Imperfectly

Ani DiFranco

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 26, 1994)
• Original Release Date: 1992
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Righteous Babe
• ASIN: B0000058MI
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #8,392 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #5 in	Music > Indie Music > Alternative Rock > Singer Songwriters
  #6 in	Music > Indie Music > Folk > Contemporary Folk
  #9 in	Music > Alternative Rock > New Wave & Post-Punk > Urban Folk

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

It's only by looking back on Imperfectly, Ani DiFranco's third album that we're able to see how far she's come. It's also easy to see where she came from. At this point, DiFranco was still enough of a traditional folkie to stick a political sentiment like "She sits there like America / Suffering through slow reform" into a personal song that deals with abuse ("Fixing Her Hair"). Similarly, on many songs she sounds as though if she's already come to terms with her sexuality, then she hasn't yet come to terms with the way society deals with it. But she also demonstrates that she's figuring out how to use her voice, charisma, affected delivery, and the chance to play around in the studio on the a cappellas "Every State Line" and "Coming Up." There's also the tender, impassioned tracks ("The Waiting Song," "Served Faithfully"), which DiFranco's never had a short supply of--and never been less than moving on. --Randy Silver

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My favorite Ani CD, July 5, 1999

By A Customer

This is a good start-off point for a new fan, I think. It's my favorite of all of her work. Songs like "If it Isn't Her" and "What if No One's Watching" are just wonderful. Some of Ani's best one liners are on this album too, like "It's bad to have eyes like neon signs/ Flashing open open open open open open open open open all the time." The title track, "Imperfectly" is a song to live by, a song that tells us that some of the most beautiful things are imperfect. Buy this album. Really, you won't regret it. And then go out and get the rest of the Ani DiFranco albums.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars More hard-hitting, soul-searching melodies, June 17, 2004

By	bethtexas (United States) - See all my reviews

Once you've got NOT A PRETTY GIRL, it's time to get IMPERFECTLY.

This is another hard-hitting, melodic, but deeply honest set of songs you can't live without.

It's got some political, like "Make Them Apologize" which pulls no punches and "In or Out", which could basically be the official bisexual anthem. It's got the occasional existential crisis when the opening track asks, "What if no one's watching? What if when we're dead, we are just dead?"

And for anybody who thinks of Ani as being mainly a political singer, songs like SERVED FAITHFULLY remind us that she can write a deeply personal love song like nobody's business. In fact, when she writes one, it's MORE romantic than average, because it lacks corny platitudes.

As usual, her voice is fantastic and her guitar is slamming.

Don't miss the title track, IMPERFECTLY, which declares, "We don't look like the cover of a magazine, but that's all right."

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars diverse, beautiful, and original - typical ani., July 6, 2001

By	"pencilcactus3" (MA, usa) - See all my reviews

imperfectly is definitely one of my favorite ani albums. she explores an incredible range of music and you are exposed to many different sides of her, yet she still maintains the style of music we all know, expect, and love. "imperfectly" starts out with what if no one's watching, which contains some of my favorite lyrics of all time: "we have to be able to criticize what we love, say what we have to say, cuz if you're not trying to make something better than as far as i can tell you are just in the way..." so i love that song, great up beat tune. next, fixing her hair is a moody melodic ballad that is a real heartwrencher. in or out is also one of my favorites, incredible guitar and wonderfu lyrics.every state line isnt' one of my favorites but i like the a capella style and hope to see more of it. circle of light is also a great tune, reminds me a little bit of in or out. good guitar on this one too. if it isn't her is one of my favorites on the album, great everything. good bad ugly has become one of my picks for best ani songs. part of it will ring true in your life, i guarantee. i'm no heroine i sometimes end up overlooking, but i recently was listening to it and the lyrics are entirely original and inspiring. coming up, another one of ani's spoken poems, is beautiful. take a deep breath after you listen to this one - it's seriously intense. and then make them apologize is also a great song for revengeful moods. .... the waiting song is hands down the most beautiful on the album - you'll get hooked instantaneously. and served faithfully stands out because of the incredible melody and the violin used in the background, it's extremely poignant. imperfectly, the last track, is definitely one of my favorites. the lyrics, and the way they mesh with the guitar makes this an incredible song. overall, i'd say don't start with this cd if you haven't heard ani before, it's appreciated more when you can compare it to a cd like not so soft. it's a wonderful diverse album, i recommend it to any ani fan.