¿Which Side Are You On?

¿Which Side Are You On?
Studio album by Ani DiFranco
Released January 17, 2012
Recorded 2010–2011
Genre Indie rock
Folk rock
Length 52:42
Label Righteous Babe
Producer Ani DiFranco, Mike Napolitano
Ani DiFranco chronology

Red Letter Year
(2008)		 ¿Which Side Are You On?
(2012)		 Allergic To Water
(2014)

¿Which Side Are You On? is the seventeenth studio album by singer-songwriter Ani DiFranco, released on January 17, 2012.

The title track is a revised version of the 1931 Florence Reece song "Which Side Are You On?" which was popularized by Pete Seeger. Seeger also provides accompanying vocals and banjo on the track.[1]

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Ani DiFranco (except track 3 by Florence Reece & Ani DiFranco). 

No. Title Length
1. "Life Boat"   4:09
2. "Unworry"   4:17
3. "¿Which Side Are You On?"   6:27
4. "Splinter"   4:36
5. "Promiscuity"   3:20
6. "Albacore"   4:08
7. "J"   5:15
8. "If Yr Not"   2:51
9. "Hearse"   4:04
10. "Mariachi"   4:03
11. "Amendment"   6:27
12. "Zoo"   3:08

Personnel

Ani DiFranco – guitars, electric guitar, baritone guitar, tenor guitar, 12-string, percussion, synth bass, keyboards, synthesizer, harpsichord, drum, bells, voices, atmospherics
Todd Sickafoose – bass, bowed bass, electric bass, wurlitzer piano, mellotron, piano, harpsichord, theremin, sk1, bells, pump organ
Andy Borger – drums and percussion
Mike Dillon – vibraphone, tympanis, tubular bells, percussion, triangle, atmospherics
Allison Miller – drums, backing voice
Adam Levy – distorted electric guitar, electric guitar
CC Adcock – clean electric guitar
Pete Seeger – banjo, backing voice
Derrick Tabb – snare drum
The Rivertown Kids – backing voices
Roots of Music Marching Crusaders – horns and drums
Michael Juan Nunez – pedal steel guitar
Dave Rosser – electric guitar
Ivan Neville – keyboard bass, synthesizer, backing voice
Cyril Neville – drums
Anaïs Mitchell – backing voice
Jeffrey Clemens – percussion
Ashley Toman – harp
Ben Ellman – tenor saxophone
Mark Mullins – trombone
Matt Perrine – tuba
Mike Napolitano – drum loops
Skerik – tenor saxophone (solo) and atmospherics [2]

Personnel Credits

Produced by Ani DiFranco and Mike Napolitano
Recorded by Mike Napolitano at Studio in the Country, Bogaloosa, LA
Additional Engineering – Ben Mumphry
Assistant Engineer – Jay Wesley at Brooklyn Bridge, Brooklyn, NY
Additional Engineering – Andy Taub
Assistant Engineer and Pro Tools Operator Extraordinaire – Ben Liscio
and at The Dugout, New Orleans, LA
Mixed by Mike Napolitano and Ani DiFranco
Mastered by Brent Lambert at The Kitchen
Art Direction – Ani DiFranco and Brian Grunert
Design – Brian Grunert, Annie Stoll, and Maria Taczak
Peacock Photograph - Michael Napolitano
Ani Photographs - Patti Perret
Funnel and Feather Photographs - Biff Henrich [2]

Chart performance

The album debuted at #82 on the Canadian Albums Chart[3] and at #26 on the Billboard 200.[4]

Reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source Rating
Metacritic (69/100)[5]
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [6]
The A.V. Club C[7]
Consequence of Sound [8]
Entertainment Weekly C[9]
Los Angeles Times [10]
musicOMH [11]
PopMatters [12]
Robert Christgau A−[13]
Rolling Stone [14]
Slant Magazine [15]

The album so far has a score of 69 out of 100 from Metacritic based on "generally favorable reviews".[5] The Boston Globe gave it a favorable review and stated that most of it "strikes a natural balance between matters of the heart and causes close to DiFranco's heart."[16] The Independent gave it four stars out of five and called it "Ani DiFranco's first album in three years [that] finds the self-proclaimed Righteous Babe in feisty, thoughtful form."[17] Blurt gave the album seven stars out of ten and stated: "The melodies aren't so easily embraced; loping, ephemeral and often sounding blithely disconnected, they defy any attempt at grasping an easy hook or chorus. What's more, the loose grooves sometimes run counter to the tunes' sense of profundity."[18]

Other reviews are pretty average or mixed: Mojo gave it three stars out of five and said the album was "sweet and to the point."[5] Now also gave it three stars out of five and stated that the album "works best when DiFranco points to contradictions within herself, and worst when her lyrics get preachy or black-and-white."[19] The Daily Telegraph likewise gave it three stars and said that DiFranco's "worthier sentiments are balanced by maturing wit, self-awareness and the distinctive snap'n'slap of her funky guitar grooves."[20] Entertainment Weekly, however, gave the album a C and said that DiFranco "gets stuck in too many clunky Big Idea statements about equality and social politics."[9]

References

  1. ↑ "Ani DiFranco new album out in January". Windy City Times. 7 November 2011. Retrieved 29 November 2011.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Ani DiFranco-Which Side Are You On?". 7 November 2011. Retrieved 29 November 2011.
  3. ↑ "CANOE - JAM! Music - SoundScan Charts". Jam.canoe.ca. 2013-06-26. Retrieved 2013-07-24.
  4. ↑ "Ani DiFranco - Chart Positions". Billboard.com. Retrieved 2013-07-24.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 "Critic Reviews for Which Side Are You On?". Metacritic. Retrieved 29 June 2013.
  6. ↑ Monger, James Christopher. "Which Side Are You On? - Ani DiFranco". Allmusic. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  7. ↑ Lewis, Catherine P. "Which Side Are You On? - Ani DiFranco". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 30 January 2012.
  8. ↑ de Revere, Paul (6 January 2012). "Album Review: Ani DiFranco - Which Side Are You On?". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 29 June 2013.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Anderson, Kyle (20 January 2012). "¿Which Side Are You On? review - Ani DiFranco Review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 29 June 2013.
  10. ↑ Wappler, Margaret (16 January 2012). "Album review: Ani DiFranco's '¿Which Side Are You On?'". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 21 January 2012. Retrieved 29 June 2013.
  11. ↑ Murphy, John (16 January 2012). "Ani DiFranco - ¿Which Side Are You On?". musicOMH. Retrieved 29 June 2013.
  12. ↑ Hong, Nianyi (17 January 2012). "Ani DiFranco: Which Side Are You On?". PopMatters. Retrieved 29 June 2013.
  13. ↑ Christgau, Robert. "CG: Ani DiFranco". RobertChristgau.com. Retrieved 29 June 2013.
  14. ↑ Hermes, Will (17 January 2012). "Which Side Are You On?". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 29 June 2013.
  15. ↑ Keefe, Jonathan (16 January 2012). "Ani DiFranco: Which Side Are You On?". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 29 June 2013.
  16. ↑ Reed, James (17 January 2012). "Ani DiFranco, '¿Which Side Are You On?'". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 29 June 2013.(subscription required)
  17. ↑ Gill, Andy (13 January 2012). "Album: Ani Difranco, Which Side Are You On? (Righteous Babe)". The Independent. Retrieved 29 June 2013.
  18. ↑ Zimmerman, Lee (17 January 2012). "Ani DiFranco - ¿Which Side Are You On?". Blurt. Archived from the original on 22 January 2012. Retrieved 29 June 2013.
  19. ↑ Greene, Sarah (February 23, 2012). "Ani Difranco - ¿Which Side Are You On?". Now. Retrieved 29 June 2013.
  20. ↑ Brown, Helen (13 January 2012). "Ani DiFranco: Which Side Are You On, CD review". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 29 June 2013.

External links