Educated Guess
Studio album by
Ani DiFranco
ReleasedJanuary 20, 2004
Genre
Length48:22
LabelRighteous Babe
ProducerAni DiFranco
Ani DiFranco chronology
Evolve
(2003)		 Educated Guess
(2004)		 Knuckle Down
(2005)

Educated Guess is the 13th album by singer-songwriter Ani DiFranco, released January 20, 2004 (see 2004 in music). It was recorded alone at her homes in Buffalo, New York and New Orleans, Louisiana.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic(67/100)[1]
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[2]
Blender[1]
E! OnlineD[1]
The Guardian[3]
Los Angeles Times[4]
musicOMH(positive)[5]
PopMatters(7/10)[1][6]
Rolling Stone[7]
Slant[8]
Uncut[9]

The album so far has a score of 67 out of 100 from Metacritic based on "generally favorable reviews".[1] Filter gave it a score of 74% and said that DiFranco "dives into a murkier, less-definable world that is part acoustic neo-soul, part spoken word and dreamier than you might imagine."[1] The A.V. Club gave it a positive review and stated that it "benefits from DiFranco's emphasis on spare shimmer, though it also perpetuates her recent tendency to let her songs languidly drift along, for better and for worse."[10] The New York Times also gave it a positive review and stated that "It's worth putting up with a few overbearing moments to hear someone so willing to take chances."[11] Billboard likewise gave the album a positive review and said it was "Characterized by production rawness—for better (the immediacy of the performance) and worse (traces of off-key harmonies)."[12]

Other reviews were average, mixed, or negative: Q gave it three stars out of five and said of DiFranco, "The jazzy stylings are a mixed blessing... [but] her fans will not be disappointed."[1] Rolling Stone gave the album only two stars out of five and stated that the "awkward, improbable tendency goes unchecked, as does DiFranco's penchant for jarring arrangements."[7] E! Online gave it a D and called the album "so staccato and nonlinear, a sort of free-jazz version of rock with just too much going on and little worth hearing."[1]

The album reached No. 55 on the Australian ARIA albums chart in January 2004, and spent five weeks in the top 100.[13]

Track listing

All songs by Ani DiFranco.

  1. "Platforms" – 0:17
  2. "Swim" – 3:06
  3. "Educated Guess" – 5:52
  4. "Origami" – 2:23
  5. "Bliss Like This" – 3:08
  6. "The True Story of What Was" – 1:53
  7. "Bodily" – 4:01
  8. "You Each Time" – 4:18
  9. "Animal" – 5:36
  10. "Grand Canyon" – 3:31
  11. "Company" – 4:06
  12. "Rain Check" – 4:05
  13. "Akimbo" – 1:29
  14. "Bubble" – 4:30

Personnel

  • Ani DiFranco – acoustic guitar, electric guitar, vocals, percussion, electric bass, electric piano

Charts

Chart (2004) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA Charts)[14] 55

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Critic reviews at Metacritic
  2. ↑ Zupp, Adrian. Educated Guess at AllMusic
  3. ↑ "CD: Ani DiFranco, Educated Guess". The Guardian. January 30, 2004. Archived from the original on November 21, 2021.
  4. ↑ Los Angeles Times review
  5. ↑ musicOMH review
  6. ↑ PopMatters review
  7. 1 2 "Rolling Stone review". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on November 21, 2007. Retrieved March 8, 2007.{{cite magazine}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  8. ↑ Slant review
  9. ↑ "Ani DiFranco – Educated Guess". Uncut: 87. March 2004. Retrieved June 29, 2013.
  10. ↑ The A.V. Club review
  11. ↑ The New York Times review
  12. ↑ "Billboard review". Billboard. Archived from the original on February 4, 2004. Retrieved June 29, 2013.{{cite magazine}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  13. ↑ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
  14. ↑ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 81.
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