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Ani DiFranco - Not So Soft Audio CD

A fair review of the Ani DiFranco "Not So Soft" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Ani DiFranco reviews here, or go back to the Ani DiFranco tabs.

Ani DiFranco Band: Ani DiFranco
Title: Not So Soft
Rating:
Release Date: 1994-07-26
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Anticipate 2: Rockabye 3: She Says 4: Make Me Stay 5: On Every Corner 6: Small World 7: Not So Soft 8: Roll with It 9: Itch 10: Gratitude 11: Whole Night 12: Next Big Thing 13: Brief Bus Stop 14: Looking for the Holes

Poetry In Motion!
The lyrics are amazing! The spoken word title track gives me chills, and so does "On Every Corner". Another beautiful album from Ani! This is her second album and last album which has just her and an acoustic guitar. . . there are many brilliant political protest songs on here, some of her best ones in fact! There is such passion and honesty in her voice and I love it! I'd defineity recommend this or anything by Ani.


"it's better to be dusty than polished"
I sometimes wonder what Ani now thinks of her earlier albums such as this one. One of Ani's classic albums, this isn't one to skip. Always an intellectual with soul and compassion, she can't help but to have grown as a person since the release of her earlier albums. I wonder if she herself still relates to all her earlier songs the way she once did. I know I do. Most people at age 40 can't even write songs with the depth and emotional power of these songs, so it makes it even all the more impressive to think how young Ani was when she wrote these.

I assume over the years she has outgrown (or at least doesn't really enjoy performing) some of her older songs, but in the case of some of these great songs, I just think maybe she is so prolific that she just doesn't remember her own songs anymore. Roll With It is one example I'm thinking of here. I should look up some recent setlists to see if she has played this one at all in the past couple years. Over 10-years-old now, Roll With It has never (since it was written) been more appropriate to the USA's current mess than it is right now. This song deserves to be performed again if it has been years since she last brought it out.

Anticipate, Roll With It, Gratitude, The Whole Night, Next Big Thing, etc. . . this album has everything a classic Ani album has. . . lyrics that will pull you together, lyrics that will break you down, great guitar playing, and expressive singing. Not So Soft itself, always one of her best spoken-word pieces was great when first unveiled here, but now that there have been so many fantastic, yet drastically different live variations of it, this studio one doesn't have the impact it once had. The words are still perfect, but in the years since, it has been delivered better elsewhere.


It's Actually Nice and Soft! (Smart too)
Acoustic, simple and honest -- it predates some of her more passionate folk/rock, and tremendously predates her synthesized stuff. Ironically, given the title, this is one of Ani DiFranco's softest albums!

It's very good.

Songs like ROCKABYE are gentle, soothing -- but of course, always intelligent! This one reminds us to that we all need to comfort ourselves sometimes.

GRATITUDE is an honest look at date rape -- that actually manages to be humorous. I know that seems impossible, but Ani can pull it off! I won't give away the joke -- it's too good the first time you hear it. I don't want to spoil.

This is one of those albums you'd say is 'one of the best out there' if it were made by someone else. But since it's Ani DiFranco, and she's made too many outstanding ones even to count -- it makes it tempting to say she can do even better. But you can't deny it's an absolute keeper!

So glad I have it.


ok
I like how she sings about songs with meaning. I like Ani but sometimes it sounds like she is playing the same guitar riff through every song.


Early Gem
Every single song is an old friend to me now. This is the album that got me hooked on Ani Difranco so long ago. After sitting in the mud in the pouring rain at Calgary Folk Festival in the early nineties and gaping at Ani's stunning performance, I scrambled to buy this CD from the table nearby. These songs ring with poetry, melody, harmony, and rhythm. This is an Ani Difranco classic. Any who don't appreciate it must, in my opinion, be crazy. At the time I thought. . . "Why haven't I heard of this woman?" Friends looked at me with pity when I asserted that she would one day be a household name. . . without selling out. To them I say HA. . . FOOLS. . . . DOUBTERS. . . she's done it!

Favourites of mine include "Make Me Stay" for it's crackling self-esteem, "On Every Corner" for tackling AIDS at a time when others weren't, "Small World" for the long note near the end, "Not So Soft" because I can quote it verbatim (same inflection), "Roll With It" for its protest weight, "The Whole Night" for its bold sexuality, "The Next Big Thing" for the line 'my thing is already just the right size', and "Looking For the Holes" for its lyrics. Did I miss any? ah yes. . . "Anticipate" because Ani tore up her guitar one day, playing this song in Calgary, Canada in the pouring rain. . . . and I found my favourite musician. Buy it. . . . . it's vintage Ani.


You can see a complete list of all Ani DiFranco discography, or go back to the Ani DiFranco tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.

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