Music for lazy summer afternoons

Jack Johnson is a surfing legend who has since also carved out a name as a singer and songwriter. A near-fatal accident while riding the waves kept him on land for a long time and it was during this period that he discovered he also had a gift for singing and writing songs. This discovery has already resulted in two hit albums Brushfire Fairytales and On and On and singles like The Horizon Has Been Defeated and Symbol in My Driveway. It continues now in another well-received collection titled In Between Dreams.

A life spent on the beaches of Hawaii imbues Johnson’s songs with a unique sensibility. It is pop music that is a mix of various types like folk, rock and jazz performed in an easy manner against simple guitar-based arrangements. Think James Taylor or John Mayer or that guy who sang Popsicle Toes, whose name I can’t remember. Johnson, though, is also very different from them in the sense that his songs also evoke the invigorating effect of water and the relaxing warmth of the sun on tropical beaches. Take note Johnson comes into this ambience naturally without him getting into the California vibe of the Beach Boys or the languorous sway of Don Ho’s romantic Hawaiian ballads.

So just as a lot of people go to Hawaii to unwind or forget the rat race, you too can enter this sunshiny world that Johnson found In Between Dreams. Truth to tell this is the kind of album that you listen to while walking on the sand or better yet while lolling on a hammock during lazy summer afternoons. Then you can also dream about the simple joys that Johnson sings about, like sitting under the mango tree, Better Together, eating banana pancakes on rainy mornings Banana Pancakes or simply remembering the first time you fell in love, Sitting, Waiting, Wishing.

Sure, he can also be serious If I Could where he prays for more time for a dying baby or even be profound and ask, "Where’d all the good people go? I’ve been changing channels and I don’t see them in the TV show?" as he does in Good People. But there are already too many singers around delving deep into existentialism and other theories so we might as well sway around for a while with the music of Jack Johnson.

My only complaint about In Between Dreams is that although the artwork is good, there are no lyrics in the cover. Sad because I believe that a great deal of Johnson’s appeal comes from his writing. I also have one regret and that is having taken too long to listen to this. Had I done so a month or two earlier, then I could have enjoyed it in the appropriate setting. On the other hand though, it does not hurt to go into sunny beach bum dreams during days characterized by thunder and lightning and sudden downpours.

The first single out is the hook-laden Sitting, Waiting, Wishing and I see another hit in Crying Shame. The other cuts are Never Know, No Other Way, Staple It Together, Situations, Belle, Do You Remember and Constellations.

Billboard’s Top 10 Albums

Here now are the Billboard Magazine’s listings of the Top 10 albums and singles for this week. First the albums: X&Y by Coldplay; In Your Honor by the Foo Fighters; Never Gone, the comeback album by the Backstreet Boys; The Emancipation of Mimi by Mariah Carey; Monkey Business by The Black Eyed Peas; All or Nothing by Fat Joe; Honkytonk University by Toby Keith; Fijacion Oral Vol. 1 by Shakira; Love. Angel. Music. Baby. by Gwen Stefani; Mezmerize by System of a Down.

The singles: Inside Your Heaven, the debut single by the new American Idol Carrie Underwood performing last season’s official song which was also sang by Bo Bice during the finals; We Belong Together by Mariah Carey; Hollaback Girl the long-staying song by Gwen Stefani; Don’t Phunk with My Heart by The Black Eyed Peas; Just a Lil Bit by 50 Cent; Behind these Hazel Eyes by the first American Idol winner Kelly Clarkson whose career is going great; Oh by Ciara featuring Ludacris; Grind with Me by Pretty Ricky; Switch by Will Smith; and Get It Poppin’ by Fat Joe featuring Nelly.