Customer Reviews

Like I Said

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Ani Difranco is a fabulous musician. I've only been listening to her music for about two years but she has become my favorite artist. Before, I tended to focus mainly on male dominated bands. I started out listening to Ani's latest cds and I've been working my way back. "Like I Said" was my last purchase and I love it. 'Both Hands' is one of my favorite songs of all time. It's a simple song musically (so simple that even I can play it on the guitar) but the lyrics and the feeling behind the music is incredibly moving to me. "Like I Said" is a cd overflowing with emotion. Some of the songs I like best on the cd are 'Gratitude', 'Fire Door', 'She Says', and 'Out of Habit'. The main reason I like her music so much is because I have been able to identify with so many of her songs. She has put into words many of the things I've wanted to say but couldn't. People tend to think that female singer/songwriters are whiny and redundant but Ani is anything but. Her music is honest and compelling and I highly recommend this cd along with any of her others.

hmmm... trying to paraphrase/describe this CD is difficult as it is difficult to put into words a CD so beautiful, so profound... "wish that i could write the words that i could say to you." (that's from one of my songs.) anyway, My absolute favorite Ani song is on this album. It is titled "Rush Hour" .. i love the dulcimers and the poetry. well, with any ani song you have the amazing mind blowing poetry. I get the impression that she was in her only serious relationship with a woman at the time she was writing the lyrics for the first album and not so soft (of which these songs are remakes of) and the stories she paints in these songs are exquisite. Let me tell you something, hearing Ani really changed my life. She helped me overcome my fear of my bisexuality... "She said forget what you had to do, pretend there's nothing outside this room. Like an idea she came to me. But she came too late, maybe too soon." hmmmm. One of the reasons why i like this album is because I think Ani has a tendency to write so much material that she feels she has to record everything she's written including her bad stuff or not so great stuff. (see dog coffee on the first album - ick.) but on this album, she managed to make her songs more succinct, sonically pleasurable, thicker, richer... it really rounded out all those amazing songs off her first two albums into songs that really mean something. I really recommend this album.

This was the first Ani CD I purchased and will always be special. It takes songs from her first 2 CD's and there isn't a bad one on here. Various styles from the spoken "Not So Soft" and "The Slant" [no-one can speak a song like Ani] to the gorgeous "Both Hands" It is unfair to pick out tracks but "Whole Night" makes me laugh & "Gratitude" is a cutting song. All Ani's songs have a story to tell and I for one will go on listening to her tales.

This album was a delight on first listening, and my adoration for it grows with every time I play the cd. "Both Hands" is especially moving. I recommend for a new fan of Ms. DiFranco's; it is a good collection of songs from those two years, and in my opinion, it was her peak musically.

I really enjoyed all the songs on the CD and think that even as I listen to it for the hundreth time i find it amazing.

This album, in my mind, ties with Dilate as Ani DiFranco's best album. It is a softer album, also with very insightful lyrics and good-quality guitar playing. A very good collection of Ani's earlier days. My favorite lyric on this album is "We're all rehearsing for the presidency. I've always wanted to be commander and cheif of my one-woman army." from Not So Soft. I feel that this album is a staple for all Ani DiFranco fans. Once you start listening to her music, you will be hooked.

I have several of Ani's cds but i don't think any of them manage to capture all the elements of who she is (musically, poetically etc) as well as Like I Said. It is amazing to juxtapose the recordings of the songs from her first cd and then on this one. I didn't even like Both Hands on the first Cd, but hearing this recording moved me to tears. This CD is should definately be the staple in your Ani collection

Well, if you've heard Ani doing the disco/ska thing on LPC, and heard her live on LIC (or stage if you're lucky), get a load of this! Early stuff, which raised Ani from the talented clubsinger to the talented well-known clubsinger she is today. Much blunter (but still very listenable) edge. Many tracks, much emotion, and a good smattering of politics. Personal favourite: Roll With It - should have had airtime during the Gulf War.

Ani Difranco is now the patron saint of artist who make it on their own. Through her copious energy and sheer strength of will, she has become a popular icon, a heroine and an inspiration to many.

But her success was not always assured. Back before the magazine covers, the duets with Prince, the sold-out shows and screaming fans, she was a struggling young artist with little chance of making it in the music industry. These songs are from that time period. And although not as polished or experimentally mixed as her later material, these songs show a raw passion in a young musician who wants, not to be liked, but to be respected. And over a decade later, the album still feels fresh and powerful.

Songs like "Anticipate", "Rush Hour", and "The Slant" show how she is able to experiment musically, using her voice and guitar in new ways to express strong emotions. Her abilites as a singer/songwriter/poet were firmly established by such lyrical works of art as "Not So Soft" and "Out of Habit". And lest anyone confuse her for a fluffy bit of entertainment, her bold political stances are made clear in "Gratitude", "Work Your Way Out", and nearly every other song to one degree or another.

Ani Difranco's later albums range from polished masterpieces to tired and mellow collections. She is now all grown up, married, having bucked the system and created her own. It's inspiring to see an artist change and grow and mellow, and yet never give up her principles. But sometimes it's exciting to peek back to the days when she had to work for every fan, when each tiny college concert meant one more day of having enough money to eat. These songs are from that time, and they're a joy to hear.

ani's best songwriting cropped up in the late 80s and early 90s, culminating with "like i said". it's too bad her fan base has gone teenybopper now (a bunch of 14-year-old self-proclaimed bisexuals who aren't gonna take it anymore 'til they get new cars), but it's nice sometimes to pop this 'un in and have a good listen. the songs on this album are pretty universal and after a decade, have withstood the test of time. this is one of those albums that doesn't get old. 's a classic, and it deserves a listen.