Early Riser
Studio album by
Taylor McFerrin
ReleasedJune 2, 2014 (2014-06-02)
Genre
Length41:17
LabelBrainfeeder
ProducerTaylor McFerrin
Taylor McFerrin chronology
Early Riser
(2014)		 Love's Last Chance
(2019)
Singles from Early Riser
  1. "Place in my Heart"
    Released: February 28, 2011
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic78/100[1]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Crack8/10[3]
Exclaim!8/10[4]
Pitchfork6.8/10[5]
PopMatters7/10[6]
The Guardian[7]
The Irish Times[8]
The Line of Best Fit8.5/10[9]
The Skinny[10]

Early Riser is the debut studio album by American musician Taylor McFerrin. It was released on June 2, 2014 through Brainfeeder. Produced by McFerrin himself, it features contributions from Bobby McFerrin, César Camargo Mariano, Emily King, Jason Fraticelli, Marcus Gilmore, Nai Palm, Robert Glasper, Ryat and Thundercat.

Critical reception

Early Riser was met with generally favorable reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 78 based on ten reviews.[1]

Rory Foster of The Line of Best Fit wrote: "the album was not created lightly, and by no means deserves to be skimmed, but there's a diversity and thirst within this album that stands to keep Early Riser remembered for some time, and will no doubt lead McFerrin to achieve the same".[9] AllMusic's Andy Kellman wrote: "while Early Riser was pieced and patched together, it flows as a gleaming focused set that combines left-field electronics, alternative R&B, and futuristic jazz".[2] Del F. Cowie of Exclaim! wrote: "it's possible to detect elements of jazz, '70s soul, hip-hop and electronica in McFerrin's heliocentric mix, but through his intentional blurring of the boundaries, he underlines his mastery of and ultimate disregard for genre categorie".[4] John Paul of PopMatters wrote: "with McFerrin and this latest crop of open, creative minds exploring the hallowed halls of jazz, there seems to be hope the form can and will continue to exist and evolve with society, remaining a relevant and integral art form on the musical and cultural landscape".[6] Renato Pagnani of Pitchfork found that the album is "built for slow weekend mornings spent in bed with a loved one more than brisk, early-morning runs".[5] In a mixed review, Lanre Bakare of The Guardian stated: "McFerrin seeks to take some of those flights of fancy and turn them into something that’s compatible with modern hip-hop and neo-soul".[7]

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Postpartum"
3:58
2."Degrees of Light"T. McFerrin2:48
3."The Antidote"
3:05
4."Florasia"T. McFerrin4:16
5."4 A.M."
  • T. McFerrin
  • Marcus Gilmore
0:40
6."Stepps"T. McFerrin5:00
7."Already There"
2:59
8."Decisions"
3:14
9."Blind Aesthetics"T. McFerrin1:09
10."Place in My Heart"
4:56
11."Invisible/Visible"
4:23
12."PLS DNT LSTN"
  • T. McFerrin
  • Fraticelli
  • Gilmore
4:49
Total length:41:17
Japanese edition bonus track
No.TitleLength
13."My Queen" (featuting Vincent Parker)4:45

Personnel

  • Taylor McFerrin — vocals (track 1), Rhodes electric piano (tracks: 1–6, 10–12), synthesizer, drums (track: 2–4, 6, 8–10), bass (tracks: 3, 4, 10), guitar (tracks: 4, 10), drum programming (track 11), producer
  • Jason Fraticelli – vocals (track 1), bass (tracks: 1, 11, 12)
  • Marcus Gilmore — drums (tracks: 1, 4, 7, 11, 12)
  • Naomi "Nai Palm" Saalfield – vocals (track 3)
  • Robert Glasper — Rhodes electric piano & synthesizer (track 7)
  • Stephen "Thundercat" Bruner – bass (track 7)
  • Emily King — vocals (track 8)
  • Christina "Ryat" McGeehan – vocals (track 10)
  • Robert Keith "Bobby" McFerrin Jr. — vocals (track 11)
  • César Camargo Mariano — piano (track 11)
  • Simon Benjamin – art direction, photography

Charts

Chart (2014) Peak
position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[11] 150

References

  1. 1 2 "Critic Reviews for Early Riser – Metacritic". Metacritic. Retrieved November 17, 2021.
  2. 1 2 Kellman, Andy. "Early Riser – Taylor McFerrin | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved November 17, 2021.
  3. ↑ "Taylor McFerrin". Crack Magazine. July 28, 2014. Retrieved November 17, 2021.
  4. 1 2 Cowie, Del F. (June 3, 2014). "Taylor McFerrin Early Riser | Exclaim!". Exclaim!. Retrieved November 17, 2021.
  5. 1 2 Pagnani, Renato (June 5, 2014). "Taylor McFerrin: Early Riser". Pitchfork. Retrieved November 17, 2021.
  6. 1 2 Paul, John (August 7, 2014). "Taylor McFerrin: Early Riser, PopMatters". PopMatters. Retrieved November 17, 2021.
  7. 1 2 Bakare, Lanre (December 18, 2014). "2014 albums we missed: Taylor McFerrin – Early Riser review". The Guardian. Retrieved November 17, 2021.
  8. ↑ Carroll, Jim (June 27, 2014). "Taylor McFerrin: Early Riser". The Irish Times. Retrieved November 17, 2021.
  9. 1 2 Foster, Rory (May 30, 2014). "Taylor McFerrin – Early Riser". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved November 17, 2021.
  10. ↑ Gieben, Bram E. (May 28, 2014). "Taylor McFerrin – Early Riser | Album Review | The Skinny". The Skinny. Retrieved November 17, 2021.
  11. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Taylor McFerrin – Early Riser" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 17, 2021.
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