Tiger in the Rain (original) (raw)

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1979 studio album by Michael Franks

Tiger in the Rain
Studio album by Michael Franks
Released 1979 (1979)
Recorded November 1978 (1978-11)
Studio A&R Studios, New York
Genre Smooth jazz
Length 40:48
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]

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.

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source Rating
AllMusic [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]

All tracks are written by Michael Franks

Side one

No. Title Length
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. Title Length
1. "Underneath the Apple Tree" 5:52
2. "Tiger in the Rain" 4:17
3. "Satisfaction Guaranteed" 3:39
4. "Lifeline" 6:10

Violins: Charles Libove, Harry Lookofsky, Lewis Eley, Anthony Posk, Harry Urbont, Joseph Malin, Richard Sortomme

Viola: Harold Coletta, Richard Maximoff, Emanuel Vardi

Cello: Abdul Wadud, Jesse Levy, Charles McCracken, Allan Shulman.

  1. ^ "Discography in Order of Release". MichaelFranks.com. Retrieved 2012-09-06.
  2. ^ a b c d 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.