Swing Set
Although ostensibly an EP centering around the song "Swing," starringMaceo Parkerfrom last year'sTo The Teeth, this Ani DiFranco collection of musical bits and pieces has a thematic consistency, as well as several great covers, which make it interesting. After the song "Swing" itself, here presented in both its original version as well as a funked-up, abbreviated "radio set," a radical take onTo The Teeth's title track adds a lithe beat and an active bass line to her blunt attack on America's gun culture. After that, there are three socially aware covers, fromWoody Guthrie's testy "Do Re Me" toPhil Ochs's plaintive "When I'm Gone" and theBob Dylanclassic, "Hurricane." DiFranco continues to find new ways to express old ideas, as she uses the slight hoarseness that's crept into her voice in recent years to lend gravity to her interpretations, accompanied by her effortless virtuosity on her ever-present acoustic guitar. The EP ends up sounding not at all like an afterthought, but like crucial listening for any fan of DiFranco's more politically oriented material.--Matthew Cooke