Any Port in a Storm

This article is about the album. For the phrase, see any port in a storm.

Any Port in a Storm
Studio album by The Dirty Heads
Released	September 23, 2008
Recorded	2007–2008
Genre	Reggae, rock, rap rock [1]
Length	44:46
Label	Executive Music Group (EMG)
The Dirty Heads chronology
Any Port in a Storm (2008) Cabin By The Sea (2012)
Singles from Any Port In A Storm
"Stand Tall" Released: September 16, 2008 "Check The Level" Released: January 10, 2010 "Lay Me Down" Released: March 23, 2010 "Believe" Released: July 26, 2011

Any Port in a Storm is the debut album by American reggae-rock band The Dirty Heads, released on September 23, 2008. The album was initially set to be released on Warner Bros. Records until the label and band mutually separated. The Dirty Heads, having kept the master recordings, later released the album through Executive Music Group (EMG), a division of Universal Music Group. ^[2] The album was mixed by Mario C, best known for his work with Beastie Boys. ^[3] The lead single, "Stand Tall", was also featured in the 2007 movie "Surf's Up" before the album came out.

Any Port in a Storm was re-issued in 2010 with a few bonus tracks, including Lay Me Down, which features Rome Ramirez from Sublime. Lay Me Down was the band's first hit song, reaching #1 on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart in May of that year. ^[4] Nine weeks later it established a record as the song with the longest stint atop the chart for an independently released title, surpassing the previous mark set in 1999 by Everlast's "What It's Like". ^[5] "Lay Me Down" peaked at number 93 on the U.S. Hot 100 and number 76 on the Canadian Hot 100 chart. ^[4]

Billy Preston plays keyboards on multiple tracks on the album, in what would be one of the final sessions he recorded before his death. ^{[3] [2] [6]} "Lay Me Down" was released as a single from this album. It peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart.

Reviews

Any Port in a Storm received generally mixed reviews from music critics. Writing for Allmusic, Ritchie Unterberger said the band "comfortably combine hip-hop and reggae with somewhat lesser dollops of conventional rock songwriting and arrangements" on the album. ^[6] Dan Raper of PopMatters called it a "scattershot debut" and remarked that the Dirty Heads' "simplistic rhyme schemes and disconcerting use of the F-bomb ... quickly demonstrate there are leagues between this dick-hop and the intelligent, twisted witticisms of Why?" ^[7]

Track listing

All tracks are written by The Dirty Heads, Steve Fox and Stan Frazier, except where noted.

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Neighborhood"	The Dirty Heads, Fox, Frazier, Howard Barrett, John Kenneth Holt, Tyrone Evans	2:50
2.	"Stand Tall"		3:09
3.	"Shine"	The Dirty Heads, Lewis Richards	3:00
4.	"Driftin'"		3:26
5.	"Taint"		3:12
6.	"Morning Light"		2:34
7.	"Insomnia"		3:46
8.	"Easy"		3:17
9.	"Knows That I"		3:34
10.	"Chelsea"		3:08
11.	"Check the Level"	The Dirty Heads, Fox, Frazier, Richards	3:41
12.	"Believe"	The Dirty Heads, Lewis Richards	3:23
13.	"Hip Hop Misfits"		2:39
14.	"Everything I'm Looking For"		3:07

Special Edition

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
15.	"Stand Tall" (Acoustic)		3:09
16.	"Viva la Vida (Acoustic)" (Coldplay cover)	Guy Berryman, Jonny Buckland, Will Champion, Chris Martin	2:04
17.	"Sails to the Wind"	The Dirty Heads	3:27
18.	"Headphones"	The Dirty Heads, Fox, Frazier, Richards	2:49
19.	"Lonely One"	The Dirty Heads, Richards	3:40
20.	"Lay Me Down" (featuring Rome Ramirez)	The Dirty Heads, Rome Ramirez	3:34
21.	"Antelope"	The Dirty Heads	3:28
22.	"Rains It Pours"	The Dirty Heads, Richards	3:19
23.	"I Got No Time"		3:59
24.	"Stand Tall (Video)"

Personnel

All credits are adapted from Any Port in a Storm's liner notes. ^[8]

The Dirty Heads

• Dustin Bushnell − vocals, guitar
• Jared Watson − vocals
• John Olazabal − percussion
• Matt Ochoa − drums (credited but does not perform)
• David Foral − bass (credited on re-issue)

Additional musicians

• Steve Fox − bass (all tracks); guitar, ukulele, clavinet, programming
• Stan Frazier − background vocals, drums, acoustic guitar, programming
• Lewis Richards − programming, clavinet, Rhodes, programming, programming, Wurlitzer, synth bass
• Josh Freese − drums
• Alex Acuña − percussion
• Steve Doze − scratches and programming
• Tramale Chatman − scratches
• Barrie Lee Hall Jr. − trumpet
• Teena Jones − additional guitar (track 10)
• Tippa Irie − additional guitar (track 10)
• Cheez − additional guitar (track 10)
• Native Wayne − background vocals
• Luann Aronson − background vocals
• Mario C − vibraphone
• Billy Preston − organ
• Rome Ramirez − vocals (track 20 on reissue)
• Brett Nicholas − (track 20 on reissue)

Production

• Stan Frazier − production
• Steve Fox − production
• Mario C − mixing
• Lewis Richards − engineering
• Viet Pham − 2nd engineer
• Ed Cherney − additional engineering
• Nate Kunkel − additional engineering
• Patrick Mundy − additional engineering
• Big Bass Brian − mastering
• Bernie Grundman − mastering
• Mike "Cheez" Brown − management

Charts

Chart (2010)	Peak position
US Billboard 200 [9]	55
US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard) [10]	7
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard) [11]	16

See also

• List of Billboard number-one alternative singles of the 2010s

References

1. Friedman, Nick (September 15, 2011). "Interview: Dustin Bushnell of The Dirty Heads Discusses "Lay Me Down" and Upcoming New Album". guitarworld. Retrieved July 11, 2025.
2. Fadroski, Kelli Skye (October 13, 2009). "Orange Pop: The Dirty Heads clean up". The Orange County Register . Retrieved May 5, 2017.
3. Schnell, Caramie (March 26, 2009). "Vail: 7 questions with The Dirty Heads". vaildaily. Retrieved July 11, 2025.
4. "'Lay Me Down' – Dirty Heads". Billboard (Nielsen Business Media, Inc.). Retrieved May 1, 2010.
5. Trust, Gary (July 8, 2010). "Chart Beat Thursday: Katy Perry, Lee Brice, Judy Collins". Billboard (Nielsen Business Media, Inc.). Retrieved July 13, 2010.
6. Unterberger, Ritchie. "AllMusic Review: The Dirty Heads – 'Any Port in a Storm'". Allmusic . Retrieved May 5, 2017.
7. Raper, Dan (September 17, 2008). "Music: The Dirty Heads – 'Any Port in a Storm'". PopMatters . Retrieved May 5, 2017.
8. The Dirty Heads (September 23, 2008). Any Port in a Storm. EMG.
9. "Dirty Heads Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard.
10. "Dirty Heads Chart History (Top Alternative Albums)". Billboard.
11. "Dirty Heads Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard.