Ani DiFranco: Educated Guess : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

There are several things ani DiFranco does well: She's determinedly independent, she has a wholly appropriate streak of righteous indignation, and she's got a ripping voice, able to give depth to even the most awkward, improbable lyrics. "I know men are delicate origami creatures/Who need women to unfold them," she sings on "Origami." On Educated Guess, which DiFranco wrote, produced, recorded and mixed entirely on her own, this awkward, improbable tendency goes unchecked, as does DiFranco's penchant for jarring arrangements ("Swim," "You Each Time"). When she's not trying so hard, she shines, as on the jazzy "Bliss Like This" and "Bodily," as stark a song as DiFranco has written. Even "Animal," a harsh indictment of American society, is rendered elegantly enough to let its words have the proper effect. jon caramanica

JON CARAMANICA
(RS 944, March 18, 2004)