LITTLE PLASTIC CASTLE info
(RBR012-D) 1998

For LITTLE PLASTIC CASTLE, Ani and Andy returned to Texas and The Congress House studio with the team of Marty Lester, Mark Hallman, and Bob Doidge in full tow. Ani had previously performed Gravel (which appeared on LIVING IN CLIP) and Independence Day in concert before finally committing them to a studio-recorded release. Her touring band, dubbed The Traveling Circus, appear on many of the tracks. Present with Mr. DiFranco are Jason Mercer on bass, Andy Stochansky (yet again) on drums, John Mills on baritone ska, Gary Slechta on trumpet, Jon Blondell on trombone, Sara Lee on bass, studio drummer Jerry Marotta, Andy the Goat Boy himself on pump organ, and ambient trumpet legend Jon Hassell. As usual, Ani and Adam Sloan handled lay-out duties, while the computer generation "tomfoolery" was courtesy of Albert Sanchez.

      Criticis were quick to praise LITTLE PLASTIC CASTLE as a work of full-bodied instrumentation and direct emotional power, a far cry from Ani's "just a guitar and l'il ol' me" beginnings. The playfulness of the album's graphics is reflected in the singer's sure-voiced lyrics and music, more so than on any other album. The band sounds full, warm, and comfortable with one another. The ensemble performances are filled with taut compassion, and the word-play is steeped in images, atmospheres, and colored hues not heard on any of Ani's previous albums. One has to peel back the layers of thought here to get at the kernels of truth. The lyrics are less transparent, more complex. ~ Raffaele Quirino