Yell Fire!

Franti, Michael and Spearhead – Yell Fire! (Boo Boo Wax)
Reviewed by Sadie O., 8/15/06
Mostly reggae, with some folk and a bit of rock, with pacifist political/philosophical lyrics. Much of the record was recorded in Jamaica with Sly and Robbie, and the whole record has much more reggae beat than most Spearhead offerings.
No FCCs detected. I like 6 best, although the title track is great for those rockin’ moments, and several others are excellent.
1. 5:10 **about 9 seconds of near silence at start, midtempo roots reggae bubble with occasional electric guitar. Sad political philosophizing.
2. 4:44 ***hard rock anthem, big noise, revolutionary lyrics
3. 4:04 *folky pop, solidarity lyrics, gains volume and energy
4. 3:56 ***uptempo and upbeat roots rock reggae, bouncy, female chorus
5. 4:43 *acoustic folk, turning into folky roots reggae bubble
6. 4:50 ****upbeat bounce, almost ska, upful togetherness lyrics, a bit of dancehall verbal skank
7. 4:41 *acoustic folk with a bit of toasting, turns into a nice midtempo reggae skank after a minute and a half. Pink does some guest vocals. Gospel-y.
8. 5:36 ***uptempo reggae bubble, almost ska at times. Fun and danceworthy. A bit of “rap” and some rooster crowing.
9. 5:49 ***upbeat and a bit uptempo dance reggae, happy party tune with a lot of extra sounds, shout out to “and you don’t stop”
10. 4:18 pretty acoustic folk, grows into orchestral overblown stuff, autobiographical
11. 4:57 ***midtempo reggae bubble, killer production, about the war
12. 4:52 folk/pop with a reggae one-drop. Downbeat til halfway through, then goes hard rock.
13. 3:49 piano folk/pop, Beatles-style orchestral backing. Good message, but rather overblown delivery.
14. 5:08 acoustic guitar folk. Sweet guest bit by Gentleman.