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Ani Difranco - Reprieve Audio CD

A fair review of the Ani Difranco "Reprieve" 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: Reprieve
Rating:
Release Date: 2006-08-08
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: hypnotized 2: subconscious 3: in the margins 4: nicotine 5: decree 6: 78% H2O 7: millennium theater 8: half-assed 9: reprieve 10: a spade 11: unrequited 12: shroud 13: reprise

Return to original heart with a new twist on sound
Excellent spoken word track, top notch album overall. This album seems to me to represent a return to the subject matter that made Ani such a revolutionary songstress, while adopting a whole new level of skill and demonstrated mastery of the medium she employs to carry her message. .


Grows on you like fungus!!!
Most people are put off by her "women lib rants", her "quirky cartoon vocalizations", or her "hyper-caffeinated guitar strumming". Let's face it Ani Difranco is definetly an aquired taste musically. If your a fan of folk or even singer songwriter fare you owe yourself a deep listen into her prolific body of work. Being somewhat familiar with her body of work I was immediately put back by the somberness of this album but after repeated listens this album really grew on me. This album is really reflective and really can't be appreciated in a more upbeat state of mind. This album is like a warm cup of coffee being cradled and sipped by someone living in cold dreary storm-drenched cabin in the pacific northwest. Given that example you should listen in the right atmosphere:perhaps a long lonely drive somewhere or a housecleaning session in solitude. I think you get the vibe now. . .
Anyways the album sounds like what an Ani Difranco trip-hop album might sound like but with the emphasis on more live instrumentation. The atmosphere is heavy and very visual. The lyrics and the ambient textures jump out at you at the cue of her voice. It's really not your standard album as much as it is more like a soundtrack for poems.
"Inside the margins" is probably one the most touching songs she's done maybe since "joyful girl" as it celebrates the splendor of life and the bewilderment of forgetting it. "Hypnotize" is probably one of the more clever songs about relationships that I've heard in a while; where she questions how her and someone else manage to stay together saying"maybe I had just enough pathos to keep you hypnotized. . . "
All in all I think this is great album sonically and lyrically and deserves several listens. This nothing like other Ani records and isn't really trying to throw bunch a hooks at you. Also the fact that it is somber makes it work because Ani's reserved delivery really lets the material shine musically and lyrically. I don't think Ani is mellowing out or loosing her bite because subtlety wasn't really ever her strong suit but on this album she is definetly developing it. I think she's on her way to making a really interesting album if she could fuse both of these elements. . . . !!!!!!!!.


Not her best
It doesn't have as much of the syncopated rhythms that I'm so fond of in Ani's other music. I adore Ani but this album is not so great. The whole album is sort of monotone and the only lyrics that I find very poignant are those in "Unrequited". If you're going to buy a "new" Ani album, I'd definitely choose "Knuckle Down" over this one.


Ani at her most boring
From her early coffee shop folk days to her jazzy period to now, one can never expect the same thing from our favorite Righteous Babe. One thing I always admired about Ani is that with each album she's not afraid to try something different.

Unfortunately, Ani misses her mark on this album. Ani's a great lyricist, but here she focuses too much on the lyrics, leaving the melodies to be BORING! She plucks only a few notes on her guitar throughout the songs, as if she's only trying to create some background ambiance and nothing more. You'll enjoy the album more if you just read the lyrics and not listen to the CD at all. . . which is maybe what Ani wants you do to.

I would recommend you buy "Knuckle Down," "Evolve," or "Not a Pretty Girl" instead. .


At her best
She is at her poetical and musical prime. Reprieve is Difranco's best work yet. Songs like "Millennium Theater" are a call for Americans to get out of their cocoons and wake up to what's going on with a corrupt corporate controlled government. Not a filler song on this one. The CD artwork is superb as well. .


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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