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Editorial Reviews
Review
"...a dazzling folk/punk/jazz hybrid." -- Paste.com
"...celebratory and joyous..." -- Buffalo News, September 21, 2008
"...lush and elegantly recorded... . It is among DiFranco's best records... one of the only singer/songwriter albums to really push the envelope in new directions in 2008." -- Allmusic.com
"Feminism, strength, individuality and introspection all come through... But it seems some of the room in her writing that was reserved for political and societal anger has been taken up by the happiness she's found..." -- Associated Press, September 29, 2008
"a 12-track festival of folk, rock, and funk tied together by her sharply astute lyricism and wit. ...gorgeous." -- PopMatters.com, September 29, 2008
"...celebratory and joyous..." -- Buffalo News, September 21, 2008
"...lush and elegantly recorded... . It is among DiFranco's best records... one of the only singer/songwriter albums to really push the envelope in new directions in 2008." -- Allmusic.com
"Feminism, strength, individuality and introspection all come through... But it seems some of the room in her writing that was reserved for political and societal anger has been taken up by the happiness she's found..." -- Associated Press, September 29, 2008
"a 12-track festival of folk, rock, and funk tied together by her sharply astute lyricism and wit. ...gorgeous." -- PopMatters.com, September 29, 2008
Product Description
Prolific feminist singer-songwriter Ani DiFranco began performing at the age of nine, establishing her independence by living on her own from the age of 15 onwards. Literate, ebullient and a natural live performer, she quickly won converts drawn equally from Folk and Rock audiences. Her debut album confirmed this promise, its lyrics informed by feminist theory but never subsumed by rhetoric or preciousness. As she told Billboard magazine in 1995: `It`s not like I have an agenda in my music. It`s just that to me, the world is political. Politics is music - is life! That`s the lens I look through.` 12 tracks.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
25 of 27 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
I've been a die-hard Ani fan for 12 years. I buy each album she puts out without question, and will probably consider to do so, hoping she will shock and awe me as she once did in the days of Dilate and Little Plastic Castles.
Red Letter Year seems to be at the bottom of a downhill slide that started when she began playing with the voice-synthesizer and instrumentals. So much of Red Letter Year has been so overly-synthesized that you can barely hear her voice, much less make out what she's saying. Sure, some of it rings through, and you get those wonderfully Ani lyrics, but, despite much searching, I can hardly find anything here that reminds me of why I love her.
Normally, I find one or two (or three or four) songs per album that I replay incessently for weeks and months on end. There's nothing here that made me want to listen to the CD more than once. I am saddened by it, but hope that Ani will make a comeback with something more relevent, something more "ani", for her old, diehard fans.
Red Letter Year seems to be at the bottom of a downhill slide that started when she began playing with the voice-synthesizer and instrumentals. So much of Red Letter Year has been so overly-synthesized that you can barely hear her voice, much less make out what she's saying. Sure, some of it rings through, and you get those wonderfully Ani lyrics, but, despite much searching, I can hardly find anything here that reminds me of why I love her.
Normally, I find one or two (or three or four) songs per album that I replay incessently for weeks and months on end. There's nothing here that made me want to listen to the CD more than once. I am saddened by it, but hope that Ani will make a comeback with something more relevent, something more "ani", for her old, diehard fans.
21 of 24 people found the following review helpful
By K. Gallagher
Format:Audio CD
I was always crazy about Ani's solo work, going back to the early 90's, but I have always regretted her decision to try to develop a full band -- the amazing qualities of her musicianship and songs never translated to an upright bass, terrible horns, and marginal rotating bandmates. However, the new album achieves some awesome heights, particularly the tracks 'Red Letter Year', 'Alla This', and 'Smiling Underneath'. Her signature percussive guitar attack is all but gone, but I think she finally may have found a sound with her band. The drums are extraordinary throughout, and some very interesting effects/sounds pepper many of the songs. However, even more so than the improvements in the band, Ani's voice has reached an incredible maturity. In many songs, there's a simple (yet very strong) sweetness to it, and very seldom do you hear the overly-affected vocal tremolo that has marred her singing style on the last few albums. If you take away the inexplicably horrible final track (which sounds like a bunch of drunk high school band castoffs trying very unsuccessfully to sound "fun"), this album is truly a treat. Highly recommended, especially for those who may have been avoiding her recent albums due to the reduction of the visceral results of her and her acoustic guitar. Great job Ani!!
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Ani Difranco relocated from Buffalo to New Orleans, and this has clearly had a profound effect on her writing and musical style. And at all that (plus having become a mom) hasn't stopped Ani from continuing to be the prolific writer that she's always been. This is Ani's 18th proper studio album (never mind the many live albums and compilations).
"Red Letter Year" (12 tracks, 47 min.) brings a renewed focus from Ani. After a disappointing opening title track (yes, we get it, you don't like Bush) that is simply not interesting musically, the album kicks into gear with "Alla This", which immediately brings forward the influence of New Orleans and the Louisiana music underground. The album features plenty of horns and other brass music, and Ani makes the best of it. There remain of course several tracks of more traditional Ani songs, sparse, with acoustic guitars (such as on "Star Matter"). One of my favorite tracks is "The Atom", a beautiful pensive tune with such lines as "I had a great great uncle who worked on the atomic bomb/He got a nobel price in physics and a place in this song", hehe. The album closer is an instrumental reprise of the title track, a full brass all-out re-interpretation, just beautiful.
In all, "Red Letter Year" is a most welcome addition to the rich Ani Difranco catalog. I saw Ani in concert earlier this year at the Langerado festival in South Florida, and she brought a tremendous set, playing many of the classics along with a couple tracks from this album (which by then was not out yet).
"Red Letter Year" (12 tracks, 47 min.) brings a renewed focus from Ani. After a disappointing opening title track (yes, we get it, you don't like Bush) that is simply not interesting musically, the album kicks into gear with "Alla This", which immediately brings forward the influence of New Orleans and the Louisiana music underground. The album features plenty of horns and other brass music, and Ani makes the best of it. There remain of course several tracks of more traditional Ani songs, sparse, with acoustic guitars (such as on "Star Matter"). One of my favorite tracks is "The Atom", a beautiful pensive tune with such lines as "I had a great great uncle who worked on the atomic bomb/He got a nobel price in physics and a place in this song", hehe. The album closer is an instrumental reprise of the title track, a full brass all-out re-interpretation, just beautiful.
In all, "Red Letter Year" is a most welcome addition to the rich Ani Difranco catalog. I saw Ani in concert earlier this year at the Langerado festival in South Florida, and she brought a tremendous set, playing many of the classics along with a couple tracks from this album (which by then was not out yet).
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Purchased as a Gift
I was looking for a birthday gift for my friend and Amazon suggestions popped up for her. This was one of them. She was very happy - listens to it all the time. Read more
Published 15 days ago by dmcallahan
5.0 out of 5 stars
impresionante!
Este disco de Ani DiFranco es realmente el mejor disco que ha sacado en mucho años, las composiciones son brillantes, los arreglos muy acertados y la produccion es... Read more
Published 2 months ago by M. B. Marin
1.0 out of 5 stars
big Ani fan, but...
I love Ani. Several of my most-played songs on iTunes are Ani songs. But this album... I hate to give Ani one star, but I thought this album was horrible. Read more
Published 16 months ago by J.T.
1.0 out of 5 stars
Shoot the engineer!!!!
The engineer, producer & artist need new ears!!! Either that or need new mixing speakers that give you a real idea of the mixes!!! Read more
Published 22 months ago by Mr. Mike
5.0 out of 5 stars
Haters be hatin'
I still find it remarkable how so many music "critics" are really just a bunch of pigeon-holing(if that's a word) closed-minded clowns when it comes to their so-called favorite... Read more
Published on April 3, 2011 by Creole Joe
1.0 out of 5 stars
Still hate it
Personally, I can't see how anyone can not notice the difference between early- and mid-era Ani, and this. The poetry has gone, the easy facility with words. The insight. Read more
Published on March 16, 2011 by retrocheeky
4.0 out of 5 stars
Still Ani...With a Softer Side
Like many albums previous, Red Letter Year again leads us into a world where vivid lyrics transform into poetry and the songs as a whole seem like they were sung for only those... Read more
Published on October 22, 2010 by Lucy Tonic
5.0 out of 5 stars
Give it time.
This wasn't love at first listen like other, more predictable Ani of yesteryear.
However, I like it. In fact, Alla This is by far my favorite song of all time. Read more
However, I like it. In fact, Alla This is by far my favorite song of all time. Read more
Published on May 3, 2010 by Kate
5.0 out of 5 stars
An arrival!
Taken with permission [...] Michael Devlin, Editor
Much of DiFranco's catalogue is autobiographic, so being a fan of Ani is somewhat of a serial experience. Read more
Much of DiFranco's catalogue is autobiographic, so being a fan of Ani is somewhat of a serial experience. Read more
Published on January 15, 2010 by M. Devlin
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not the Ani Difranco I remember...
Well, I was pleasantly surprised to find a free Ani Difranco download, but after my first listen of this track I have to say I'm pretty disappointed. Read more
Published on December 4, 2009 by M. Annabi
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