I've been a fan of Ani for years, and this album is a definite landmark. It's jazzy, funky, latin, folky, fantastic. If you're gonna give it a try, I recommend listening to it a number of times to really fall into it. Like a lot of her albums, it takes repeat listening to appreciate the depth of the music, and this album especially can be very subtle in its texture. Listen to the sample tracks a coupla times (I just *love* Slide), but my three very favorite songs don't even have samples (Here For Now, Phase, and Serpentine). Go to Ani's website at righteousbabe.com to listen to more tracks.
If you've never listened to Ani before, I recommend this one for her mellower jazzier stuff, 'Dilate' for her [ticked]-off, righteous, rockin' girl power, and 'Little Plastic Castle' for fun upbeat tunes that are easier to appreciate on the first listen.

When buying the newest offering from the little folksinger, you�ll find yourself winding around her songs with parabolic strides. Starting by only seeing a couple of intriguing pieces, you will cautiously twist around the intricacies of Ms. Difranco�s art, and then find you've discovered more gold in the pan with each successive listen. Hear it once and you�ll discover 'Slide' and 'Evolve'. Listen twice and 'Second Intermission' and 'Shrug' will have nestled comfortably into your subconscious. Listen three times and something pungent and overwhelming starts to happen. The previously inconsequential melodies (although classic Ani) seem to start the task of unburying themselves from the layers of elaboration in which they are wrapped. By your fifth or sixth time through you start to wonder whether or not this might be the most original album of recorded music you�ve heard in a decade. And by your second day, when you haven�t turned off the cd player for 32 hours straight, you are quite sure that genius is buried within the simple iridescent cover.

There is more in this one little album, in terms of poetry, lyricism, rhythm, melody, justice, passion, intellect, and groove � than you will find in any thousand albums randomly chosen in a store. While I admit I hail from the more fanatical end of the spectrum when it comes to Ani, there is no denying that this woman�s fingers are exceptionally skilled at their practice, that her left brain and right worked in a lyrical symbiosis when composing these 12 poems, that her songs have a palpable affect on your surroundings. It takes many fans a few years to really appreciate her music, and, likewise, it will probably take you a few full listens until it is clear how incredible this body of work really is.

Appreciating this album is difficult; there are no easy hooks here, no obviously loopable clips. Die-hard fans, poets, and appreciators of Jeff Buckley, Joni Mitchell and spoken word will love this album, but I�m guessing that a lot of other people will have difficulty. Believe me when I say that, if you put in the effort (of listening, repeatedly, of paying close attention), there are few musical works this year that will be more worth it. The ratio of brilliant moments is excessive for any single album. How many other artists do you know who can use the word �exoskull� in a song like the title track, and sing lyrics like �I walk in stride with people/much taller than me/and partly it�s my boots/but mostly it�s my chi� with a breathy twang that has enough rhythm in it for Motown? Or how about the last minute of 'Oh My My' when you�re sure you�re listening to Patsy Kline? From the whispery jazz in the beginning of 'Shrug' to the flamenco inspired rapid fire of 'Here for Now' to the tight cooperative groove of' Slide', the sheer musicality of these creations will inspire anyone who has played an instrument, and will overwhelm those who know the level of work it takes to play them well. Simply put, an impressive contribution from the most righteous babe of them all.

This is my one desert island cd from here on out. I�m telling you, genius.

This is my first Ani Difranco cd. At best I have a pedestrian knowledge of her music, so I have really no idea how this compares to any of her previous recordings. Now that that's taken care of, this is an AMAZING cd. The line she walks between jazz, rock and folk is so thin that you really can't label it. The folk/funk and rock/jazz combinations are so incredibly good that even non-Ani Difranco followers like myself have no choice but to take notice. She is the real deal. Incredible voice, incredible music, incredible songs. At this point I'm not ready to single out any particular tunes as choice cuts, and even if I were this cd is meant to be listened to as a whole (you simply cannot skip over any tracks, it's THAT good). Get this cd and hear what I'm talking about.

Obviously, I'm quite a huge Ani fan- but it is without bias that I say- THIS IS AN AMAZING ALBUM! If you are an avid Ani fan, than I'm sure you've seen as well as I, her subtle transition from folk to jazz, and Evolve melts both together and even adds in a touch of latin flavor. If you're a first time Ani fan, I would suggest going back and starting from the beginning (self-titled) to see it for yourself, but either way, it's definately worth your while. This album is fun, melodic, politically driven, inspired and just a dang good listen. Evolving is precisely what Ani is doing and we all get to benefit from it. P.S.- If you're not a jazz fan, this ain't for you.

It's difficult for avid Ani fans to objectively critique any new album, because face it: after a while, you just fall in love with her. And being head over heals for the Righteous Babe makes every new release seem like a personal letter to that fan, so on some level it's taken personally. I put that aside here and now.
I'm proud of this one. I love that I can put on all her albums and they span a myriad of genres, emotions, politics, outlooks and questions. I love that they all show growth in some form, and I'm overjoyed that this album continues this trend. Of course it won't be like her first album; she was 19 when she made it! She's 32 now, and she's growing and showing it well "Evolve" is slam-packed with some solid tunes: "Icarus" has reflections of a instrument-laden tune from the "Dilate" era, "Evolve" is guitar-driven and harkens back to a more stripped-down Ani sound, "Oh My My" is the first song Ani not only wrote but played on piano, All 10+ minutes of "Serpentine" keep her political views fresh in the minds of all the 'calmed down' critics, and "Welcome To:" is just a beautiful slower Ani tune that's bound to be a classic.
My beef with this? I'm not a huge horns fan, but I think she does well in enhancing the songs without allowing them to overshadow her lyrics and famous guitar-slamming abilities. She's maturing well, and her conscious dynamic musical spirit is just another characteristic of her that fans grow to love. I was not as impressed with Revelling/Reckoning--it seemed she was releasing every song she wrote w/o thought or serious revision--I enjoy this compilation much more.
You would do well to own this one--probably not a great first album, but a great addition to what will become, without you noticing, a vast repertoire of Mr. Difranco. Could possibly end up among the classic Ani's.