Same goes for "Colorshow," a kind of minor-key dirge that combines the dark creepiness of Hank Williams' "Ramblin' Man" with the Arcade Fire's electrifying sense of urgency. When they implore you to "be loud / let your colors show," it sends chills up the spine.
The whole album's not this intense. The North Carolina-based trio shows great sensitivity on tracks like "16 in July" and "Famous Flower of Manhattan." And there are a couple of outright misses -- natural for a disc that's 17 tracks and over an hour long. But when they're on -- really on -- Alison Krauss better watch her back. -- Joel Smith
Jack Johnson & lt;a href= & quot;http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/stat?id=rQy1MLe70wI & amp;offerid=78941 & amp;type=3 & amp;subid=0 & amp;tmpid=1826 & amp;RD_PARM1=http%253A%252F%252Fphobos.apple.com%252FWebObjects%252FMZStore.woa%252Fwa%252FviewAlbum%253Fs%253D143441%2526i%253D120954034%2526id%253D120954021%2526partnerId%253D30 & quot; & Curious George soundtrack & lt;/a & 3 STARS & r & When I heard they got Will Ferrell to provide the voice for the Man in the Yellow Hat in the movie version of Curious George, I groaned. Hollywood would, of course, abuse the frisky little monkey created by H.A. and Margret Rey in the 1940s. But then I heard they hired Jack Johnson to do the soundtrack, and my faith in Hollywood was restored (a bit).
A Hawaiian surfer dude by profession, Johnson's whole sound has the feel of being tossed off from a hammock after a few too many Mai Tais, and it's no different here. His "Sing-A-Longs and Lullabies" are charming precisely because they don't try too hard.
"The Sharing Song" exhibits Johnson's knack for R & amp;B, and "My Own Two Hands," with Ben Harper, is filled with the kind of sweet, na & iuml;ve optimism childhood is famous for. But his cover of the White Stripes' "We're Going To Be Friends" is the CD's best: If you can place which film's opening credits the original version played over, you could win a delicious bass. -- Ted S. McGregor Jr.
