Donavon Frankenreiter’s self-titled debut is a good summer CD.  The songs are melodic, mellow and easygoing, as they should be since they were sung by a southern Californian and recorded in Hawaii.  Frankenreiter shows real talent as a singer/songwriter and displays some pretty good chops, particularly on the closing bluesy song “Swing on Down.”  

The most memorable part of this album for me is in “Free,” featuring Jack Johnson (Brushfire Fairytales).  The beginning of this song reminds me of “Raindrops Keep Fallin on my Head.”  That’s not a bad thing.  After all, who doesn’t want to sing along whenever they hear that old BJ Thomas song?

However, there is one thing on this album that I can’t quite get past.  Donavon Frankenreiter sounds a lot like Jack Johnson.  My first thought was that having Jack Johnson sing on this album was completely superfluous.  After a little research, I found that Jack Johnson produced the album and released it on his own Brushfire Records.  Still, perhaps it wasn’t the best idea to have two singers that sound like Jack Johnson one the same album.  Frankenreiter also reminds me of Clarence Bucaro, particularly on the song “Call Me Papa.”

While all of the songs on this album are decent enough, not one of them really stands out.  That being said, if you like Jack Johnson’s Brushfire Fairytales or Clarence Bucaro’s Sweet Corn, you’ll probably really enjoy this too.

• Visit the Official website.
• Listen to samples and Purchase this CD online

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