The Sound of Sunshine (album)

The Sound of Sunshine
Studio album by Michael Franti & Spearhead
Released September 21, 2010
Recorded Dec 2009 - May 2010
Genre Reggae, rock, hip-hop, alternative rap
Length 43:49
Label Capital, Boo Boo Wax
Producer Sly & Robbie, Michael Frantí
Michael Franti & Spearhead chronology
All Rebel Rockers
(2008)		 The Sound of Sunshine
(2010)
Singles from The Sound of Sunshine
  1. "Shake It"
    Released: May 25, 2010
  2. "The Sound of Sunshine"
    Released: June 8, 2010
  3. "Hey Hey Hey"
    Released: April 8, 2011

The Sound of Sunshine is the seventh studio album by Michael Franti & Spearhead, released by Capital Records on September 21, 2010.

Contents

Background

The inspiration for the title 'The Sound Of Sunshine' came from when Franti was on tour in 2009 and ruptured his appendix. As, in March 2011, he told noted UK soul writer - and Assistant Editor of Blues & Soul - Pete Lewis: "Because the doctors weren't sure what was wrong with me, seven days actually passed before they were able to diagnose it was my apendix - by which time I'd just completely fallen over and was DYING! So, after they eventually did the surgery on me, while I did feel a huge amount of gratitude to be alive, at the same time every moment of the day I was CRYING! Like someone would walk in the room who I hadn't seen for a while, and I'd just look at them and CRY! And when they'd go 'What are you crying about?', I'd be like 'I don't KNOW! I'm just really glad to be here, to be alive and to SEE you!'... It was like I was seeing everything with new EYES. Every day I'd go to the window to see if the sun was shining - and if it WAS, I'd have this feeling of OPTIMISM! Like 'WOW! I'm gonna beat this infection and I'm gonna get BETTER!'... And so for this album I wanted to put that feeling into words and into MUSIC."[1]

Singles

Track listing

No. Title Composer(s) Length
1. "The Sound of Sunshine"   Jason Bowman, Michael Frantí, Carl Young 3:45
2. "Shake It" (featuring Lady Saw) Bowman, Frantí, Marion Hall 3:28
3. "Hey Hey Hey"   Frantí 3:47
4. "Anytime You Need Me"   Bowman, Frantí, Young 3:44
5. "I'll Be Waiting"   Bowman, Frantí 4:39
6. "Only Thing Missing Was You"   Bowman, Frantí 3:26
7. "Love Don't Wait"   Bowman, Frantí 3:40
8. "The Thing That Helps Me Get Through"   Bowman, Frantí, Young 4:35
9. "Gloria" (featuring Cherine Anderson) Cherine Anderson, Frantí, Courtney Morrison 4:12
10. "Headphones"   Bowman, Frantí 4:18
11. "The Sound of Sunshine Going Down"   Bowman, Frantí, Young 4:20

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [3]
Entertainment Weekly (B+)[4]
Rolling Stone [5]
Rhapsody (favorable)[6]
Metromix (mixed)[7]

The Sound of Sunshine received mixed to positive reviews from most music critics.[8] At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 61, based on 7 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews".[8] Allmusic gave the album three and a half stars citing, "The Sound of Sunshine is the “seize the day” result to a reggae-pop, jam band beat, filled with bliss and gratitude plus a bit of swagger and some pointed political moments that remind you this isn’t Jack Johnson or John Mayer."[3] Rolling Stone gave the album a mix review.[5]

Rhapsody gave the album a favorable review adding, "Michael Franti is an intriguing artist. His mix of hip-hop beats, reggae and soulful folk-rock has influenced a seemingly endless parade of radio-ready singer-songwriters. And yet Franti himself has always remained on the mainstream's periphery. That's by design -- as The Sound of Sunshine clearly proves."[6] Metromix gave it a mixed review, "The title track, which kicks off the record and then is revisited in a reworked version at the end, is the perfect bookend for this 11-track set that should only expand Franti's growing fan base. [...] While not all of the songs live up to the best three or four, the strength of those tunes makes it easier to forgive the weaker ones." Jon Dolan of Entertainment Weekly gave the album a B+ and said that it "sets evocations of hard-won happiness to similarly strummy, globally grooved hip-hop."[4]

Charts

Chart (2010) Peak
position
Australian Albums Chart[9] 34
U.S. Billboard 200[10] 17

References

  1. ^ Michael Franti & Spearhead interview by Pete Lewis, 'Blues & Soul' June 2011
  2. ^ (Posted: May 25, 2010) Michael Franti - "Shake It" + "The Sound of Sunshine" singles bandweblogs.com. Retrieved 09-24-10.
  3. ^ a b David Jeffries, ((( The Sound of Sunshine > Overview ))) Allmusic.com. Retrieved 09-23-10.
  4. ^ a b (Posted: Sept. 22, 2010) Jon Dolan, "The Sound of Sunshine - Music" EW.com. Retrieved Oct. 7, 2010.
  5. ^ a b (Posted: Sept 21, 2010) Will Hermes, The Sound of Sunshine by Michael Franti & Speahead | Rolling Stone Music | Music Reviews Retrieved 09-23-10
  6. ^ a b JFERRAR, The Sound Of Sunshine by Michael Franti Rhapsody.com. Retrieved 09-23-10.
  7. ^ Scott Bauer, Music Review: Franti shines on 'Sunshine' Metromix. Retrieved 09-23-10.
  8. ^ a b The Sound of Sunshine Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic. Metacritic. Retrieved on 2011-04-15.
  9. ^ "Michael Franti and Spearhead - The Sound Of Sunshine - Music Charts" aCharts.us. Retrieved Oct. 7, 2010.
  10. ^ "The Sound of Sunshine - Michael Franti/Spearhead" Billboard.com. Retrieved Oct. 6, 2010.