OUT OF RANGE info
(RBR006-D) 1994

By 1994, Ani's career had settled into a winning groove as concerts took her to larger venues and a higher profile on the alternative circuit brought higher sales, especially of the like sounding three albums IMPERFECTLY, PUDDLE DIVE, and OUT OF RANGE marks the first time Ani and engineer Ed Stone worked outside of Buffalo. The album was recorded at 1:2:1 Recording Studios in Toronto with final mastering occurring at The Lacquer Channel in the Toronto suburb of Scarborough. Ani designed the album art and Scot Fisher contributed photos. Ani hands out heart-felt thank yous on the album, giving due acknowledgment to Dale Anderson, the people at Fleming/Tamulevich (her booking agency), and her parents, among others.

      The album is a sure-footed traverse across rockier terrain, both lyrical and musical. The themes are direct, unflinching and uncompromising, while the pop music is muscular, detailed, fine-tooled, and emotional. Over the course of its twelve tracks, the listener (especially the listener familiar with previous releases) feels that there is a sense of fulfilment about OUT OF RANGE. The narrow strip of road photographed on the front cover might seem like a narrow path ahead, but the voice, music, and production aspire to deep introspection. On OUT OF RANGE, Ani achieves just that.

      The album features two versions of the title track, one acoustic, the other electric. Maybe it was the Neil Young (My My Hey Hey) influence that led to recast the song in this fashion. Yet the album seems a trifle too sure of itself, too comfortable with the folk-trappings and her standard themes. While OUT OF RANGE has much of the same musical muscle as PUDDLE DIVE and IMPERFECTLY, it doesn't have the stark, alternative-music look and sound of NOT A PRETTY GIRL, DILATE, and LITTLE PLASTIC CASTLE (or UPX6 for that matter). The songs have an air of finality about them, with a suggestion that the cocoon had been ruptured and something altogether different was emerging. Ani would re-invent herself on NOT A PRETTY GIRL a year later. ~ Raffaele Quirino