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Evolve

Ani DiFranco - Evolve Audio CD

A fair review of the Ani DiFranco "Evolve" 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.

Band: Ani DiFranco
Title: Evolve
Rating:

Release Date: 2003-03-11
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Promised Land 2: In The Way 3: Icarus 4: Slide 5: O My My 6: Evolve 7: Shrug 8: Phase 9: Here For Now 10: Second Intermission 11: Serpentine 12: Welcome To:

Definitely something different

Overall, the album uses a lot of elements of jazz, and some of the harmonies are amazing (I'm thinking of "Slide," my favorite of all the songs). As somebody who got this album without ever listening to Ani DiFranco before, my opinion might be a good counterpoint to people who view this album as an extreme departure from her previous work. Other songs are folk, and others, like "Evolve" and "Icarus," are very bluesy - I'm thinking the good Robert Johnson sort of blues. DiFranco is an amazing guitarist, and her voice is definitely unique. The band is very, very tight, as on "Here for Now," and even if you don't like the music you have to appreciate the talents of the musicians who contributed to the songs. I just bought Joni Mitchell's "Court and Spark" and few days ago, and it seems like DiFranco's album was influenced by it.

I usually can do without political ramblings in my music. Based on the lyrics "Serpentine" seems like just that, but the music's good - it's her and a guitar, and it sounds sparse and mournful (think Cat Power) - and she uses her voice really well to convey her emotions in the song.
"Shrug" is about the only song I skip on here, and if I remember it's mainly a saxophone solo doing freeform things. Again, it's a jazz thing, just not the kind I care for.

Without knowing a thing about Ani DiFranco's previous albums, I enoyed this album a lot, and I can think of few other contemporary artists who have made albums in this vein. The songs are unique, and in my opinion, there's something on here for everyone to enjoy.

Ani Difranco "evolves" into a cliche
Her earlier music was deep and complex, she sang about interesting topics and used really interesting music styles. I hate what Ani Difranco has become. It was always kind of preachy, but in a way that seemed unintrusive, because of the way she was able to make her opinions somehow beautiful and intriguing.

I guess she's "evolved" though. . . into a smug, self satisfied, holier-than-thou liberal extremist. In some of the songs I felt like she was barely making an effort to pass off her preaching as music. . . in one long ranting song, she simply plucked at guitar strings while stealing lines from Utah Phillips and talking about how bad average americans are and how virtuous she is. .

ani barely " evolves"
this is probably the first album i've picked up since ' little plastic castle ' even on little pastic castle, ani was changing: she had gone from being just a folkie with a guitar, to princess ani the ska queen. . . . her band also grew. . . . you knew ani had arrived when prince played on one of her albums. . . .

ani's still folk, but her sound has evolved; it's more polished and sophisticated. i love the way she uses brass and wind instruments, especially on " oh, my, my, my;" " serpentine," is a semi spoken word song, which ani as usual, goes on one of her patened rants. . . . " icarus," i also loved alot. . . . as well as the title track and " second intermission. " ani's always been a cool poet and her singing never fails to mesmerize, but i agree with some of the reviewers that she has become more about anger than agenda. . . she can be very dogmatic at times. . . . and when i listen to music, i don't wanna be proselytized. . . . like most artists, she names the diesease, but doesn't come up with the cure.

Hmmm...
I've listened to it about eight times, and I really think I don't like it. I've had this album for several weeks, and I'm still not sure of my stance on it. I want to like it, but I just feel that it's not the best than ani can produce. I know she has better. I think this album might be the product of so many releases. . . (26 albums and 3 EPs in 16 years? Ani, you might be overworking yourself. But then again, I know nothing) Anyway. I love it, because it's part of my never-ending ani difranco collection, but like I said, just not to ani's caliber. .

The Worst!
I immediately loved her music. I started listening to Ani in 1996. The first song I heard was "Gratitude" followed by "Untouchable Face". I own all of her albums, excluding the spoken word ones, "Knuckle Down", and "Educated Guess". Ani was my very favorite musician from 1996 to 2003. I saw her in concert numerous times. She is an exceptional lyricist, and though some find her music to be harsh and her voice unappealing, I love her singing and instrumentals also. I loved every album that she released up to this one, including "Reveling/Reckoning," which some of her older fans didn't like.

I hate this album. I find it horribly disappointing. Even if it weren't Ani it would be disappointing, but the fact that it is makes me dislike it all the more. It's depressing and boring. The lyrics are not up to her usual standards, or even the standards of a lesser artist. The sound is dull and unpleasant. She should have taken a long vacation rather than record this album. Her heart is so obviously not in it. It's forced and often incoherent. It's like she had nothing to say, but she tried to say something anyway. It's self indulgent and somewhat pathetic sounding, like she's complaining in a half assed way about something she isn't even clear on. I also think the instrumental aspect is overdone.

After listen to this album a few times I found that not only did I never want to hear it again, but that I couldn't even listen to Ani's older albums for quite some time. That's how disgusted I was. That was my honest reaction. I just felt so ripped off and disillusioned. I know that some people like this album, and that is almost inconceivable to me, especially considering the quality of Ani's earlier work. I did not buy another Ani album again. I did listen to some tracks off of "Knuckle Down" and "Educated Guess" online, and I didn't like them either. I have only recently started listening to her pre-evolution works again.

I would not recommend this album to anyone, Ani fan or not. It's just awful. Buy something released before 2003.

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.