Jack Johnson

'Sleeping Through The Static' is one of those cd's that you almost instantly fall in love with,and want to continue playing over and over.

Sure,on first listen you are taken away by the seemingly easiness of it all...

...that is Jack Johnson for you.Whether driving the madhouse interstate or laying back on some warm tropical beach,this cd is both entertaining and soothing enough to thoroughly enjoy.

But,there is some bite to this music.Jack sings about darker subjects here than he has on earlier works.His laid back style vs. his poignant lyrics remind me somewhat of Hank Williams Sr.He gets you into an upbeat dancing rhythm all the while breaking your heart at the same time...ache enough to share,even when you are alone,I guess.

The opener,'All At Once' leads perfectly into the title track,'Sleeping Through The Static'.Both are anti-war anthems...or,perhaps,more precisely,heart break songs of giving up and giving in.The ending lyrics to 'All At Once':'Sometimes,it feels like a heart is no place to be singing from at all',pretty much says it all,and sets the tone for the whole album.

Yet,Mr.Johnson,does not leave us without,'Hope'.'It will defeat you and teach you to get back up' & 'hope you are not alone',are very powerful lines.

The very short,'Angel' is another song of contradiction,followed by argumentatively,the weakest song on the cd,'Enemy.'This song is too much of a lullaby for my taste:caution,do not operate heavy machinery or attempt to drive a vehicle while under it's influence.

Next,is the,perhaps Sufjan Stevens inspired,'If I Had Eyes'.This is probably the album's biggest jam.It is one of my favorites.

'Same Girl',is a smaller,'Sleeping Through The Static'.War on a personal level.This one gives you the feeling of making love-not war.

I love the almost marching style of drums on the more traditional J.J. song,'What You Thought You need'.'Adrift' flows nicely into one of my favorites,'Go On'.'Go On',to me is a very endearing song of passing...loving someone enough to let go.

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'They Do,They Don't',is the glue that holds this cd into a cohesive whole,mixing both the war and personal lost & hopelessness themes together into an almost religious song(similar to:The spirit is willing but the body is weak).Ditto with the intermingling short,'While We Wait/Monsoon'(Monsooner or later).

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'Sleeping' ends with a nice ditty called,'Losing Keys'.

A week seems like too little time to listen to this almost perfect cd.

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