Sunday, December 5, 2010

To The Sea (Music CD)

Johnson, Jack. To The Sea. Performers: Jack Johnson, featuring G. Love and Paula Fuga. ASIN B003C1QIO6. Label: Brushfire. 2010.

Summary
To The Sea is Jack Johnson's fifth solo album. Johnson has said that the title is "a reference to a father leading this son to the sea with the water representing the subconscious. So it's about trying to go beneath the surface to understand yourself." This album is very much an epistle about the ocean, and the relationship between it and us all.

Critical Evaluation
This CD from Jack Johnson is as easy-on-the-ears as his previous four offerings. His songwriting and singing make listeners feel like they are on the beach listening to him casually strum on his guitar with his friends.
The CD includes the following tracks: 1. You and Your Heart, 2. To The Sea, 3. No Good With Faces, 4. At Or With Me, 5. When I Look Up, 6. From The Clouds, 7. My Little Girl, 8. Turn Your Love, 9. The Upsetter, 10. Red Wine, Mistakes, Mythology, 11. Pictures of People Taking Pictures, 12. Anything But The Truth, and 12. Only The Ocean. Young adults will like the change to Johnson's new electric guitar skills, while older listeners will enjoy the laidback surfer style.

Reader's Annotation
Surfer-turned-singer/songwriter, Jack Johnson's fifth solo album is taken up a notch with some electric guitar and more anthems to the oceans.

About the Performer
Jack Johnson is a native to the Oahu's North Shore in Hawaii. He is the son of a surfer (Jeff Johnson) and was the youngest invitee to the Pipleline Master surfing finals on the North Shore at the age of 17. After an accident at the said Pipeline, his career as a pro-surfer ended with several stitches and missing teeth.

Johnson then graduated from high school, and attended college at University of California, Santa Barbara where he found music. In 2001, he released his first solo album, Brushfire Fairytales. In the last nine years, he has worked on several movie soundtracks and with many different musicians on various compilation albums. Through the solo albums, compilations and soundtracks, especially for the Curious George movie, Johnson's music appeals to all age groups.

Genre
Folk Rock

Challenges
n/a

Curriculum Ties
Music: ties with his musical influences—Bob Dylan, The Beatles, Bob Marley and Neil Young

Booktalking Ideas
How does Jack Johnson's folk music for the 21st century differ from folk music from other decades? How is it the same…

Awards
n/a

Reading Level/Interest Age
Ages 14+

Why I included this title...
My family has enjoyed Jack Johnson since his first album.

Graphic from Amazon.com. Retrieved from http://www.amazon.com/To-The-Sea/dp/B003NJPOAQ/ref=sr_shvl_album_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1292426534&sr=301-1 on December 14, 2010.

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