Brushfire Fairytales

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 3:04
11	F-Stop Blues 3:10
12	Losing Hope 3:51
13	It's All Understood 5:29

Barnes & Noble

Like a host of kindred spirits -- a fair number of whom pitch in on this mellow-but-moving disc -- Jack Johnson likes to play fast-and-loose with musical tradition, even as he steeps himself in it. Much of Brushfire Fairytales shuffles along with the post-hippie folk-soul vibe all but perfected by Ben Harper, who pitches in with some slide guitar on the beseeching "Flake." You might not think that the beaches of Hawaii offer much in the way of inspiration for the blues, but Johnson -- a competitive surfer as well as a first-rate tunesmith -- lets you know otherwise. He nails down the feeling of hopelessness that comes with emotional uncertainty in the softly strummed "Middle Man" (which will probably have your head hanging low as he repeats, mantra-like, the plaint "what a terrible thing to say"). He's capable of letting the sun shine in now and again, of course, and tunes like "Sexy Plexi" and "Posters" (which appeared in the extreme sports flick Out Cold) impart a little bit of that needed warmth. For the most part, however, Johnson and his cohorts -- including members of Geggy Tah and Spain -- let you enjoy the embers rather than attempting to start up a raging fire. David Sprague

All Music Guide

Jack Johnson, the multi-talented American guy who likes to surf and play music, makes an honest impression on his debut album, Brushfire Fairytales. He's not focused on any genre in particular, but stays close to acoustic simplicities. Ben Harper's producer, J.P. Plunier, lends a hand and perfects Johnson's basic songwriting into a charming and inviting soundscape of songs most personal to Johnson. It's poetically abrasive, especially on tracks like "Sexy Plexi" and "Fortunate Fool," but Jack Johnson is a regular guy and his most natural feelings are indeed candid. "Inaudible Melodies" is a bluesy mix of lazy harmonies and acoustical twitching, whereas "Flake" is an easy flow of American trad rock, quite similar to Dave Matthews, but echoing steel drums and Harper's blistering lap steel guitar make for an outstanding rock & roll romp. Johnson's voice, which is hauntingly like Wes Cunningham, makes Brushfire Fairytales a decent record. He's not noisy or gregarious. He's content with his new creative finding. He might chase waves in his other life, but his songwriting ways do make for something quite charming. MacKenzie Wilson