ani difranco Educated Guess (Righteous Babe) Rating: NNnN
Rating: NNNN
As someone who was never sold on the divine Ms D.’s Maceo Parker- and Prince-assisted noodly jazz-funk explorations, I’m thrilled to see her return to form on the mature, introspective Educated Guess. Recorded in old shacks in New Orleans and Buffalo, DiFranco’s 14th studio album is Ani: Unplugged, all stripped-down steel string acoustic guitars and quiet atmospherics that recall the best moments of Dilate and Little Plastic Castle. With a tone that’s sombre but not whiny, DiFranco’s replaced her tumultuous righteous rage with a more “personal is political” stance that strikes a deeper chord than any didacticism ever could.
