To The Teeth - DiFranco, Ani (CD 1999)

to the teeth [1999] buried my hope that Ani DiFranco would play pure folk, which defined her earlier albums, for the vast majority of album again. However great diversity of her music and definite change in the themes of the songs implied higher meaning of Ani s creativity. Marriage and new band affected overall impression of the album. It seems like Ani is settled now and not angry anymore. Maybe though hopeless and very tired. If that made little sense, a bit of background. Ani is the chick that started her own label Righteous Babe at the age of 19, released one album each year since 1990,..

Ani is probably the most well-known independent singer in music history. Since 1990, she started her own label (Righteous Babe), build up a huge following due to word-of-mouth, and expanded her musical styles from folk to jazz to rock to funk. I discovered her last year with Not A Pretty Girl, I raved about how good it was and that I'll check out her other stuff. But I didn't check out her other stuff cause other artists took my interest and she had to wait. Earlier this year I picked up To The Teeth and at first I was very "eh" about it, but as usual I listen to it more and it grew on me. It.

The folksinger has evolved from a one-woman acoustic guitar army into a fully blossomed artist on her release, To The Teeth. For the first time ever, Ani DiFranco uses a full band for an entire album including instruments such as an upright bass, organ, drums, tuba, trumpet and flute. She has enlisted the help of various other musicians including Maceo Parker and the great purple one, Prince (or whatever name he s currently going by!). The result is a mature and introspective album that far surpasses my initial expectations. Ani became known for being a modern day folk singer--just her and...

I bought To the Teeth soon after its release and fell in love with its original melodies and stunning lyrics. I already had a few of Ani's other albums, but this is the one that made me want to complete my collection and buy the rest. I heard about the recent elementary school shooting, and I couldn't help but think of the title track on this CD; Ani's lyrics are often politically charged, but this one goes further and is all the more powerful in the wake of such a tragedy. Ani begins by declaring that people "confuse liberty with weaponry and watch [their] kids act it out." As the emotional..