As a Folk singer dressed like a Punk Rocker with an attitude to match, Ani Di Franco has operated outside the mainstream from the beginning. By turning her back on corporate rock, the unconventional Di Franco has emerged as one of the most prominent and inspiring cult heroines of the 90’s underground music scene. Lyrically uninhibited, Ani constructs politically driven songs pertaining to but not limited to: rape, abortion, and sexism. The controversial singer/songwriter has seen little commercial radio play but rather has built her reputation by constant touring. The independent artist continues to release her records on her own label, Righteous Babe Music, despite many major label proposals.
So Much Shouting, So Much Laughter is a compilation of live shows recorded between September 2000 and April 2002 which finds Ani Di Franco performing to enthusiastic and energetic crowds as she delivers fresh interpretations of familiar favorites. While this is Di Franco’s second live recording – 1997’s Living in Clip being the first – there is minimal overlapping of material between the two. The two disc set is conceptually split up. The first cd, Stray Cats, gathers a list of Di Franco standards such as, “To the Teeth,“ “Napoleon,“ and “Swan Dive.“ The second cd, Girls Singing Night, concentrates more on her ultra-feminist views with numbers like, “Ain’t That the Way,“ “Reckoning,“ and “Dilate.“ What pulls it together, her spectacular voice notwithstanding, is Ani’s superb band, which is capable of bringing the songs to full fruition in a live atmosphere.
To label Ani Di Franco a “folkie” would be deceitful as she has successfully combined Folk, Jazz, and Rock in her own unique way for a little over a decade. So Much Shouting, So Much Laughter is a comprehensive look at the eccentric singer/songwriters’ past work but also these recordings give the listener a look at where she’s heading.