Ani Difranco - Little Plastic Castle

As she's gone from the Young Woman Who Could to the Woman Who Has, Ani DiFranco has explored more than her share of musical styles, all the while remaining true to her core. Even during her most extreme departures, you could hear the sound of the early albums coming through. On Little Plastic Castle, an album on which people are credited for adding pontifications, incantations, and an "evil machine" to songs, you could--for the first time--hear an almost completely new artist. Call her Ani, version 3; she couldn't have existed without hearing all of Ani, version 1's albums, and she wouldn't be as funky and experimental without the influence of Ani, version 2. She still has a lot to say--about politics, about relationships, about herself--but the messages aren't thrown in your face here (well, not as often). Instead they're wrapped in funky hooks and lots of production--anything you learn from DiFranco on this album will come from pure repetition, and for the first time, the album is varied enough, catchy enough, and subtle enough that you'll push the repeat button while cleaning the house. --Randy Silver Amazon.com

 Another quasi-masterwork
3 1/2

DiFranco strives at creating consistent, edgy folk punk with a feminist slant, and although she has a distinguished career amongst her peers, has rarely created an album that engages full-throttle throughout. Little Plastic Castles is known as one of her stronger discs, and it does showcase her many talented styles of various acoustic alchemy with little effort. But only about half of the album's material truly stands the test of time, usually centering around DiFranco's excellent up-tempo numbers. Her talent for mesmerizing strum patterns in these songs simply outshines mid-tempo predictability coupled with (at times) strained vocals/lyrics or poetry-styled readings. February 18, 2008

 AWESOME!
Ani DiFranco is in my opinion the best female folk singer songwriter ever. If you haven't heard her this Cd is a great one to start with. It will open your eyes to a beautiful world. Her lyrics are so fabulous and thought provoking and the guitar is incredible. All music lovers should be educated about Ms. DiFranco, otherwise they do not know what they are missing! Check out a few choice songs on here AS IS being one of my favorites. The lyrics are incredible. Its really an amazing album. You just gotta give it a chance. January 21, 2008

 Still the one to beat
Like some others who've posted here, I'm not necessarily an Ani-holic, but I have huge respect for her honesty and integrity, and the way she ran her career from a completely outsider approach into what is now a time-honored creative dynasty. She's not someone I listen to constantly, but I return to her regularly for a fix of the kind of blunt and exhilarating earnestness she represents.

That being said, I've always felt that after a certain point she just made too damn many CDs, so that at times musically she covered the same ground again and again. Try making a compilation sometime of your favorite Ani songs and you'll realize quickly just how many have the same tempo, the same key, the same basic structure and feel but (and this is the difference that saves them) new thoughts in the lyrics.

But LITTLE PLASTIC CASTLE probably is the best combination of all of Ani's best instincts along with the greatest variety in style, tempo and overall musical creativity. She also achieved a kind of unusual level of spontanteous vocal excitement on this album where she sounds even more intense and exuberant than her usual standard (which is always pretty intense!).

For me, this album and IMPERFECTLY are her two finest efforts, although I love many things scattered throughout all the rest of the CDs. If you are not already an Ani fan, this CD may be the best way "in," since if you don't like this one, I can't imagine you could generate much affection for Ani, who is so exuberantly accessible here. December 8, 2005

 A fun, thoughtful, serious, and eye-opening album!!!
Background info before writing this review will probly help Ani fans reading it. I'm not an Ani fan in the sense of agreeing with all her messages and supporting the things she does. I am a fan, however, who admires her outspoken honesty. She knows exactly what she feels, thinks, and believes and isn't one bit afraid to put it out there & in your face. That takes guts, more power to her. This world we live in (especially this country, USA) could greatly benefit from exercising her unapologetic frankness.

This was the first album I got by Ani, and I have to say my favorite to date. Personally, I'm an eclectic & enjoy ALL music (I tend to stay mainstream [not Britney Spears-type, though], but enjoy many types of music). When I first heard Miss DiFranco, I was really quite turned off by her sound. A friend of mine had been playing her music in the car on our trips & activities, and I almost couldn't stomach it. She played Revelling/Reckoning, To The Teeth, Evolve, and probably Dilate. I just remember thinking "What is this???" Ani has a musical style all her own, very raw and real. I suppose my ears were just so used to sugar-sweet candy pop that I was somewhat disgusted. But even 'alternative' rock like death metal & all that don't have anything on her; she's got something that so many other artists, whether or not I like them, don't have.

Anyway, back to the task at hand: reviewing "Little Plastic Castle." I'm pretty sure the reason I like it so much is it is probably one of the more musically melodic albums she has out. What I mean is someone who is used to pop and things like that would probably do well to buy this CD as their first Ani album because it's closest to what they know. It's very effective in that way because it tunes the pop listner in by using sounds they can handle while presenting very deep messages and opinions that aren't so popular like the sound they are carried by.

Listening to number 1, the title track, really made me step back and think how boring things can get as far as the music industry and TV, etc. Some lyrics from that song are: "In a coffe shop / in a city / which is every coffe shop / in every city / on a day which is every day / I pick up a magazine / which is every magazine / read a story and forget it right away" She has a very good point here about how the media (TV, radio, movies, newspapers, magazines, etc) train us to know what is 'normal,' and keep spoonfeeding us those stereotypes.

The lyrics to song 2, "Fuel," are hard-hitting & heavy. They talk about racism (slavery), politics, and many other things. It's a very good song to sit & ponder because at the end of it she sums all of her scenarios up by describing them each one as "a fire just waiting for fuel." One of my favorites!

Track 5 is good, "Two Little Girls." It's sad and dark but it's a good listen, it compells me all the way through each time.

I reccomend this CD highly because it helped me break out of the pop mindset, even though I was eclectic I never really understood how narrowminded I was musically (as well as politically, etc). Go for it! Do your best swan dive into the bold, bold world of Ani DiFranco. August 1, 2004

 Different and Not to be missed
This was Ani DiFranco's first really synthesized, fancily-produced album. And it's a whole different world from the style she was known for before this. Listening to this is definitely like being introduced to a whole new artist. There are more electronics, more experimental song styles, and even her voice has changed a little -- it's a tad raspier.

The lyrics are still just as good -- but don't buy it expecting the old Ani ... you have to love it as something completely new.

And I DID love it!

The songs are made not more watery, but more powerful by the elaborate compositions. The topics capture so many sides of life -- from the pretty to the dark.

One song urges rude people to "just suck up and be nice".

Another song, whose entire atmosphere tells of a desperate hour proclaims, "If you think you know what I'm doing wrong, you're gonna have to get in line."

GRAVEL has a catchy, hardcore beat and really gets across the humor in having an ex that you just seem to keep taking back, no matter what he does.

And it all leads up to the climax -- the final song -- that is more of a hypnotic symphony than a song. It only has a few spoken words -- the rest it says in its swaying rhythm -- but it is absolutely powerful. An expected pinnacle.

The first song or two on the album are just warm-ups. Skip past them to really delve into the riches of this outstanding record.

This album is not to be missed by anyone who likes true-to-the-heart, poignant, powerful experimental music. June 18, 2004

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