‘Brushfire Fairytales’ by Jack Johnson

‘Brushfire Fairytales’ was the first full length album by Jack Johnson. It was a modest success on its release, but like most people, I only heard it years later following the release of ‘In Between Dreams’ four years later. It’s an album free of shocks. Johnson is a good singer and songwriter, but he’s not an artist with an enormous amount of progression in his career. ‘Brushfire Fairytales’, therefore, is very similar to ‘In Between Dreams’, but that’s not a bad thing in and of itself.

In fact, there is some progression. This album, while being a fine debut, isn’t as good as later albums would become, simply because Johnson would improve as a songwriter. When this album hits its peaks, it’s excellent. ‘Middleman’, ‘Mudwater’ and the fantastic ‘Flake’ are all songs that bear repeated listening. Generally, it’s when Johnson’s band come into play that the songs come to life. There’s little complexity in his rhythm sections, but bass and drums give his songs a real boost. It’s the tracks he does alone with his guitar that drag a little. On later albums, these tracks would be delicate and charming – here, they’re just a bit bland.

Still, Johnson himself seems quite content for people to use his music as a background accompaniment to life, and this album is certainly good enough for that.