Features
Reviews
Must Hear Music
Reviews Archives
Archives
Bargain Basement
Downloads
Music DVD
Upstart
Pipsqueaks
 
 
 
Features
Reviews
Archives
Send Us Mail
Contact Us
 
 

Michael Franti
Songs From The Front Porch
Boo Boo Wax Records
www.spearheadvibrations.com


Honestly, I was very surprised by this record. Why would one of the most respected and capable rap artists EVER decide to put out an acoustic record? I love Michael Franti in Spearhead. They are one of the few rap (what the kids now refer to as hip-hop- but don't get me started on that) bands that I can truly appreciate. Franti begun his career with the ultra-digable Disposable Heroes Of Hiphoprisy, released one record and then disappeared for two years and resurfaced with Spearhead, which was twice the band the Disposable Heroes were. He was on top of his game in a genre that typically embraces more ego than any other… So, why this record? Why some acoustic songs?

Well, I finally talked myself into putting in the record. And I listened. And I listened again. And then I listened again, and found that the cd took up residence in my player for more than a week. Okay. I get it now… Building on the foundation he started with 2003's Everyone Deserves Music, Franti is just continuing to strip his music down, away from the beats, and more towards the basic song. If I had only one line to tell you about this record, this would be it: Michael Franti is the fast becoming the Ben Harper that Ben Harper once was, but has moved so far away from. These are songs with heart and soul and passion. Songs that stand on their own, equally as good whether distanced from the reputation of the performer or not.

The record opens with a signature Franti upbeat message of hope in "Yes I Will". Bright acoustic guitars and groovy hand-clapped rhythms steer the song in its joyful direction. The album takes a momentary turn with "Firefly", which has a definite Santana vibe, backed up with some cool percussion and some intriguing keyboard grooves - very loungy. But the record slips right back to it's more acoustic feel with the soft guitars and airy flutes of "Love'll Set Me Free" and the hope filled message of "Love Invincible". Anyone who feels that Franti has dulled the edge of his music has only to listen carefully to the lyrics hidden in songs like "Stay Human". "Starvation is a creation of the devil/ a rebel/ I'm bringin' food to the people like a widow/ bringin' flowers to a grave in the middle/ of the city isolationis a riddle."

As a country boy, I grew up with the family gathered around on the front porch of the old house on Sunday afternoons my grandfather playing his banjo, my mother with her guitar, and all of us singing. I know what the front porch is supposed to feel like. This would be a front porch session I would be more than happy to be a part of.

-Embo Blake

Track Listing:

1. Yes I Will
2. Closer To The Sky
3. Firefly
4. Love'll Set Me Free
5. Love Invincible
6. Anybody Seen My Mind
7. Sometimes
8. Stay Human
9. Oh My God
10. Ganja Babe



Check out more reviews

Talk Back
e-mail the chief

Like this article?
e-mail it to a friend!

 


Rodeo Ruby Love



Spearhead
-------


Mile High Music Festival
Melanie Moffett

The Postelles
Adam Barnosky

Phoenix
Rachel Fredrickson

Civil Twilight
Rachel Fredrickson

April Smith
Susan Frances

SXSW 2010
David DeVoe

Paper Route
Rachel Fredrickson

Warped Tour 2009
Rachel Fredrickson

The Queen Killing Kings
Susan Frances


Ray LaMontagne
Nashville, TN

Morning Benders
Nashville, TN

Wolfmother
Kansas City, MO

Modest Mouse
Boston, MA

Hypernova
Denver, CO

Flaming Lips
Bonner Springs, KS

Gomez
Denver, CO

Cheap Trick
Kansas City, MO

Ok Go
Kansas City, MO

Sick Puppies
Kansas City, MO

Inner Party System
Kansas City, MO

Mute Math
Kansas City, MO

Snow Patrol
Denver, CO


 
hybridmagazine.com is updated daily except when it isn't.
New film reviews are posted every week like faulty clockwork.
Wanna write for hybrid? Send us an e-mail.
© 1996-2009 [noun] digital media. All rights reserved worldwide. All content on hybridmagazine.com and levelheadedmusic.com is the intellectual property of Hybrid Magazine and its respective creators. No part of hybridmagazine.com or levelheadedmusic.com may be reproduced in any format without expressed written permission. For complete masthead and physical mailing address, Click Here.