| Barefoot on the Beach | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | June 1, 1999 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 1:02:27 | |||
| Label | Windham Hill | |||
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| Michael Franks chronology | ||||
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Barefoot on the Beach is a smooth jazz album by American singer-songwriter Michael Franks, released in 1999 by Windham Hill Records. [1]
Franks' relationship with Warner Bros. Records (and its subsidiary Reprise Records) which began with the 1976 album The Art of Tea ended with Barefoot on the Beach. [2] The album was his first and only release by Windham Hill, a Sony Music label; subsequent albums would be released by Koch (E1 Music) and Shanachie Records. His compilation albums continued to be released by Warner Bros. The album includes Valerie Simpson, who sings a duet in "Now Love Has No End", Joe Sample, and Jimmy Haslip of The Yellowjackets.
Although the album evokes summer, it also contains biting commentary on Broadcast Architecture's dominance of American smooth jazz radio at the time with "Mr. Smooth". Lyrics such as "some of us remember how much choice there was, before he took the throne" and "his verdict we must wait" lament the dominance and perceived heavy-handed influence of the network on the genre. [3]
All tracks are written by Michael Franks, except where noted.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Barefoot on the Beach" | Franks, Charles Blenzig | 5:04 |
| 2. | "Heart Like an Open Book" | 4:48 | |
| 3. | "Now Love Has No End" (with Valerie Simpson) | 6:13 | |
| 4. | "The Fountain of Youth" | 5:52 | |
| 5. | "When You Smiled at Me" | 5:04 | |
| 6. | "Double Talk" | 6:12 | |
| 7. | "Every Time She Whispers" | 7:24 | |
| 8. | "Why Spring Ain't Here" | 4:27 | |
| 9. | "A Walk in the Rain" | 6:21 | |
| 10. | "Mr. Smooth" | 4:40 | |
| 11. | "Like Moon Behind a Cloud" | 6:23 |
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [4] |
Writing for AllMusic, Jonathan Widran praised Franks' vocal style and longevity. "Countless musical trends have steamrolled by since this wry singer songwriter with the cool and collected, wistful onionskin voice first graced the adult music world in the mid-'70s [..] yet Franks has stood his ground, growing as an observational lyricist while his relaxed demeanor stays pretty much the same, and charmingly so." He concluded the album is "the kind of spring in your step music Franks fashioned his career out of."
You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 6 is the last of six double disc collection volumes of live performances by Frank Zappa recorded between 1970 and 1988. All of the material on Disc one has a sexual theme. Zappa used the monologue in "Is That Guy Kidding or What?", to ridicule Peter Frampton's album I'm in You with its double entendre title and pop pretensions. Disc two includes performances from Zappa's shows between 1976 and 1981 at the Palladium in New York City, as well as material like "The Illinois Enema Bandit" and "Strictly Genteel" that he frequently used as closing songs at concerts. It was released on October 23, 1992 under the label Rykodisc.
Freetime is the fifth album by Spyro Gyra, released in 1981. At Billboard magazine, the album reached No. 41 on the Top 200 albums chart and No. 1 on that magazine's Jazz Albums chart.
Chaka is the debut solo album by singer Chaka Khan. It was released on October 12, 1978 through Warner Bros Record label.
Urban Knights II is an album by the Urban Knights which was issued in 1997 on GRP Records. The album reached No. 5 on the Billboard Top Contemporary Jazz Albums Chart.
Dreams is an album by Philip Bailey released on Heads Up International Records in 1999. The album peaked at No. 43 on the Billboard Top Jazz Albums chart.
Tiger in the Rain is an album by singer-songwriter Michael Franks, released in 1979 with Warner Bros.
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Blam! is the third album by the Los Angeles-based duo Brothers Johnson. Released in 1978, the album topped the Billboard R&B albums chart and reached number seven on the pop albums chart.
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Abandoned Garden is an album by American vocalist Michael Franks. Released in 1995 by Warner Bros. Records, it was Franks' thirteenth studio album and his final album of new material with Warner Bros.
The Brecker Bros. Collection, Vol 1 is a compilation album by the American jazz fusion group, the Brecker Brothers. It was released by Novus Records in 1990. A second compilation, The Brecker Bros. Collection, Vol 2, was released in 1991.
The Brecker Bros. Collection, Vol 2 is a compilation album by the American jazz fusion group, the Brecker Brothers. It was released by Novus Records in 1991. This compilation followed the release of The Brecker Bros. Collection, Vol 1, in 1990.
The Music in My Head is a smooth jazz album released by Michael Franks in 2018. It’s his eighteenth studio album, and the second with the independent Shanachie Records.
That Secret Place is the tenth album by Patti Austin, released May 10, 1994.
Snapshot is a studio album by American keyboardist George Duke released in 1992 on Warner Bros Records. The album reached No. 1 on the Billboard Top Contemporary Jazz Albums chart and No. 36 on the Billboard Top R&B Albums chart. Duke dedicated the album to his mother, Beatrice Burrell Duke, "who brought the camera and showed me how to use it".
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