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Not a Pretty Girl
: a truely musing and poetic achievement in the folk genre, if only more musicians were this talented, the world would be full of heart and soul.
This is probably my favorite Ani CDs of all time (with OUT OF RANGE and DILATE tying for a close second). Of course, I love the simplicty of the earlier albums and the funkyness and the chances she's taken with her more recent ones. But there is just something about the time period when she made this. She seemed to be at a creative, political and honest peak. There is something about the title track, "Light of Some Kind" and "The Million you Never Made" that make you glad to be alive and sitting there listening to Ani. The thing I love about NOT A PRETTY GIRL is the fact that it's so political and it's so not political at the same time. "Sorry I Am" is one of her best downright folk tunes. "This Bouquet" and "Worthy" are both emotional and compelling. "Shy" is probably one of her best rock tunes (though you don't fully realize how much of a rock tune it is until you hear it live). And of course, there's "32 Flavors" which I believe will be a classic in it's own right... if it's not already. The percussion at the end gets me every time.
This album was my intro to Ani DiFranco about three years ago. I fell in love with it and began collecting her stuff madly. "Shy" is a great, new perspective on the formerly male dominated arena of one nighters, and "Cradle Will Fall" is funky and memorable. This album is a great way to familiarize yourself with an artist who will surely become a favorite.
i regret to say that i didn't purchase this cd on amazon.com, and ipayed way more! i own every ani cd except the two that she did withutah philips (sorry, i'm just not a fan of him..) and this is without-a-doubt my most favorite album. damn, this chick's got soul. i've been listening to her for years now, but i didn't get this album until a few months ago, and it hasn't come out of my cd player since. if you don't already have this cd, first.. hit yourself over the head for your stupidity, and second.. BUY THE CD! you'll love it!
Since her appearance in the national music scene, Ani Difranco has had a cult following. This album is not only for her devoted fans, but will also appeal to the uninitiated. She shifts styles almost schizophrenically from one song to the next, but still maintains focus throughout the album. Her up-front, blunt, come-as-you-are style in "Cradle and All" and "Shy" contrasts with her regret in "Sorry I Am". The title track seems to fulfill all the riot-grrl rumors about her and then confounds them with the statement "I am not an angry girl / But it seems I've got everyone fooled / Every time I say somethin they find hard to hear / they chalk it up to my anger / and never to their own fear." The light-hearted "This Bouquet" and the mellifluous "Hour Follows Hour" further demonstrate Difranco's seemingly limitless range, and her spoken pieces "Coming Up" and "Tiptoe" add to the eclectic truth of this album.
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