Not a lot changes in the world of Jack Johnson -- a realm where old pals sit around shooting the breeze about life's little pleasures and shrugging off the outside world's minor setbacks. Thanks to the surfer-turned-songwriter's aw-shucks attitude and easygoing delivery, however, that steadiness is more comforting than it is tedious, particularly on homespun tracks like the shuffling "Banana Pancakes" and "Good People," a piano-laced tune as sweet anything in the catalog of the Lovin' Spoonful. As ever, Johnson occasionally slips into low-key hip-hop -- offering up a re-recorded rendition of "Breakdown," his contribution to Handsome Boy Modeling School's White People -- but the mood of In Between Dreams is never too rambunctious. Instead of rollicking, Johnson prefers to serenade, an approach that works particularly well on the deceptively simple "Belle" and the unabashedly giddy "Better Together." Yeah, he's a little more crafty with his songwriting these days, as evidenced by "Sitting, Wishing, Waiting," a tune that leavens its lovelorn musing with enough winks to keep sappiness at bay. But that evolution hasn't taken anything away from Johnson's guileless charm -- which is fortunate, since that's what sets him apart from the competition.
![Very Best of Rod Stewart [Warner Bros.]](http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/0081227832827_p0_v1_s90x140.jpg "Very Best of Rod Stewart [Warner Bros.]")
![Best of Kansas [1999]](http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/0074646569023_p0_v1_s90x140.jpg "Best of Kansas [1999]")
