'IN BETWEEN DREAMS'

'IN BETWEEN DREAMS'
Jack Johnson
(Brushfire/Universal) sss
The third album from Hawaiian-born guitarist and vocalist Jack Johnson may not hit all the peaks of his '01 smash debut, "Brushfire Fairytales," but it sure is an improvement over his sophomore effort, the uninspired "On and On."
Johnson, 29, was a professional surfer for a couple years before he began making waves with his music, a pleasantly low-key style of rhythmic folk rock with bits of reggae and hip-hop thrown in for good measure. His gentle, easygoing vocals and peace, love and can't-we-all-just-get-along lyrical vibe is in full effect on "Better Together," a feel-good song reminiscent of the '60s pop band the Lovin' Spoonful. In fact, "Staple It Together" also brings to mind another '60s icon, sounding more than a little like Donovan's hit "Barabajagal."
Some of the tunes on "In Between Dreams" are so laid-back they become a tad dozy, but Johnson's deft, syncopated vocals make even the lightweight songs worthwhile.
'AMOS LEE'
Amos Lee
(Blue Note) sss
Blue Note, the legendary jazz label that snared Norah Jones, is probably not all that upset to hear Lee, a 27-year-old former elementary school teacher from Philadelphia, being described as the "male Norah." And Lee's first full-length album for the company, following two independently released EPs, has apparently been purposely cut from similar, if huskier, cloth as Jones' back-to-back, genre-leaping smashes.
While Jones tinges her jazz-inflected ballads with country and Americana, Lee -- whose voice has the relaxed sincerity of James Taylor -- makes up his folk-pop bed with satiny sheets of sexy '70s soul. The two also share a musical philosophy: It's the songs, stupid. The 11 Lee compositions never dip below good, with at least two instantly ingratiating: "Arms of a Woman," a romantic swoon of a tune unabashedly inspired by Bill Withers, and "Bottom of the Barrel," whose sly lyrics might have been written after a night listening to old Steve Goodman and John Prine records. Yet for all the acknowledged influences, there is enough distinction in Lee's low-key performance style and songwriting to see why Bob Dylan chose him as the opening act on his upcoming tour with Merle Haggard (alas, not headed for Detroit): There's more personality here than pastiche.
'PUT THE O BACK IN COUNTRY'
Shooter Jennings
(Universal South) sss
Shooter Jennings is, beyond a doubt, his father's son. The 25-year-old offspring of Waylon Jennings and Jessi Colter, the royal couple who presided over country music's '70s Outlaw movement, opens his edgy debut with a raunchy blast of contempt for the Nashville establishment and closes it with a dark blues-rocker about an angry backwoods dude who's fleeing the law after gunning down an unfaithful lover. In between, there's an autobiographical tune about drugs ("Busted in Baylor County") and a gospel-flavored kiss-off of a haughty old girlfriend ("Manifesto No. 1").
Jennings, who wrote all the album's material, spells out his musical ambitions in the disc-opening title song ("You take a little country and a little rock 'n' roll, a little Neil Young and a little George Jones"), and he largely sticks with them, alternating tracks like the Skynyrd-inspired "Southern Comfort" and Springsteen-ish "4th of July" with twangy ballads like "Lonesome Blues" and the raw "Sold Country Gold," which Waylon could have dictated from the grave. The goal, says his label, was to make a record "for all of you who have been complaining that country music sucks." Consider that mission accomplished.