Jack Johnson and FriendsSing-A-Longs and Lullabies for the film Curious GeorgeRating: * * * 1/2Label: Brushfire Records

Jack Johnson was, is and always will be an incredibly talented musician for keeping music simple. He doesn’t use fancy production or complicated guitar chords; he keeps things on a level that any aspiring musician can mimic.

Johnson’s latest endeavor is Sing-A-Longs and Lullabies for the film Curious George: A compilation of new, original material by Johnson, as well as a cover of The White Stripes’ “We’re Going to be Friends,” a new song from G. Love and a reinterpretation of Ben Harper’s “With My Own Two Hands.”

“Upside Down” opens the soundtrack with the classic Jack Johnson, daydreamy feel. But that is the exact sound that helps Johnson fit so perfectly as the voice of the mischievous monkey. The lyrics, “I want to turn the whole thing upside down/ I’ll find the things they say just can’t be found/ I’ll share this love I find with everyone/ We’ll sing and dance to Mother Nature’s songs,” are the epitome of Curious George, the curious monkey.

Personified once again lyrically, Curious George comes to life in the Hawaiian-styled “People Watching.” The listener gets lost in the song and can imagine following George through the city, waiting for The Man in the Yellow Hat to rescue him.

G. Love’s “Jungle Gym” is riddled with the musician’s cool demeanor and smooth, Philadelphia vocals. The track stands out amongst the rest of the songs for its upbeat tempo, G. Love’s quick-tongued lyrics and the quiet presence of Love’s harmonica.

Immediately following, Johnson takes on the task of remaking The White Stripes’ “We’re Going to be Friends.” Like Johnson, The White Stripes likes to keep production simple, and, while the lyrics are fitting to the film’s child-oriented content, the song seems as if it were written by Johnson himself for the soundtrack.

“The Sharing Song” and “The 3 R’s” are the highlights of the album for their lighter content. They are tracks that can be acclaimed for being as far from pretentious as any song could be. “The 3 R’s” is the umpteenth interpretation of Schoolhouse Rock!‘s “Three Is the Magic Number,” but Johnson throws in his own twist with the chorus, “We got 3 R’s we’re going to talk about today/ We got to learn to …/ Reduce! Reuse! Recycle!” Johnson’s recording partners Zach Gill and Adam Topol wrote “The Sharing Song,” which is highlighted by Gill on piano and Topol covering percussion duties.

Matt Costa and Ben Harper also appear on the soundtrack as Harper reinterprets his own song, “With My Own Two Hands,” and Costa writes and performs “Lullaby.” “With My Own Two Hands” appears on Harper’s 2003 album Diamonds on the Inside, but this interpretation introduces Johnson into the mix, and Harper performs the song solely on an acoustic guitar. Along with “Lullaby” and “Questions,” “With My Own Two Hands” takes the listener to that final level of daydreaming: Sleep.

While the album is targeted to children, it is something adults can easily enjoy; if not just to lay back and forget their worries, but to reminisce about their own childhood memories of reading Curious George.