Johnson made Brushfire Fairytales very much a cult album for surfers, with his California relaxed approach to music and his singer/songwriter appeal. It's a shame that his later stuff got too commercialised, but this is 'cult' classic.

Tracklisting:

1."Inaudible Melodies" - 3:35
2."Middle Man" - 3:14
3."Posters" - 3:13
4."Sexy Plexi" - 2:07
5."Flake" - 4:40
6."Bubble Toes" - 3:56
7."Fortunate Fool" - 3:48
8."The News" - 2:26
9."Drink the Water" - 3:21
10."Mudfootball" (for Moe Lerner) - 3:03
11."F-Stop Blues" - 3:10
12."Losing Hope" - 3:52
13."It's All Understood" - 5:28

Summary: Cult 2001 album from Jack Johnson