Ani Di Franco - Ani DiFranco > Reviews > Not for the feint-hearted

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Groundbreaking
Lyrics	Sublime
Quality and consistency of tracks	Flawless
How does it compare to the artist's other releases	Good
Value for Money	Excellent

Advantages:	Clear voice, clever guitar, intellegent lyrics
Disadvantages:	none if you like this sort of music

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

"I speak without reservation from what i know and who i am. i do so with the understanding that all people should have the right to offer their voice to the chorus whether the result is harmony or dissonance, the worldsong is a colorless dirge without the differences that distinguish us, and it is that difference which should be celebrated not condemned. should any part of my music offend you, please do not close your ears to it. just take what you can use and go on."

So says Ani on the sleeve notes of this, her first album. And what an album. I first heard it many years ago, and it didn't so much grab my attention as just gently get under my skin. Even now when I listen I hear new things. She puts such passion into her singing, lyrics and playing, and certainly is not afraid of offending.

Classing this as folk doesn't quite sum it up, there are elements of punk and rock in there too. There is just her and the guitar, but she manages to make it sound like so much more. This album was released when she was 18, I think, and under her own record label, which is quite a thing when I think of what I was up to when I was 18.

With a confessional song-writing style and a complex, beautiful sounding way of working the guitar, she starts off as she means to go on with 'both hands', a quite haunting track about what could very well be the end of an affair, or certainly a frustration with one. 'Talk to me now' speaks of how women's mistreatement has given her a tough shell but is delivered as if it were a lullaby, the contrast between style and substance being striking. These two tracks stand out particularly for me, but there is also some spoken word done with a musical backgroud - the folk version of rapping I guess - which packs quite a punch.

She is certainly not shy, nor does she beat about the bush when it comes to saying what she wants to. The subjects for her songs are personal and political in equal measure and often speak of the tension between the two. If you like a strong female voice, in both the sense of how it sounds, and the narrative it makes, you'll like this album. It gives the sense of a beautiful character, delivered via a whole heap of talent.

Happy listening.