Article snapshot taken from Wikipedia with creative commons attribution-sharealike license.
Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat.
We can research this topic together.
All People is an album by the American band Michael Franti & Spearhead, released in 2013 through Boo Boo Wax and Capitol Records. The first single was "I'm Alive (Life Sounds Like)". Franti supported the album with North American and Australian tours. In 2014, he continued to promote All People by headlining the Soulshine Music and Yoga Tour.
Production
The majority of the album was recorded in Hunters Point, with some of the mixing occurring while the band was on tour. The album continued Franti's turn toward pop music; he had concluded that a pop song could be as comforting and meaningful as a protest song. For the first time in his career, Franti worked with outside songwriters and producers, including Sam Hollander, the Matrix, and Adrian Newman. Franti recorded around 35 songs and listened to the rough mixes while doing his morning yoga, to ensure that they were properly "inspiring". He also wanted the tracks to incorporate dance influences, with some geared toward club play. "Say Goodbye" is about the murder of Trayvon Martin. A version of "11:59" was written around 2003; Franti finished the chorus for it after surviving a ruptured appendix. K'naan guested on "Earth from Outer Space".
Postmedia Network called the album "an infectiously sunny synthesis of pop, reggae, hip-hop and indie-folk." Rolling Stone noted that "Franti's peace 'n' love MO has veered toward full-on jam pop for several years now, so mainstream-y anthems like the Euro-disco title track are really no big leap." Bass Player labeled All People Franti's "most heavily produced, studio programmed album yet". The Buffalo News deemed it "sun-soaked pop music with feel-good, bumper sticker-style wisdom presented as insightful commentary." The Kansas City Star said that Franti "evokes an array of resemblances, some vague, some strong: to Bob Marley, G-Love, Everlast, UB40." Tucson Weekly opined that while "the message of universal equality is spot-on and encouraging, Franti's rap-bridge lyrics about rocking everywhere can be terrible."
Track listing
All People track listing
No.
Title
Length
1.
"All People"
4:08
2.
"11:59"
3:45
3.
"I'm Alive (Life Sounds Like)"
3:53
4.
"Long Ride Home"
3:51
5.
"Life Is Better with You"
3:18
6.
"Earth from Outer Space"
3:52
7.
"Closer to You"
3:39
8.
"Show Me a Sign"
3:38
9.
"On and On"
3:43
10.
"Wherever You Are"
3:14
11.
"Say Goodbye"
3:31
Total length:
40:32
References
^ Hermes, Will (August 15, 2013). "All People". Rolling Stone. No. 1189. p. 66.
Lindquist, David (August 29, 2013). "Headliner Michael Franti makes every show count". The Indianapolis Star. p. S1.
McMullen, Randy (October 10, 2013). "Weekend Top 10: The Bay Area singer and Spearhead gang back a new album". Contra Costa Times. p. T8.
Trust, Gary (May 18, 2013). "On Hot Rock Songs...". Billboard. Vol. 125, no. 19. p. 63.
Catalano, Jim (August 29, 2013). "2013 Fall Music Preview: Sounds to abound around town". The Ithaca Journal. p. M10.
Levy, Dustin (July 12, 2013). "Spirit of celebration: Michael Franti invited other songwriters for new album, comes to Jiffy Lube Live". The Baltimore Sun. p. T12.
Penn, Roberta (July 23, 2014). "Strike a pose and sing". Star-News. Wilmington.