Detailed item info | Track listing | 1. Little Plastic Castle
2. Fuel
3. Gravel
4. As Is
5. Two Little Girls
6. Deep Dish
7. Loom
8. Pixie
9. Swan Dive
10. Glass House
11. Independence Day
12. Pulse
| | Details | | Contributing artists: | Jon Hassell, Sara Lee | | Producer: | Ani DiFranco | | Distributor: | E1 Distribution (USA) | | Recording type: | Studio | | Recording mode: | Stereo | | SPAR Code: | n/a |
| | Album notes | Personnel: Ani Di Franco (vocals, acoustic, electric, tenor & baritone guitars, concertina, keyboards, bass pedals, drums, percussion); Jason Mercer (vocals, acoustic & electric basses); Andy Stochansky (vocals, drums, talking drum); John Mills (saxophone, baritone saxophone); Gary Slechta, Jon Hassel (trumpet); Jon Blondell (trombone); Andrew Gilchrist (pump organ); Sara Lee (bass); Jerry Marotta (drums); Mark Hallman, Pat Martin Bradley (spoken vocals).
"Glass House" was nominated for the 1999 Grammy Award for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance.
One-woman cottage industry DiFranco remains true to her cause on her eleventh album (she's a seasoned vet at 28!). Still steadfastly independent, LITTLE PLASTIC CASTLES, like all her previous releases, is available only through her own Righteous Babe label, as DiFranco wards off the majors who offer to make her what she already is; The Next Big Thing. Fans of the female acoustic songwriter gestalt who are too smart for Alanis and too cool for Patty Larkin will find reason to rejoice in this album.
While DiFranco's lyrics still focus on personal politics and modern societal ills, there are expansive touches added to the arrangements of many songs here. "Deep Dish" and several others benefit from some well-placed horn stabs, and pump organ, concertina and talking drum all make appearances. Despite upping the instrumental ante, though, DiFranco's (naturally) self-production remains uncluttered, getting to the heart of her very personal observations.
| | Editorial reviews | 3.5 Stars (out of 5) - ...a clever, thoughtful, relatively quiet record that gets better with every spin....[DiFranco] strums a smart guitar....As usual, her versatile vocal tool is used to great effect, and her grand metaphor-making is in full force...
Rolling Stone (03/05/1998)
8 (out of 10) - ...An itinerant folkie more concerned with spontaneous mementos than lasting monuments, she cranks out music like that other pixie androgyne contrarian, the Artist. But like his recent work, DiFranco's compositions shine more as personality vehicles than actual songs...
Spin (03/01/1998)
...offers a good example of why she's compelling and confounding; as the melody sweeps you along, you find yourself giving in to her....This may not be your cup of, uh, tea, but she's definately an original.
Option (03/01/1998)
3.5 Stars (out of 5) - ...a clever, thoughtful, relatively quiet record that gets better with every spin....[DiFranco] strums a smart guitar....As usual, her versatile vocal tool is used to great effect, and her grand metaphor-making is in full force...Spin (3/98, p.130) - 8 (out of 10) - ...An itinerant folkie more concerned with spontaneous mementos than lasting monuments, she cranks out music like that other pixie androgyne contrarian, the Artist. But like his recent work, DiFranco's compositions shine more as personality vehicles than actual songs...Option (3-4/98, p.83) - ...offers a good example of why she's compelling and confounding; as the melody sweeps you along, you find yourself giving in to her....This may not be your cup of, uh, tea, but she's definately an original.
Rolling Stone (03/05/1998)
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