Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best of later-period Ani, 4 Feb 2004
The gradual transition from Ani the politically-minded folk singer to Ani the more broad-ranging musician is captured best on _Little Plastic Castle_. _Not a Pretty Girl_ and _Dilate_ began the process, but LPC displays considerable more variety than either of them in terms of style, tone, and subject matter. Both vocals and power chords are a little more reined-in here than in the previous two albums. Instead, LPC showcases some of the best melding of folk writing and larger-scale musical arrangments in her back catalogue. Nor do jazz stylings dominate as they do later, although meandering (mostly) instrumental 'Pulse' may be too much for some listeners.What you think of this will likely depend upon your Ani preferences, but for me this is by far the most consistent and compelling of her later albums. It isn't without its misfires - no Ani album is - but in tracks like 'Two Little Girls', it contains some of her most personal and captivating (and heartbreaking) writing to date.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Ani at her best..., 22 Jul 2004
Despite the fact that Ani is classed by many to be one of the best songwriters of our time, she is still somewhat of an acquired taste. It is due to this that I find it difficult to introduce her music to people. 'Little Plastic Castle' is just the bridge that can help people cross over to 'ani-land'. As always, it is crammed full of wit, intelligence, anger and honesty.....but it is an altogether more coherent version of Ani's talent. I would reccommmend this album to anyone who is making their first Ani purchase, or to anyone who has found Ani's other albums difficult to connect with. I promise you that, once you listen to LPCs, you'll be searching out more material from this unrelenting and pure talent.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Love it!, 21 May 2006
I am very new to Ani's music and am very happy that I didn't wait a minute longer.
I introduced myself to Ani's huge catalogue via her latest album "Knuckle Down", a record which combines sublime lyricism with beautiful acoustics. Little Plastic Castle - whilst a very different record - again contains these two qualities in abundance.
My biggest difficulty with this album is that it's sometimes hard to get to the end of it...because you keep wanting to listen to the opening tracks time and time again. The simply fabulous title track is quickly followed by a pair of perfectly juxtaposed songs. "Gravel" and "As Is" belong together, the former with its driving acoustics, the latter a beautifully performed ballad and the moment when I can honestly say that I had fallen for the DiFranco voice. "Two Little Girls", is a tale of impending tragedy paradoxically wrapped up in a seriously catchy tune.
If you can get beyond these amazing tracks, there are still untold treats in store, possibly the biggest of which is "Swandive". On first listen, I'd just enjoyed "Loom" and "Pixie" but I was totally blown away by "Swandive", possibly the most beautiful performance I'd heard in years. By the time Ani had related her "vision of blue sky and dry land", the last thing I expected was the vocal power of "Glass House". From the confident person striding out in the title track, Ani has suddenly become frightened, besieged and insecure. She tries to convince herself and her attacker(s) that "for the purposes of this song, let's just say I'm doing fine" and the soaring vocals that conclude the song leave you feeling that she will most definitely prevail.
By the time of the penultimate song, "Independence Day", Ani is pleading for some stability, that "you can't leave me here, now that you're back you'd better stay this time", a theme continued ("keep holding, let's just stay here") in the fourteen minute minute mesmerising chill-out of "Pulse".
The album comes with a flyer of Ani's previous 13 albums headed "and just in case one wasn't enough..." If this album is any kind of marker, it most certainly isn't.
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