Tiger in the Rain

Tiger in the Rain is an album by singer-songwriter Michael Franks, released in 1979 on Warner Bros.

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. The album cover features "Tiger in a Tropical Storm", an oil painting by Henri Rousseau.

Reception
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."

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."

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."

Musicians

 * Michael Franks – vocals, guitar, banjo, mandolin
 * Randy Brecker – trumpet
 * Claudio Roditi – trumpet
 * Lew Soloff – piccolo trumpet
 * John Clark – French horn
 * Tom "Bones" Malone – trombone
 * Lew Del Gatto – saxophone
 * Lou Marini – saxophone
 * Seldon Powell – saxophone
 * George Young – saxophone, flute
 * Howard Leshaw – flute
 * Dave Liebman – flute
 * Kenny Barron – piano
 * Paul Griffin – organ
 * Bob Leinbach – organ
 * Mike Mainieri – vibraphone, vocals
 * Joe Caro – guitars
 * Bucky Pizzarelli – guitar
 * Ron Carter – double bass
 * Rick Marotta – drums
 * Ben Riley – drums
 * Buddy Williams – drums
 * Dominic Cortese – concertina, percussion
 * Rubens Bassini – percussion
 * John Simon – percussion
 * Errol "Crusher" Bennett – congas
 * Flora Purim – background vocals
 * Maretha Stewart – background vocals
 * Hilda Harris – background vocals

String section

 * 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.

Support

 * Lee Herschberg –remastering
 * Glenn Berger –audio mixing