Knuckle Down
| Knuckle Down | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by Ani DiFranco | ||||
| Released | January 25, 2005 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 57:07 | |||
| Label | Righteous Babe | |||
| Producer | ||||
| Ani DiFranco chronology | ||||
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Knuckle Down is the fourteenth studio album by singer-songwriter Ani DiFranco. It is the first album that DiFranco has collaborated with a producer; Joe Henry. The record is also her first studio album to feature a string section. It is considered among her most accessible records, and compared to the stark Educated Guess, it is more abundantly produced.[1]
Reception
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Aggregate scores | |
| Source | Rating | 
| Metacritic | (73/100)[2] | 
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating | 
| Allmusic | |
| Blender | |
| Entertainment Weekly | B[3] | 
| Filter | 84%[2] | 
| musicOMH | (positive)[4] | 
| Paste | |
| PopMatters | (6/10)[6] | 
| Rolling Stone | |
| Slant | |
| Uncut | |
The album so far has a score of 73 out of 100 from Metacritic based on "generally favorable reviews".[2] Billboard gave the album a favorable review and stated: "The results are a selection of high quality that veers between brightly spirited ("Manhole," "Lag Time") and somber ("Callous")."[10] The New York Times gave it a positive review and said that DiFranco "is still self-sufficient, but an extra pair of producer's ears gives her some new dimensions."[11]
Other reviews are very average or mixed: Mojo gave the album three stars out of five and said it was "More honed and richly-textured than former offerings."[9] Q, however, gave it two stars out of five and called it "Deliberately sparse and bare."[2]
Track listing
- "Knuckle Down" – 4:34
 - "Studying Stones" – 3:53
 - "Manhole" – 3:45
 - "Sunday Morning" – 4:49
 - "Modulation" – 4:31
 - "Seeing Eye Dog" – 4:02
 - "Lag Time" – 5:13
 - "Parameters" – 5:58
 - "Callous" – 5:46
 - "Paradigm" – 4:33
 - "Minerva" – 4:55
 - "Recoil" – 5:08
 
Personnel
- Ani DiFranco – guitar, vocals
 - Jay Bellerose – percussion, drums
 - Andrew Bird – violin, Glockenspiel, whistling
 - Tony Scherr – electric guitar
 - Todd Sickafoose – Wurlitzer, string bass
 - Patrick Warren – piano, sampling, Chamberlin
 - Julie Wolf – melodica
 - Noe Venable – vocals
 - Niki Haris – vocals
 
Production
- Ani DiFranco – producer, design
 - Greg Calbi – mastering
 - S. "Husky" Hoskulds – engineer, mixing
 - Jason Mott – engineer, assistant
 - Danny Clinch – portrait photography
 - Eric Frick – photography
 - Brian Grunert – design
 
Charts
Album
| Chart (2005) | Position | 
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (ARIA)[12] | 82 | 
| US Billboard 200 | 49 | 
| US Top Independent Albums | 4 | 
References
- 1 2 Allmusic review
 - 1 2 3 4 5 Critic reviews at Metacritic
 - ↑ "Short Takes (Ani DiFranco: Knuckle Down)". Entertainment Weekly (803): 85. 2005-01-28.
 - ↑ musicOMH review
 - ↑ Lewis, Cathering P. (2005-02-01). "Ani DiFranco - Knuckle Down :: Music :: Reviews". Paste. Archived from the original on 2005-03-06. Retrieved 2013-06-29.
 - ↑ PopMatters review
 - ↑ Rolling Stone review at the Wayback Machine (archived November 21, 2007)
 - ↑ Slant review
 - 1 2 Album reviews at CD Universe
 - ↑ Billboard review at the Wayback Machine (archived January 11, 2005)
 - ↑ The New York Times review
 - ↑ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988-2010. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
 
