Jack Johnson is not an abomination to the music industry. He’s not nasty. He’s not a troublemaker. He’s the guy in middle school sitting in the back of class. He plays guitar, but no one bothers to notice. One day Jack’s doing the “Curious George” soundtrack and you say, “I know that dude. He makes money?”
Johnson’s “Sing-A-Longs and Lullabies” don’t diverge from his usual material. They’re rhythmically standard and vocally flat like his previous albums. Yet, the sing-a-longs never reach the perfect moments of blush-crush high school anthems like “Bubble Toes.” Johnson has set that implicit quality bar a little lower each year since “Brushfire Fairytales.” For the sake of the “Curious George” movie and its would-be fans, I’ll blame the target market.
Johnson usually doesn’t write for kids and it’s evident. As far as sing-a-longs go, I’d look toward classic Motown. “Upside Down” and “People Watching” are cutesy time wasters aimed at the youngsters. “Wrong Turn” is oddly placed; Jack’s sappy, cryptic lyrics (“Although it seems sad to say, this was only the worst hour of my day.”) border on inappropriate, given the context of the film. Jack: Save the nihilistic musings for “Garden State 2.” All this makes for a bland “Curious George” fruit cocktail, but at least Johnson doesn’t leave without a few surprises.
“The 3 R’s,” is a recycling song (yes, you heard me) borrowed from the School House Rock sing-along that I shouldn’t have to mention. “If you’re going to the market to buy some juice, you’ve got to bring your own bags and learn to reduce your waste.” Jack proceeds to enunciate multiples of three (I’m not kidding), and everyone gets a good laugh. The kids join in for some background vocals, managing to sound better than Ben Harper does on “My Own Two Hands.”
The affair is not all bad. “Talk of the Town” is valuable if only for its pouncing melody Johnson has proven to use so effectively. “We are going to be friends” is the best of the bunch. Jack White, from the White Stripes, finds a humble tune that fits the mood of the “Curious George” film well. Many will remember it from the opening credits to “Napoleon Dynamite.”
With the exception of a few saving graces, these sing-a-longs don’t deliver much in terms of bang or buck. The soundtrack of an animated feature affords an artist a unique opportunity to play for an audience normally unattainable. Jack Johnson fails at achieving kid cult status when drawing inspiration from such a limited, gray palette.
Cody Gaspard can be reached at [email protected].
