Ani Difranco - So Much Shouting, So Much Laughter
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Free Music Notes for So Much Shouting, So Much Laughter
Free Music Review: All Depends on Whether or Not You Love "Band Ani".
Hit: 3 Stars
At this point in time Ani has 5 live releases. Living In Clip, So Much Shouting, and the three Official Bootleg Series discs (10/9/03: Atlanta, Georgia. 10/25/03: Sacramento, California. 4/7/04: Portland, Oregon)... there is also one called "Women In (E)motion" of the 8/7/94 (or 7/8/94) performance, released by a German label. I'm not sure if that one is in print anymore though, so I'll consider it dead for the purposes of this review.
So Much Shouting is a set that some Ani fans will love, and some will not care for all that much. I never really fell in love with Ani's band sound during this era, the era with her biggest band yet. Ani, drummer, bassist, Julie on keyboards, and the couple horn players. I really wasn't against the band even after she added Julie, but the horn players are too much for me. It's not that I feel Ani's tunes cannot work with horns, it's just that I cannot stand the horn players she chose. Ani is a brilliant and unique guitarist, so it causes me light physical pain to be hearing her generic horn soloists when it could just as easily be Ani who is dominating the sound.
What it really comes down to for me is that so far Ani has never been in a band where anyone else in the band was even 25% as talented and emotionally powerful as is she, and as she added more people to her band, her role within the band became smaller. Thus, you're hearing less Ani vocals and guitar work, and more generic clutter by Julie and the horn players. We all know that Ani's vocal styles have changed alot over the years, and again, this era is my least favorite. During this, the full-band punchy-funk era she became less of a singer and more of a percussive-voiced talk-shouter. Her voice kinda became another ryhthm instrument in this already punchy band that was rather light on melody.
I know this all sounds harsh, but there are indeed some tracks here I like. Grey, Cradle and All... Welcome To is borderline great, Napoleon is nice enough, and Self Evident (Ani's poem about 9/11/01) is the most powerful performance on here. There are some other nice tracks as well.
Of the 5 live sets I mentioned, this is easily my least favorite, but that is just me. My preference is for Ani in trios or less (so far). Just for myself, this is a 2-star set, but I am also reviewing it based on how it fares in comparison with her other performances of this era, and in that way it is quite successful and representative. If you didn't like this band in concert, this set will not convert you. If you loved this band, you'll love this set.
I have to say this... her Official Bootleg Series discs are not available here... they are only at her concerts and her website (www.righteousbaberecords.com). I wholeheartedly recommend all 3 of those. The earliest 2 are solo, and the 3rd is Ani with Todd Sickafoose on upright bass. Those are 3 great discs. The sooner numbers 4, 5, and 6 come out, the happier I will be. =)
Thank You for everything Ani! This one isn't my thing, but you still have my love and gratitude for everything you have done and continue to do.
Free Music Review: Something for everybody
Hit: 3 Stars
It's a casual opening. "I don't know why the f--- I play acoustic guitars. I hate that acoustic guitar sound." Chatting and joking with the audience, Ani DiFranco shows those who have never seen her live the kind of relationship she has with her fans. It's the kind of aside said with a knowing glance and a half-smile -- and the fans eat it up.Ani DiFranco's new live two-disc album, So Much Shouting, So Much Laughter, is filled with these sorts of moments, displaying both a verbal and musical connection with her audience that has made her so popular. The album's first track, "Swan Dive" begins with Ani playing and singing solo. Slowly other instruments emerge -- bass, keys, drums, horns, backup vocals and before long, Ani's vocals are floating over a rich and full sound. This is different. Instead of standing alone, she's backed up by a band that adds a new dimension to her songs -- coaxing new musical meaning out of an artist that is seemingly known more for her words than the notes played on her guitar
The first disc is meant to be a collection of standard tunes you might hear if you were at a typical Ani DiFranco show. There are two new songs on this disc mixed in with the older material. The version of "Shrug" recorded here is from the first night that it was ever played live. Following it, and presented as the disc's final track is "Welcome To:", a song that starts out quietly and builds to an impressive bang before settling back into quiet.
The second disc is mapped out like a single show. For the long-time fans of DiFranco's music, the rare "Gratitude" makes a nice quiet appearance on this disc. An even rarer "Rock Paper Scissors" follows (with a nice shout out to opener, Drums & Tuba between songs). A really great re-working of "32 Flavors" comes next -- a song that hit popular radio when it was covered by Alana Davis. The disc closes with the quiet "You Had Time," another rarity -- and one that really benefits from the addition of the horns.
The third new song in this collection is the much-touted "Self Evident," a cross between spoken word and rap. It's about the singer's views about September 11th and the Bush administration's War On Terror. If you agree with DiFranco's views, then this song is a wonderful revelation. ...
The 24 songs that make up So Much Shouting, So Much Laughter are a mix of bouncing, rocking grooves, quiet introspection, and political ranting. The six-piece band that toured with her during the recording of this album (2000-2002) gives each song a new life, making this album accessible to even seasoned Ani-skeptics like me. There's amazing energy captured on these discs.
Sprinkled throughout both discs are bits and pieces of Ani bantering with the audience -- bits which both help and hurt this effort. While her political views are partly what make her attractive to a certain audience, they can be a major turn-off to others. But if you look [listen] past these possible ugly spots, I'm sure that there's a little something here for everyone.
Free Music Review: more for fans, less for new listeners
Hit: 3 Stars
Ani's newest live venture reflects her two (three?) years of touring with a full band: horns, keyboards, drum'n'bass (of course) and the kitchen sink. Well, not the last. But for those who only know her from the nearly acoustic "Untouchable Face" (popularly titled "F--- You" on all those file-swapping sites), you'll find a radically different folksinger from the one you remember. First of all, the new band has reduced the centrality of the guitar, allowing her to do jazzier, more reflective numbers (like the exquisite new song "Welcome To" and the nearly exquisite new song "Shrug.")The first disc, titled "Stray Cats," is a bunch of odds and ends mixed in with some touring standards (like a revamped and re-energized version of "Letter to a John" which morphs into the paranoid and oddly gripping poem "Tamburitza Lingua.") It begins with an extraordinarily annoying intro in which Ani's wrestling with the guitar; it would be cute live, but who wants to listen to that on a cd?
Standouts include the disc-ending and aforementioned two new songs. Both are very sad. "Shrug" is about power struggles in a relationship, presumably inspired by her marriage: "what's with that phone call, baby / it's like you're trying / just trying to crush me ... did you tell your mom / you carpet bombed / before you left here." Ani's not seemed sadder since her 1996 "Dilate." But the resiliance that made "Dilate" both an album to wallow in and one that inspires seems to have been replaced by a almost detached style of observation about her own life. In "Welcome To," she sings about being alone on Christmas: "welcome to no amount of stoned makes you feel okay / welcome to this year's alone brought to you by christmas day / welcome to the darkness into which prayin' people pray." Sad stuff, yes, but also more beautiful than anything she's written before.
The second disc, "Girls Singing Night" follows the progression of a concert, from opening crowd noise to encore. The angst-y "Dilate" is a standout
Ani is nearing the ripe old age of 32, and her aging, especially because she was for so long practically a young adult prodigy, is present on SMSSML, as it was on her last studio album "Revelling/Reckoning." Her gorgeous voice has deepened (maybe from cigarettes, maybe from the inevitable progression of life) leaving it sometimes uncomfortably gravelly.
New fans may be better off with "Living in Clip," or even "R/R" but old ones won't be able to help themselves from snapping this new album up.
Free Music Review: It's good.
Hit: 3 Stars
...First off, all this really is supposed to be is a document of ani and the band playing music in various places. Why does the guitar sound strange in Napoleon? Not because she couldn't tune it... Because she broke like two strings throughout the song, but she kept going, clawing her way through. By the end, the guitar became a percussion instrument, and that record capsules an unplanned, in-the-moment, one of a kind version. It's the inevitable imperfection of her performances that makes them real. I don't believe difranco plays to perfect, but to express. Sure, not all of my favorite songs are included in the collection. But, that's ani's job, she picks the songs, you can't expect her to 'tune in' to what you think should be on the album.
If you want unhinged, honest, unique performances, buy this record. "Self-evident" is right on the money in my opinion, we are slaves to oil, this war is proof of that. Difranco isn't just bitching, she's offering real answers that can only be realized unless we collectively stop being so ignorant and selfish. She is a true American, her passion for what this country REALLY stands for is what drives that emotional piece.
If you want perfect music, make it yourself.... and we'll see how many agree.
Free Music Review: a letdown somehow
Hit: 3 Stars
I love ani and have seen her several time in concert, but some how this album was a bit of a let down, now don;t get me wrong, some of the songs were incredible, like Grey and the new Self Evident. but there was something about the new arrangements and tempos that were truly crass. maybe i just don't like change and i am a firm believer in the less is more camp. which is why i really enjoyed her recent solo tour and look forward to another one. i really would have like to hear more from that set list than the new band. but nothing is static, everything is falling apart