Ani DiFranco: The First Album

Haven't heard yet. :-(

Not So Soft

I bought this album in November last year. I have always been a fan of her acoustic material upon discovering "Like I Said". Some of her best work is here, and to appreciate the beauty of this album you have to really understand the lyrics. From the warm melody of "Anticipate," to the angst of "Itch", no Ani collection is complete without "Not So Soft."

Best Songs: Anticipate, She Says, Make Me Stay, Itch, The Whole Night, Looking For The Holes

Imperfectly

I have to admit, I bought this album out of impulse because Puddle Dive was sold out at the time. Imperfectly was the next one on the list. One of the first songs I was already familiar with was "If It Isn't Her", and that song was probably the only other reason I bought this album. I don't have much to say reguarding this album, maybe I ought to listen to it for the 10,000th time...I don't get what I missed...

Best Songs: What If No One's Watching, In or Out, If It Isn't Her, I'm No Heroine, Make Them Apologize, Imperfectly

Puddle Dive

I was pleased to find this one available after a year of waiting...and the wait sure was worth it! Puddle Dive is different from the previous three albums, noticably because it's not just Ani's voice accompanied by an acoustic guitar. There are a wide range of melodies on this album, which makes it much more diverse than the first three albums. You've got your fun songs like "Fourth of July", "Back Around" and "Pick Yer Nose", you've got the angry, truthful numbers like "Willing to Fight", "Blood In The Boardroom" and "My IQ". And that's just half the album!

Best Songs: Anyday, Fourth of July, Willing to Fight, Back Around, Blood In The Boardroom, Used To You

Like I Said

Like I Said was a must-have, since I was familiar with a few of the songs from Living In Clip. This album is soft and entirely acoustic. There are 15 tracks on this album, but the songs are short. At the time I got Like I Said, I had also bought a cd alarm clock, and was waking up to many of the songs from this cd. My subconcious finds "Gratitude" an especially sad song to wake up to. This album is great, but lacking the enthusiasm and found on, say, Not A Pretty Girl. Again, it's wonderful to wake up to Like I Said in the morning, and if you have a cd alarm clock, I definately recommend putting this one in. I can't get it out of mine, after three months of Both Hands on repeat!

Best Songs: Fire Door, Rush Hour, Out Of Habit, Anticipate, The Whole Night, Both Hands

Out Of Range

Haven't gotten yet...

Not A Pretty Girl

Coming in close second to Living In Clip, I never get tired listening to the tracks from this marvelous album. The songs I bought it for were Shy, Cradle & All and 32 Flavors. However, after hearing the whole album, there isn't one song I didn't like on it! (With the exception of "Sorry I Am"...didn't do anything for me).

Best Songs: Not A Pretty Girl, Shy, 32 Flavors, Cradle and All, Crime for Crime, Worthy

Dilate

Dilate surprised me at first, because I could listen to all of the songs and say that there was not one that disappointed me. This one has a harder edge to it than anything Ani had done previous, which may be one of the reasons I love it so much. Outta Me, Onto You was an instant favorite. I bought Dilate two weeks after I got NAPG, and although I can't say I liked it better than NAPG, it's still an excellent cd. Dilate, along with Not A Pretty Girl, is a definate must-have. If you aren't an Ani fan before listening to Dilate, you will be afterwards!

Best Songs: Dilate, Outta Me Onto You, Superhero, Done Wrong, Going Down, Adam & Eve

Living In Clip

Living In Clip is the album of all albums. This one stands high above any of Ani's studio works, no matter how good they are. This is Ani at her best, live on stage doing her thing with the band she loves and the fans who love her. It doesn't get much better than this. The version of "Shy" alone is amazing. I just don't have any words big enough to describe how much I absolutely adore Living In Clip, so I'll leave it at that. I reccommend seeing Ani play live first, but if that's not possible for the time being, LIC is the closest you'll get.

Best Songs: Shy, Hide & Seek (zygote song!!!), Anticipate, 32 Flavors, I'm no Heroine, Adam & Eve, Fire Door, Shameless, Both Hands, Out Of Habit, Every State Line, In Or Out... HELL, ALL OF 'EM!

Little Plastic Castle

This album was my first introduction to Ani. The way she dishes out song after wonderful song you'd be convinced she were a lyric machine! I've used up more quotes from this cd than any other cd I own, and not just in the Ani category! You will fall in love with Ani from this album, and for many newer fans including myself, this was their first introduction to her. All I can say is, if you don't have this cd, you're missing some great material!

Best Songs: Little Plastic Castle, Fuel, Gravel, Two Little Girls, Loom, Swan Dive, Glass House, Pulse

Up Up Up Up Up Up

Nice album, but lacking so much compared to her earlier works. Tracks one through four are the only songs I listen to when I have this one in my cd player. Everything else is just a little too freaky, but very experimental. I hate to say it, but Upx6 is my least favorite of Ani's works.

Best Songs: 'Tis of Thee, Virtue, Jukebox, Come Away From It

To the Teeth

I bought this one and Up x6 on the same day and didn't get any time to listen to them until two weeks later. So I was really looking forward to this, but didn't realise it would take a lot of getting used to before it would become a favorite. Wish I May was the first song I liked instantly. Cloud Blood is, no doubt, the albums spotlight song since no matter how many times I hear it, it never gets old. Whatever you do, listen to this album about five times before giving it a bad grade. It really isn't such a bad album.

Best Songs: Cloud Blood, Wish I May, Swing, Providence, Soft Shoulder, Going Once, Hello Birmingham

Revelling/Reckoning

I was very excited about this when it first came out. The only songs I was familiar with before were Marrow, Sick of Me and Garden of Simple. After listening to both discs over and over again, I was a bit disappointed, but accepting that artists, musicians, people in general change. The lyrics were undoubtedly the highlight of this double-disc set. Intelligent and inspiring as always, this album is less filler and more food-for-thought. Best Songs: Garden of Simple, Heartbreak Even, Marrow, Fierce Flawless, Rock Paper Scissors, So What, Grey, Subdivision, School Night

Evolve

Fantastic album, but I didn't really like the horns. The lyrics are beautiful. Best Songs: Slide, Here For Now, Welcome To

Educated Guess

Could hardly wait for Ani's first solo album in years, but was a bit disappointed. Best Songs: Bodily

Knuckle Down

Only heard one song, Studying Stones, and thought it was fantastic. Can't wait to listen the rest of the album. :)