Jack Johnson: Brushfire Fairytales [EVERLOVING]

Why you'll love it

This Everloving reissue is remastered on 180g vinyl in a gatefold jacket. It's the debut that gave Johnson his first single, "Flake," with Ben Harper on slide guitar.

This edition

• Remastered
• 180g vinyl
• Gatefold jacket
• Pressed in the Czech Republic
• Stereo mix

About the album

Jack Johnson didn't set out to be a pop star; he was a surfer and filmmaker from Hawaii who happened to write songs. Brushfire Fairytales came out on Enjoy Records (later renamed Everloving), produced by J.P. Plunier, and its easygoing, barefoot sound has barely aged a day.

The band is lean: Johnson on vocals, guitar and piano, Adam Topol on drums and Merlo Podlewski on bass. "Flake" is the gem, with Ben Harper's slide guitar and Tommy Jordan's steel drums, while "Inaudible Melodies" opens with a gentle shrug, "Bubble Toes" is a playful singalong, and "Posters" and "Middle Man" keep the groove loose. Sam Beam of Iron & Wine adds backing vocals on "It's All Understood."

The Quietus later credited it with helping popularize the sensitive, acoustic strain of indie folk that led to Ed Sheeran and Mumford & Sons. It still sounds like the end of a good beach day, which, in a Toronto November, is worth every penny.

Also at Kops: more Jack Johnson on vinyl · browse Singer-Songwriter

Tracklist

Listen

On Everloving (cat# EVE-00120), a reissue of the 2001 album.