Tiger in the Rain

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Tiger in the Rain
Michael Franks Tiger in the Rain CD.jpg
Studio album by
Released1979 (1979)
RecordedNovember 1978 (1978-11)
Studio
Genre Smooth jazz
Length40:48
Label Warner Bros.
Producer John Simon
Michael Franks chronology
Burchfield Nines
(1978)
Tiger in the Rain
(1979)
One Bad Habit
(1980)

Tiger in the Rain is an album by singer-songwriter Michael Franks, released in 1979 on Warner Bros. [1]

Contents

It was his first album not produced by Tommy LiPuma, Al Schmitt, and Lee Hershberg. The album was arranged and produced by John Simon. Franks plays guitar, banjo, and mandolin. [2] The album cover features "Tiger in a Tropical Storm", an oil painting by Henri Rousseau.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [2]

A. Colin Flood wrote in Enjoy the Music magazine that the album "[continues to] express Franks’ original synthesis of smooth jazz/rock fusion, again with the understated South American underbeats" that "subsides into clever adult sentiments. This album celebrates an easy life of success." [3]

For PopMatters , Rob Caldwell praised the "clever turn[s] of phrase" that work at a "symbolic level (Franks wasn’t a literature major for nothing)" and "[t]here’s something to be said for escapism, for the armchair-travelling Michael Franks’ music offers." [4]

Music critic Stephen J. Matteo commented for AllMusic the album was "[l]ush, romantic and more experimental than previous efforts" and that while "none of its songs has the instant appeal of some of his earlier writing, the album as a whole is as refreshing and meditative as a stroll through a rain forest." [2]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Michael Franks

Side one
No.TitleLength
1."Sanpaku"4:10
2."When It's Over"3:03
3."Living on the Inside"5:36
4."Hideaway"4:09
5."Jardin Botanico"3:32
Side two
No.TitleLength
1."Underneath the Apple Tree"5:52
2."Tiger in the Rain"4:17
3."Satisfaction Guaranteed"3:39
4."Lifeline"6:10

Charts

Chart (1979)Peak
position
Australian (Kent Music Report)65 [5]

Personnel

Musicians

[2]

Horns

Horn section (Tracks 6 & 8)

Strings

String quartet on "Living on the Inside
String section on "Lifeline"


Production

References

  1. "Discography in Order of Release". MichaelFranks.com. Retrieved 2012-09-06.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Matteo, Stephen J. Tiger in the Rain - Michael Franks at AllMusic. Retrieved 2018-09-06.
  3. Colin Flood, A. "Michael Franks: Thirty Years of Smooth Jazz". Enjoy The Music. Retrieved 2018-09-06.
  4. Caldwell, Rob (2014-03-04). "The Slow Samba Escapism of Michael Franks' "Tiger in the Rain"". Popmatters . Retrieved 2018-09-06.
  5. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 118. ISBN   0-646-11917-6.

Bibliography