''Yell Fire!'' is the fifth studio album by the reggae-influenced band

Michael Franti and Spearhead Michael Franti (born April 21, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, poet, activist, documentarian, and rapper. Known for his participation in many musical projects, most with a political and social emphasis, including the Beatnigs ...

. It was inspired by Michael Franti's trip to the Middle East, visiting

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

, and the

Palestinian territories The occupied Palestinian territories, also referred to as the Palestinian territories, consist of the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and the Gaza Strip—two regions of the former Mandate for Palestine, British Mandate for Palestine ...

. It is a politically charged album, with each track focusing on a controversial issue. The album was recorded in

Kingston, Jamaica Kingston is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long spit (landform), sand spit which connects the town of Por ...

and

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

and released on July 25, 2006 by

ANTI- Anti- is an American record label founded in 1999 as a sister label to Epitaph Records. Founded by Andy Kaulkin, Anti- first gained attention by releasing Tom Waits's Grammy Award–winning '' Mule Variations'' in 1999. Other veteran recordin ...

and

Liberation Records Liberation Records is an American record company based in the Los Angeles area known for do it yourself ethos and pioneering guerrilla marketing strategies. It was formed by then 16-year-old underground rock music fanzine publisher David Taba in ...

. In the album's first week of sales, it had sold 7,215 copies and by March 28, 2007, ''Yell Fire!'' had sold 62,755 copies. In the U.S. the album peaked at #125 on the ''Billboard'' 200, but also peaked at #6 on Independent Albums and #1 on Heatseeker Albums.IndieHQ 2.0 » Independent Sales Chart 3-28-07

Track listing

Charts

References

External links

* ''Yell Fire!'' at Allmusic* {{Authority control 2006 albums Anti- (record label) albums Michael Franti albums