"So Much Shouting, So Much Laughter"

*****

In 1997, Buffalo-born Ani DiFranco graced her fans with "Living in Clip," her first live album. Today, she gives it to us again in "So Much Shouting, So Much Laughter."

In "Swandive," the album's first song, she sings: "And they can call me brilliant if I succeed." Her fans certainly are calling her brilliant because once again she did succeed. Here she gives them two hours of live music, poetry, and witty commentary commonly found at a DiFranco performance.

There are songs from every phase of her 14-album career, from her self-titled album in 1989 to "Revelling/Reckoning," in 2001, including three previously unrecorded songs.

Disc one, "Stray Cats," and disc two, "Girls' Singing Night," have two different themes. "Stray Cats" is a collection of songs commonly found in her set lists, like "To the Teeth," and "Napoleon." "Girls' Singing Night" is more personal, where she showcases her individual style on treasured songs like "32 Flavors" and "Not a Pretty Girl."

One of the best things about DiFranco as a performer is her ability to make her songs into living things. She can give new meaning to a song over 10 years old just by changing her delivery of lyrics. DiFranco performs each song with unique creativity, which her fans have come to love and expect.

There is something more compelling about a live performance of a song than the studio version. It is the artist, her guitar, and her voice doing what she does best - music. However, DiFranco does not make all the music herself. All the tracks are recorded with her six-piece band that she has been touring with for the past two years.

The performances are perfectly flawed - if a fan closes their eyes while listening to this album they may just fool themselves into thinking they are in an intimate coffeehouse show. This is simply another great performance and another great album by Ani DiFranco.