For a thankfully-short while, Jack Johnson was very cool. I came back from university for the summer after the first year and all my friends had started listening to him - I don't know how they came across him, but I strongly suspect he had some songs on a surf video that a friend had. That summer, we listened to him a lot - I mean pretty much every car journey, and every time we sat around at someone's house. It was strong summer music.
At the end of the summer, I found this copy of his second album in a shop in Southampton and snapped it up. Of the two we'd been listening to, I preferred On and On - both had some great songs, but there were a few less-poppy ones on this album, and I felt that gave it an edge over the other. I eventually got a copy of his other album at the time, Brushfire Fairytales and picked up his newest, In Between Dreams, not long after it came out, at the end of the second year of university (using an HMV voucher I'd got for taking part in a survey, strangely). Essentially, there was a year when Jack Johnson was a big deal, but my next year in Australia taught me more about this sort of laid back indie-pop and the moment passed.
In the years since then, I've rarely listened to Jack Johnson; like all good summer memories, it was best left as a memory. Occasionally, my wife has suggested playing his albums, and they're pleasant reminders, but not what I'd consider "good" music. All three albums have some good songs, but I can't help but imagine I would find Jack incredibly annoying if I met him in person. I've met people who I imagine would get along with him brilliantly, and they all pissed me off.
But, like I said, On and On isn't a terrible album - the moments that aren't pop are good and make you think he could have had a different but interesting career had he avoided pop a little harder. Taylor and Cookie Jar have something a little dark about them. I like it. When I say "dark", I mean relatively - this is a surfer-dude singing songs on a beach, it's never going to get that dark. There are a few little, short, throwaway songs that I could do without - 16 songs is too many by a long stretch. Taylor, Holes to Heaven and Cocoon were always the highlights.
All that said, when I see this spine in my record collection I never feel the urge to play it, but it reminds me fondly of that summer in 2004, and I like it for that.
Format: 12", gatefold sleeve
Tracks: 16
Cost: £11 new
Bought: FM Music
When: 23/09/04
Colour: Black
Etching: none
mp3s: no
