Jack Johnson's "From Here To Now To You" Falls Victim To A Short Attention Span Complex

First impressions count for a lot in this world. Job interviews are a prime example. If possible you want to give a potential employer every reason to want to hire you, to decide that out of the overwhelming mound of potential candidates he or she has lined up to interview, that you're the one who's best prepared to deliver the goods. First dates also qualify. If you had a tendency as a child to pick boogers, a first date is not the time or place for a childhood regression. It's no different in the world of music. In an age when you can pretty much select your own playlist and therefore bypass having to waste time on crappy filler material from long play CDs you've got to know instinctively how to both grab and maintain audience attention. The first track off of folk singer Jack Johnson's "From Here To Now To You" seems to get the message at first. The whistling that goes on says "This is a nice, lazy day. Let's sit on the porch and drink pink lemonade on the porch swing." Here the percussion isn't in any more of a hurry. Waxing profound on the joys of the moment takes center stage. In other words there's plenty of "I can relate to this" content to spread around here. If you crave tranquility Jack's prepared to feed your need. "Home" is a sweet follow-up. The outdoorsy charm breaks down any compunction to huddle up in your bungalow and miss the perpetual beauty on display all around you. The intimate sunny vibes that the likes of John Denver staked his reputation on receive excellent resuscitation from what I sense has been too much time languishing in mothballs. Regrettably John's combo of deep thought and easygoing melodies tends to start losing its luster over tracks 3 and 4 ("Change" and "Ones and Zeroes" respectively). The former does hit home with the undeniable truth that change is "a punchline on all of us". Of course it could also be said that joke is higher on the cruelty scale for some than others. Prime genetics anyone? "Radiate" reinvigorates this collection by giving in to exceedingly chipper harmonies. Treading the fine line between massive introspection and taking comfort from "Que sera sera". is surely no small balancing act. Jack falls off the wire more than once. "Tape Deck" is another example where allowing the vibes to remain upbeat stands Jack in good stead. Any emotion, if overdone, can prove tiresome not only to the listening ear, but to the person with the supposedly insurmountable burden as well. We all run the risk of too much navel gazing by the time Jack comes around to "Tape Deck" which excels at plain old goofing around. His makeshift way back machine, so far as lyrics are concerned, runs like a dream. "Shot Reverse Shot" plays like too much of a music insider's joke, the shots making reference to camera angles for performers perched in their chosen element. Why the abrupt message shift was deemed necessary is likely known only to the label, the producer(s), and Jack himself. Whatever the justification it really doesn't have the universal campfire connect of classic songcraft. Even though I don't regard myself as having a limited attention span (in fact I see that trait as a act of defiance in a world where the love affair we as a culture have with technology borders on the obscene) I would not be doing you a service as a reviewer if I didn't confess you might veer towards a state of somnambulism with this record. "You Remind Me Of You" reminds me of the sort of material a new father might serenade his progeny with. Is that a bad thing? Not really. People who don't cotton to syrupy sentiment may run from the listening area screaming though. That brand of music might have worked perfectly when Jack contributed "Upside Down" to the Curious George soundtrack, but it's corny to a fault in this environment. "From Here To Now To You" has the makings of a fine record. Trouble is there are far more valleys than peaks to justify why anyone would want to expose themselves to the prospect of repeated listening.