Ani DiFranco: To The Teeth : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

Ani DiFranco is one prolific babe. To the Teeth is the second solo album she released in 1999, and her eleventh solo studio LP. Where last January's Up Up Up Up Up Up was self-referential to the point of being claustrophobic, To the Teeth finds DiFranco exploring different voices - including a newfound sense of soul. There are classically political folk numbers, such as the title track, an apocalyptic anti-gun manifesto set to booming acoustic guitar. But there's also "Going Once,'' in which DiFranco morphs into a growling jazz singer, wrapping her powerful voice around sly phrasings while a low and smoky trumpet blows in the distance. On the turntable-scratching "Swing," the indie rabble-rouser slings slang with guest rapper Corey Parker. Then there's her dalliance with the Artist, who appears on the funky "Providence" to supply backup croons and the occasional love-sexy murmur. To the Teeth signals that DiFranco's frenetic productivity is more than a case of spinning in place. (RS 832)

NEVA CHONIN