Educated Guess

2004年初，DiFranco发行了她的新专辑《Educated Guess》，事实上这张专辑也是她的乐迷们等了很久的一张回归之作，它重新回到了最初的根源上：歌词、吉他以及完全自由的演奏和歌唱，是DiFranco自己用八轨机制作的DIY作品。但不能忽视的一个重点就是，回归并不意味着退步，从一开始DiFranco就是个喜欢冒险的家伙，《Educated Guess》也是纯粹的DiFranco味道，她把节奏上的创新与旋律平衡的非常巧妙，听Ani DiFranco的音乐，总是会想到爱恨分明的女孩形象，她绝不吝惜负心人，却也老是在情海中跌得一身伤痕。 而最奇妙的是，这样的女孩到头来还是能够拨弄和弦，轻松记录自己的伤疤。谈自己的恋人、暗恋的对象、潜意识的恐惧、等待的焦虑、闲散时光的都市风景…… by Adrian Zupp Few indie artists (or "mainstream" artists, for that matter) can rival the body of work of radical folkster Ani DiFranco. Without the backing of a major label (or seeking it), DiFranco has gone her own way at every fork in the road and proven herself to be an inspiring creative force. With her provocative views, sardonic wit, and poetic acumen, she's an antiestablishment jugular biter with a sweet smile. Unfortunately, Educated Guess will likely be a mild disappointment to DiFranco's legion of faithful supporters. About as solo as an album can be -- DiFranco wrote, played, sang, and produced everything -- it's a tribute to her talent and industry. But DiFranco is a rare -- and authentic -- stylist who has set the bar very high for herself and, compared with landmark discs like Not a Pretty Girl and the live So Much Shouting, So Much Laughter, Educated Guess comes off as a little uninspiring. Yes, the canny wordsmithing and busy guitar work are here: proficiency of execution is not the problem. But from a listener's point of view, many of the tracks bog down. Composition convolutions turn in on themselves rather than shoot upward and outward. Ani has taken her penchant for spastic rhythm collages to the farthest point of the pendulum swing at the cost of melody and flow. If that's the record DiFranco wanted to make, who can dispute her right to do so? But whether that will translate to a keen collective-audience ear is another matter. In a sense, DiFranco is the consummate musical experimentalist, and that's a hit-and-miss game. But it's also the key to greener pastures, new ideas, and fresh musical territory. And that's the primary virtue of Educated Guess: a decent but not spectacular album that, not for the first time, finds DiFranco on her way to somewhere else.