Michael Franti and Spearhead – The Sound of Sunshine
By Douglas Heselgrave
Michael Franti has always been a great musical force and a dynamic performer, capable of moving and inspiring an audience in a way that few other artists can. ‘The Sound of Sunshine’ comes out at a time when interest in Michael Franti and Spearhead is at an all time high. After more than twenty years of almost ceaseless touring and recording, it appears as if all of Franti’s work is finally starting to pay off. Unfortunately, this record doesn’t do anything to extend his reputation, and sometimes sounds like the work of an artist who is biding his time until inspiration strikes again. Hot on the heels of ‘All Rebel Rockers’ which featured his first ever radio single, ‘Say Hey, I love you’, this one sounds disturbingly like an ‘All Rebel Rockers part two’ and unfortunately is little more than a shadow of the former disc.
Not one to mess with a winning formula, Franti travelled once more to Jamaica to work with the legendary Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare who helped lay down many of the bedrock tracks for this disc as well as two previous CDs ‘All Rebel Rockers’ and ‘Yell Fire’. And, while it may be true that Sly and Robbie couldn’t play a bad rhythm if they tried, this is hardly representative of their best work. In fact -as was also true of ‘All Rebel Rockers’ – many of the beats on ‘The Sound of Sunshine’ have been lifted from rhythms Sly and Robbie created over three decades ago. It worked well last time out, but there’s a real sense of sameness here and unfortunately many of the tracks sound a little old and tired this time around. Perhaps Franti thought so, too, as he jettisoned some of the Sly and Robbie tracks and re-recorded the songs again in back halls and dressing rooms during Spearhead’s recent tour with John Mayer. Not surprisingly, the songs on ‘Sound of Sunshine’ have a nice, spontaneous and off the cuff feel that is very appealing. And, as Franti has always been about feel rather than virtuosity, he’s wisely playing to his strengths. Still, his last two efforts demonstrated that Franti is capable of producing studio albums that are the equal of his live show, and one wishes that he’d spent a little more time working out the kinks on this one.
To be fair, there are some very enjoyable moments on this album. The title track is an upbeat and positive number – and boy do we need them these days – driven by a nice mix of acoustic guitar and loose reggae rhythms that is instantly likeable. Similarly, ‘Shake It’ sounds a lot better than it should. Once you get over the inane chorus and turn off your critical mind, it’s a lot of fun to listen to Franti verbally joust with Lady Saw, the dance hall queen as Robbie Shakespeare’s bass threatens to rip the ground from underneath them. But, moments like this are few and far between. “Hey Hey Hey” and “The Thing That Helps Me Get Through” are enjoyable enough, but there’s far too much filler on this album. Many of the songs seem to offer little more than simple retreads of ideas, lyrics and melodies from Franti’s previous work and offer nothing exciting or new.
‘The Sound of Sunshine’ sounds like a quickie record made to coincide with the summer tour, and in many ways there’s nothing wrong with that. Like Stevie Wonder, Willie Nelson, or the Rolling Stones, Michael Franti and Spearhead have amassed such a huge catalogue of killer tracks that they don’t have to play anything off the new CD if they don’t want to. Michael Franti has always been first and foremost a live entertainer, and if he sings ‘The Sound of Sunshine’ when he’s in Vancouver tomorrow night, it’ll probably be enough to let me forget all of the other duds on the record. But, the critic in me says that you should save your money and give this one a pass unless you’re a super fan. Wait until they pass through your city and buy a ticket to see Michael Franti and Spearhead live instead.
This posting also appears at www.restlessandreal.blogspot.com
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