LIKE I SAID (SONGS 1990-91) info
(RBR005-D) 1993

For her fifth album, Ani re-worked many songs from her first two albums to include percussion and slight instrumental shadings. Ani's surer vocal delivery also adds more depth to material that may have seemed tentative. Tracks like Roll With It benefit the most from the re-workings (cool trumpet licks add accent) thanks to strong production and detailed space in the remakes. A cello adds nuance and shading to Work Your Way Out. She Says features subtle (!!) bagpipes. Talk To Me Now adds steady, beat-ready drumming, and while that night have spelt out certain doom for the words, the nuances are subtle enough to underscore and not over-ride. What emerges is a strong collection of songs, numbers Ani still performs at shows and concerts. Too subtle to be a "greatest hits" collection, it's a skilled attempt at broadening her fan base by recasting the earlier songs in a "younger" language. The first two albums had received limited distribution and attention came primarily from two camps: the folk community and women's right groups (specifically lesbian/gay communities). By recasting her earlier material in a "younger" sounding music, Ani's increasing fan-base (which, in all honesty, had always had college/university support as well) became acquainted with the past canon in a readily accessible fashion. For Ani, the time probably seemed right to revisit the past and give it the kind of lustre she may have wished it had originally. And as Ani increased the sound of her concerts to include the musicians she used as back-up singers, it only seemed natural to take a side trip down memory lane, as it were (thereby allowing the musicians to get a real hold on the older material). Yet the cover art comes from Ani's past: the serious folk singer holding a guitar as big as she is, kneeling in a room devoid of accoutrement and furniture. It's a stark, black and white photo that might have seemed to some (especially those from the folk community who had written her off) as a swan song of sorts. As if this part of her existence had come to an end and was being acknowledged with a funereal kind of send-off. But at the core of the release comes the strength of the material itself, resilient and elastic, announcing the coming of age of a singer in total control of her image and attitude. Whatever the reason for the release, it made good sense and continues to cast magic over the DiFranco catalog. ~ Raffaele Quirino