Posted on: December 19, 2009 Posted by: John B. Moore Comments: 0

Laidback folk rocker Jack Johnson has been accused of writing the same song over and over again. If nothing else, En Concert, the Hawaiian singer’s live record, goes to show just how diverse he can be. Recorded on his 2008 world tour En Concert is everything a live record should be: expansive (the songs cover all five of his albums) and creative (the arrangements are far from predictable).

Johnson also brings in some strong guests like Eddie Vedder on “Constellations” and Paula Fuga on “Country Road”. There is even an infectious cover of Paul Simon’s “Mother and Child Reunion”. He does a great job of marrying crowd favorites with rework versions of album deep cuts. Not as great as being there but a pretty decent substitute.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10

Top track: “Constellations,” “Flake” and “Times Like These”

Jack Johnson – En Concert/CD /18 tracks/2009/Brushfire

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