Righteous Babe (label)
16 January 2012 (released)
16 January 2012
A lot has happened in the world since Ani Difranco’s last album, Red Letter Year, three years ago, so material wasn’t going to be a problem. And with the backing band of talent she’s assembled the music is well covered. However, getting the two to complement is another matter.
The album opens solidly with Lifeboat, semi-acoustic for most of its length; the fuzzy guitar fills give it melancholic air. However, the track that will garner the most attention is her re-working of Which Side Are You On? which was popularised by Pete Seeger, who also performs on it. It’s a lengthy, rabble rousing version built on a marching rhythm with some brass lobbed in here and there. The lyrics have been re-worked to suit Ms DiFranco and our times. It’s all fists in the air, shoutalong stuff, and rather good fun. Splinter follows and with its light salsa groove complements it perfectly.
Elsewhere, the pick of the tracks are: The contemplative Albacore; the laidback funk of J, and the surprisingly heavy If Yr Not about the joys of ageing. There are also a couple of fillers such as the lightweight Mariachi and Unworry is irritating in the extreme.
The other big track on the album is Amendment, which tackles the thorny issue of – more so in the US than here - abortion. It’s a complex arrangement of sounds lurching from dark, downbeat and heavyweight rhythms to more uplifting, joyful and optimistic tones. These changes in hues are contrived to match the lyric and work pretty well.
This is a mixed bag of an album; its roots are in the American folk tradition, though Ms DiFranco has tried to stretch beyond that. New listeners may find the politics and causes off putting; at times it’s right in your face. But then its doubtful Ani DiFranco will care that much; she doesn't appear to have in the past. It’s getting the message out that’s important. As such, there’s a hefty word count on this album. To such an extent that at times the music sounds like a casual afterthought - just there to prevent the album from being a spoken word release.
Maybe just one for the fans?
