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Old 02-26-2012, 10:47 AM   #939 (permalink)
Trollheart
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Which side are you on? --- Ani Difranco --- 2012 (Righteous Babe)

Okay, all you nitpickers out there, I know the actual title of the album has two question marks, one at the beginning which is upside down, as in the Spanish language, but hey, I don't have a typeface for Spanish, and if I did, I wouldn't reset the whole thing for the sake of one character, so let's just leave it at that, huh?

Musical prodigies are reasonably rare, and perhaps even moreso in this age of the pre-packaged, freeze-dried and ready-in-ten-minutes pop star, but when you begin busking at age nine, have your own record label by nineteen and release your debut by twenty, I'd say that pretty much qualifies! Ani Difranco has released, up to now, seventeen studio albums, and has carved out a career as one of the most respected and talented female singer/songwriters in the USA, if not the world, over the span of her twenty-two year career.

Like fellow contemporary Joseph Arthur, whose “Redemption City” was reviewed here a few weeks ago, Difranco also plays and sings all parts on her albums, which just goes to show she's not only talented as a singer and penner of tunes but as a multi-instrumentalist and indeed as a producer. Her stand on various issues from political to socio-economical, embracing such themes as gay rights, racism, poverty and war, much of which is contained in the lyrics to her songs.

The album opens on “Life boat”, which begins with a somewhat stuttering, staccato acoustic guitar and then what sounds like a violin, then her distinctive folky voice takes over as the guitar gets a little more solid, and there sounds to be some electric piano coming in too. The song goes along at a fairly gentle rhythm, which perfectly belies the frustrated angry lyric: ”I got red scaly hands/ And purple scabby feet/ And you can smell me coming/ From halfway down the street.” Don't, however, ask me what this song is about! It gets a little half-jazzy with “Unworry”, a more uptempo yet halting beat, with some nice rolling percussion, and some unexpectedly fast vocals that seem to attempt, Jim Steinman-like, to fit more into the moment than can fit. I have to say I don't like this practice: it sounds rushed and for me it just doesn't really work. Steinman knows how to do it properly, and I'm not saying Difranco doesn't, but I find Steinman's method yields much more pleasing results.

Bluegrass banjo opens the title track then, with angry electric guitar taking over as she hits out with her first overtly political song, as she declares “Come on all good workers/ This year is our time/ There are folks up in Washington /Who really care what's on our mind/ So come on all you voters/ Let's all vote next time.” The rhythm, too, is the first time I've not been turned off her songs since the album began, with a nice bopping rhythm and a real protest style about it. Her declaration, though, would appear to be a little naïve, as it would certainly seem that having a black president has not been the panacea for America's woes that so many thought it would be. Still, he's better than McCain, I guess! This is like one of those old sixties folk/protest songs brought right up to date, like maybe the female version of the “electric” Dylan. Good stuff.

Nice blast from flutes and indeed horns as the song gets into its stride, the drums taking it along on a semi-triumphalist wave. Definitely the standout so far. I had my doubts as the album opened, but this has changed all that --- assuming this isn't the one good track on the album, of course, that is. And is it? Well, “Splinter” has some nice latin guitar licks, bongo-style drums, taking the tempo right back down again after the powerful title track; this one is a lot more laidback, with a sort of lazy summer's day sort of rhythm, like lying out in the sun playing your guitar with not a care in the world. Then some heavy tubular bells kick things up and some nice strings before it slips back into the easy groove.

Yeah. It's a little weak after its predecessor, but let's see what happens as the album unfolds. “Promiscuity” is a boppier, happier track, with some pretty guitar and a joyful little bassline too, but at this point my attention is beginning to wander... “Albacore” is more gentle, lazy melody with a nice rhythm, with a nice piano accompaniment, then there's an almost reggae tone to “J” --- yeah, that's what it's called: what, couldn't you think of a title? --- but I feel like I did when I recently reviewed, after several hearty recommendations, Bon Iver's album: although this has not been recommended to me by anyone, and although I have heard none of her material prior to this, I somehow expected it to be better. But I'm getting frustrated and bored now.

There are five tracks left, so let's see if we can get through them. I've never yet stopped a review before getting to the end, and I don't intend to start now, so let's plough on. “If yr not” has a much heavier, almost grunge-rock feel to it, with hard electric guitar, stamping drums and some unaccountable strings, a sense of despair and anger in the song, which at this point in the album I can identify with. Much more stripped down and basic is “Hearse”, almost a ballad, with acoustic guitar and bass, a little percussion and not much else, and it's quite nice. Considering what I've experienced in reviewing this album so far, this would probably be only the second track I even like. Not a good percentage, is it?

There's a more uptempo, almost indie-rock idea running through “Mariachi”, with some nice guitar and piano, and I begin to wonder if perhaps the album is going to come in with a strong finish, just as everyone thought it was out of steam? This is certainly some of the best I've heard on this recording, and while it doesn't exactly excite me, at least it's refocussed my full attention on the album. Can it last? “Amendment” starts off with a slow Springsteenesque rock guitar, circa “Nebraska”, and it's obviously another highly politically-charged song, but perhaps a little too long at nearly six and a half minutes. Maybe it's a case of drowning in its own furiously pro-feminist sentiment, I don't know, but it comes across as quite poe-faced, which is unfortunate, as it kind of breaks the good vibe that had started to rise as the album headed towards its end.

And that end comes with a limp, boring, almost unnoticed song as “Zoo” meanders about rather aimlessly and disinterestedly before falling off the edge of the album, and finally allowing me some blessed relief. To me, it's almost like someone walking into a room, wandering about shuffling magazines and looking at dishes, turning on the telly then switching it off, shrugging and just going out again. The sudden, unexpected surge right at the end turned into a refusal and a departure off the field, throwing the jockey and leaving him on the ground to nurse his wounds. Can be a mug's game, sometimes.

One of the points of reviewing 2012 albums is that I usually, almost always, hear them for the first time as I sit writing the review. Now of course this can be a two-edged sword (really, whoever heard of a one-edged sword? Would it not be useless?) as often first impressions do not last, and your opinion of an album changes over time, but I'm prepared to take the risk, and anyway many of these albums are ones I'm unlikely to listen to twice soon, if at all. But the point is that there is just as good a chance that an album I select for review could be a disappointment as there is I'll love it. Cases in point: The Atomic Bomb Audition, Charred Walls of the Damned, Peter Gabriel's “New Blood” and indeed Van Halen's new one, which was a surprise as I really thought it would be great. It wasn't.

So now add this one to the list. For 2012, that's a pretty poor ratio really: the only album --- new album --- I've reviewed this year that clicked with me was “Redemption City” by Joseph Arthur, so I'm way behind as regards good reviews. But that's how it goes: you don't know what an album is going to be like --- by and large --- until you listen to it, and anyway, if all the reviews here were positive I'd have to change the name of the journal to something like Trollheart's Happy Smile Time Music Journal! Ain't doin' that!

Therefore, whether the albums I review turn out to be good or bad, I'll continue to present them for your perusal and listening pleasure (or pain), and not worry too much which ones are good and which are bad. It's equally difficult to review a bad album --- and I mean review, not trash, which is very easy and also unprofessional --- as a good one, so I guess I can look upon it as a way to hone my writing skills and my critique methods.

But I'd better damn well hear something good pretty soon! It's almost March, people!

TRACKLISTING

1. Life boat
2. Unworry
3. Which side are you on
4. Splinter
5. Promiscuity
6. Albacore
7. J
8. If yr not
9. Hearse
10. Mariachi
11. Amendment
12. Zoo
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