Not a Pretty Girl by Ani DiFranco

Not a Pretty Girl, Ani DiFranco's sixth album, came out on July 18, 1995, on Righteous Babe, the label she runs herself, and she produced it too. It's the purest form of her early setup: her acoustic guitar, her voice, and nothing else but Andy Stochansky's percussion. No electric guitars, no horns, no band, all of which would come later, just two people making a noise that hits as hard as any punk record.

DiFranco attacks her strings like they owe her money, and the songs are sharp, personal and unafraid. "Light of Some Kind" plays like a confession to a man that she has been unfaithful to him with a woman. The version of "Shy" released on Living in Clip later earned her a Grammy nomination for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance.

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