Jack Johnson: On And On : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

A throwback to the laid-back days of early-Seventies pop, Jack Johnson writes and sings lyrics such as "You know, this livin' is not so hard as it seems" as if he's determined not to allow the angst of the modern world to impinge upon his buzz. With On and On, this Hawaiian surfer's croon evokes the mellow-yellow moan of Donovan but without the weirdness that made that psychedelic folkie compelling. The acoustic guitar and easy rhythms of On and On don't build much on 2001's Brushfire Fairytales. A splash of reggae on "Wasting Time" does little to punctuate what already comes across as formula. Just as it's hard to believe that all those rich rap-metal groups could be so genuinely angry, it requires a leap of faith to trust that Johnson could really be this calm.