For more than three decades – from early incarnation The Beatnigs through to Disposable Heroes Of Hiphoprisy and onto Spearhead – Michael Franti has sought to create music that is both thought-provoking and exhilarating. In his music, as in life, he’s committed, humane and generous of spirit, his songs expressing a determination to draw attention to issues beyond the traditional pop vocabulary of cars and girls.
Franti’s latest album, All Rebel Rockers, finds the old warrior in scintillating form, as ready as ever to battle the selfish and the ignorant, be they figures of authority or his audience. Spitting invective over a barrage of wonderfully languid reggae rhythms, ill-tempered beats and rock guitars, these songs are every bit as invigorating as they are inspiring. What’s so impressive is that Franti never sounds overweening or preachy. What’s more, in an age of designer angst, he strikes an encouragingly upbeat note, even if the unblinkingly optimistic ‘A Little Bit Of Riddim’ and ‘I Got Love For You’ could be construed as naïve.
Elsewhere, ‘The Future’ lashes out at the escalation of what Franti believes to be the Big Brother state, whilst ‘Remote Control’ celebrates the equality of man, damns the evils of empire and urges the listener to open their eyes and ears to what’s going on around them. Such sentiments would be lost if the music was mediocre, but from the vintage stylings of ‘All Rebel Rockers’ to the ecstatic ‘Have A Little Faith’, Michael Franti & Spearhead have concocted a delectable compound of dub, reggae, funk, hip hop and rock. Long may they continue to fight the good fight.