The Phoenix Network:
About | Advertise
 
Music
CD Reviews  |  Classical  |  Download  |  Live Reviews  |  Music Features  |  New England Music News

Ani DiFranco | Red Letter Year

Righteous Babe (2008)
By TED DROZDOWSKI  |  September 23, 2008
4.0 4.0 Stars
anidifrancoINSIDE.jpg
This is DiFranco’s most sophisticated album, a musical convergence of her best qualities: warm singing, graceful writing, experimentation. Even the title track, which mourns the state of modern American life and the devastation of New Orleans, has a softer bite than most of her earlier discs. DiFranco’s acoustic guitar rings more gently, her singing flows instead of churning out words like machine-gun fire, and the arrangements stack loops with live playing (which includes flourishes from guests like textural trumpet player Jon Hassell and the Crescent City’s Rebirth Brass Band) to create an ear-caressing framework for every track. There’s also a surprising innocence — explicit in the lovestruck lyrics of “Way Tight,” subtle in the worldly “Emancipated Minor” — that keeps DiFranco’s world view generally upbeat, even when she’s crooning lines like “I won’t pray to a male god/’cause that would be insane.”
Related:
  Topics: CD Reviews , Ani DiFranco , Ani DiFranco , Rebirth Brass Band
  • Share:
  • RSS feed Rss
  • Email this article to a friend Email
  • Print this article Print
Comments

Today's Event Picks
ARTICLES BY TED DROZDOWSKI
Share this entry with Delicious
  •   ANI DIFRANCO | RED LETTER YEAR  |  September 23, 2008
    Righteous Babe (2008)
  •   MIX NUTS  |  September 23, 2008
    An interview with breakout roots-music production stars the Tremolo Twins
  •   INTERVIEW: DICK SMOTHERS  |  September 17, 2008
    Mom always liked him best
  •   B.B. KING  |  September 10, 2008
    One Kind Favor | Geffen
  •   BASIC ELEMENTS  |  September 08, 2008
    The international and roots-music scene heats up

 See all articles by: TED DROZDOWSKI

MOST POPULAR
RSS Feed of for the most popular articles
 Most Viewed   Most Emailed 
HOT TOPICS
 More Topics . . .
LATEST SLIDESHOWS

All Slideshows



Featured Articles in This Just In:
081114_flowers_list

Fresh air does wonders in politics

Green Grassroots Effort
081114_onedayu_list

One Day you'll learn

Second Courses
081010_plannedp_list

Parental discretionary donors

How Sarah Palin generated over $1 million in donations to Planned Parenthood
081003_poodle_list

Bringing up Baby

The most famous three-legged, barkless dog in the world
081083_harvard_list

Since Harvard came out

Freedom watch
Friday, November 21, 2008  |  Sign In  |  Register
 
thePhoenix.com:
Phoenix Media/Communications Group:
TODAY'S FEATURED ADVERTISERS
Copyright © 2008 The Phoenix Media/Communications Group