Jack Johnson
Brushfire Fairytales

THE REVIEW

You glance at the cover and the impression you get of that young man under the downpour is of someone in the wrong place at the wrong time. You read his résumé, and what flashed through your mind seems to be confirmed. Jack Johnson, before becoming a musician, was a well-regarded director of extreme sports videos, but even more so, he was the protagonist of a surfing accident that nearly cost him his life and made headlines across the USA—experiences that have little to do with music. But then you let the notes flow, and you realize that Jack has created an enjoyable album and that, in the world of music, he is not as much a fish out of water as it might seem. The 12 tracks of “Brushfire Fairytales” firmly belong to the category of new-generation American singer-songwriters, those who, brought up on Woodie Guthrie and Bob Dylan, never worried about confronting the current nu-metal brats, using road-stories and guitars as their weapons. More acoustic than Ben Harper and Elliot Smith, sung as only Dave Matthews can, supported in production by JP Plunier, and enriched by the presence of talented friends (among others, the former Spain member Merlo Podlewski), the album flows smoothly and is easy to listen to due to its linearity. In a few words, it's an album that can be appreciated and that, in its best moments, see ‘Flake’ in which the special guest is Ben Harper, makes us fall back on the cover with a strong desire to whisper to that bewildered Johnson, “Hey, Jack, look! Take off your hood, the sun is out.”