Ani DiFranco, Little Plastic Castle (Righteous Babe) 9
This may be one case when media overexposure was good for an artist's development. With her punky-colored dreads and piercings, Difranco was a perfect magazine covergirl for Spring/Summer '97. Having put out eleven albums since 1990, Ani is not easily starstruck. With constant touring, writing, recording, and running her own record label, the consistency of her albums is impressive. Nevertheless, none of them really went beyond simply good folk rock. In an interview last summer, having experienced some hype as the next big thing, Difranco was energized by the attention. She talked excitedly of being inspired by artists like P.J. Harvey and Bjork to creatively stretch out. With this album, Difranco has finally fulfilled her potential. "Little Plastic Castle" starts out with her trademark passionate singing accompanied by her acoustic guitar. Then the horn section kicks in, and it's like going from black and white into Oz. I swear it gave me a chill much like people may have felt when Bob Dylan told the folk purists to kiss his ass with "Like A Rolling Stone" in 1965. Fans of her stripped-down folk-rock style need not worry, however. Besides the first track, only three additional songs step out from the folk-rock mold. "Deep Dish," has an almost calypso feel to it and "Swan Dive" features a pump organ. The closing track, "Pulse," is a hushed 14 minute meditation in which Ani plays concertina, drummer Andy Stochansky plays the West-African talking drum, and famous trumpeter Jon Hassell blows like a soft breeze. I might find the other traditional arrangements disappointing, but the songs are consistently great. "Glass House" rocks, and the whole album has an inviting, intimate sound. Your little sister will memorize the words, your brother will play guitar to it, your mother will dance to it when no one's looking. If you ever want to hear it, you better buy two copies!
