“We Believe In God–America–Trucks.”
Opening the bi-fold case of Ani Difranco’s most recent album, So Much Shouting, So Much Laughter, that is the first thing I was presented with. A still shot photo taken at night of a truck depot bearing those words. Nothing better, I feel, could express the feeling expressed on this live recorded two disc album.
This being Difranco’s second live recorded album, So Much Shouting somewhat reminded me of Living in Clip, her 1997 release. The format of the two albums is quite different though, Living having an obvious beginning, middle, and end, whereas So Much Shouting was put together so that the flow of the music feels natural, and not orchestrated. Difranco commented on how she chose which songs to put on the album, and how all of them were flawed in some way, but she chose those that fit best with the others.
The titles of each disc, both stem from bits of dialogue found on each disc. The first CD, Stray Cats, bears a lot of references to stray kittens, and Difranco said that a lot of the songs on the first disc remind her of stray cats. The second disc, Girls Singing Night, is based on a joke between Difranco and one of her band members, about the humorless self righteous stereotypes put on them as women. “I guess I included some of my more classic feminist songs on that second disc too.”
The songs compiled in So Much Shouting are all taken from recordings of Difranco’s 2001-2002 tour with a six piece band. Since then, Difranco has given up working with the band for now to work solo. She describes playing the roles as both bandleader and performer were a great experience. “But I love my band so much, and I’m very sad that this is kind of posthumous album for a band that will no longer be.”
As far as the actual music on the album is concerned, there’s a little of everything, introducing new songs, such as “Shrug” and “Welcome To:,” and bringing back some older, and even more recently recorded numbers like “Dilate” and one of my personal favorites “Tamburitza Lingua.”
One of the most incredible pieces on the album though is Difranco’s performance of “Self-Evident,” a poetic tribute to the tragedy of September 11—So Much Shouting was released September 10, 2002. The poem, begun by Difranco alone, and then completed with the band accompanying, bears a very strong and emotional message concerning American government and society.
Difranco has really put out another quality record in my opinion, and I really enjoy the different feel the live recordings bring to the listening experience. I anxiously look forward to Difranco’s upcoming new album Evolve, which hits the shelves in March.
I’ll always be a big Ani Difranco fan. Whenever I listen to her sing I’m reminded of the first time I saw her in concert with some friends and naively called her “Annie” Difranco. One of my friends pulled me aside, and corrected me telling me that unless I wanted to be lynched by a crowd of her alternative female fan base, that I’d never call her “Annie” again. To this day I never have, and I pity those people that make the same mistake I did. Nonetheless, I was instantly hooked, and will continue to keep listening.
