Ani Difranco - Reprieve

This is Ani Difranco's 18th record in 16 years, and that's not even counting her two collaborations with folk singer/storyteller Utah Phillips, the tribute to Woody Guthrie she produced and released on her own label, and the countless collaborations and contributions she's made to other artists' work – Janis Ian, Dar Williams, and Bruce Cockburn, to name a few. It’s also one of the most highly anticipated of her career, given the near-year she took off after injuring her wrists in 2005.

Difranco has never been shy stylistically. She's touched on traditional and contemporary folk music. She's covered Bob Dylan and Phil Ochs. She's explored jazz and the blues, and even commanded her way through a highly effective rap number.

Many of her fans-from-the-start have reluctantly turned away from her last couple of records, as her staunch political left-leaning and feminist ideals have taken a back seat to relationships in much of her songwriting. But if there's any spark of interest still hanging on in their hearts, they'll no doubt revel in the long-awaited return of their Righteous Babe.

I'm not sure why this has become such an issue among Ani Difranco's fan base in the last few years. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that they were introduced to her in a highly charged, politically frustrating time in her art. The last couple of records have been pretty much consumed with musings about failed relationships and trying to transcend it all.

Reprieve still has a little of that, including the opening song, "Hypnotized," which is less defeated and more wistful. By the third song, Difranco has moved on to singing a love song to a bird of prey; and, two songs later, is fiercely ripping the institution of celebrity, and all things that agree with it.

"Millenium Theatre" is perhaps the most scathing song on the record, politically. Attacking everything from the Bush administration spin on 9/11 to the economy and environment, Difranco sings about "... trickle down pollution, patriarchies realigned ... while the ice caps melt, New Orleans bides her time."

This is followed by a melodically up-beat number with more somber lyrics, indicating that she hasn’t entirely left her introspective period: "Show me a moment that is mine, it's beauty blinding and unsurpassed / and I'll forget all those moments that ... left me so half-hearted."

Then, it's back to the sadness of today's world situation, and a re-invigorating poem/speech touting Difranco's stance on the vitality of feminism. If that's still not enough of Difranco's eloquently poignant political rants, "A Spade" comes in unapologetically toward the end of the record with the challenge: "Are you up to the task of changing the course of human history at long last?"

What’s so fantastic about this album is not that it’s a total departure for Ani Difranco. Critics and fans alike tend to ooh and ah when they watch her venturing off into uncharted territory. But this time, the little folksinger returned to what she’s always done best – just playing guitar well and singing good songs.

Sure, some of them are looking back on love gone wrong, and others are harping on the powers that be for making regretable decisions in the name of their fellow citizens. What’s most remarkable here, though, is that Difranco has shed the fluff and put out an album that’s just replete with songs you can believe in.

Highlights from Ani Difranco - Reprieve:

"Hypnotized"
"Decree"
"In the Margins"
"Half-Assed"
"A Spade"