I was fortunate enough to receive a copy of SMS/SML a week before the official release date because I ordered it via the Righteous Babe website. Since that time I have been playing this 2-CD set consistently and I definately like what I hear. As the title of this review declares, this is not a sequel to Living in Clip but that is not necessarily a bad thing. In the recording of songs on tour with her 6-piece band between 2000 and 2002, Ani gives her older songs a different twist while simultaneously gracing us with several new songs. Songs like 'IQ' and '32 Flavors' have a definate spin that allows one to appreciate the song in a different, but not less significant, way.

The price of the double CD is worth it alone for the spoken word of 'Self Evident' which was recorded live in Ann Arbor. Written shortly after 9/11/01, this song represents a perspective on the events of this day and afterwards not shown in mainstream media. The release of this song cannot be at a better time when we are being slapped in the face with rememberance programs on television and radio. It's reason enough just to turn the TV off, pop in this CD, and not oneself get sucked into all the propaganda.

This 2-CD set (the first CD is titled 'Stray Cats' and the second is 'Girls Signing Night') comes with a beautiful digipak and booklet of wonderful pictures of Ani and her band on tour.

This new release is not to be missed by any Ani fan.

When I first listened to this disc, I thought, "They're all gonna come back." The songs that launch the first cd addictively, energetically bridged the Ani Gap--you know, that windswept land of obvious jazz and funk influence where so many fans began to peter off, after, say, Up Up Up Up Up Up, and had completely disappeared by Revelling/ Reckoning. "Swandive", a great song from probably her most accomplished album so far (Little Plastic Castle) was right out of the middle. It had what they dig: Ani, overtly teed off, mostly guitar, and as lyrically and instrumentally plucky as the pursits prefer. Then "Letter to a John"--an "oldie." It's such a staple of the "old" Ani, but she and the band revamp it and it makes sense with the keyboards and horn that turned of so many fans. And then, right when she's got them to appreciate her new angle, she goes into the "new" Ani--"Tamburitza Lingua"--and it's so fun! It makes sense! They're gonna get it! They're gonna come back! Up Up Up Up Up Up and To The Teeth sales will soar!!

Unfortunately, that doesn't keep up. Granted, it shows again with the version of "Gratitude," and to a much lesser extent with "My IQ." And some of the people put off by anything after Dilate might come back to her last three albums with more openness. Those albums deserve it. I'm a big fan of the last three albums. But not all the versions here make such a case for a second listen. Ani Difranco fans nowadays generally seem to be one of two sorts: either they insist on the superiority of her stripped down guitar/direct and overtly political days, or seem to worship her without considering what she is actually doing. Let's face it, something is often askew with the new approach, and it really shows on this disc. I am not sure what it is. The musicians' ability? Their comfort with each other? Their passion? It feels a little forced. And it gets so old: the same old couple of piano keys, the same trumpet notes and same flippin' trumpet intros. Or, a bunch of half-funky noise. On her most recent albums the trumpet and keyboards mostly work--but not here, and not nearly as often. Way too often her new songs and delivery on known songs are just not engaging. Sometimes, god forgive me, fan that I am, I feel like I'm listening as a favour. Her version of "Loom/Pulse" is a case in point. Nothing is much fun there. The vocal delivery, the drums, accordian, trumpet, electric guitar...you are not interesting, intelligent, creative, or a fun just because you play with Ani or play Ani Difranco songs. And that includes Ani. Think of the Living in Clip and Little Plastic Castle versions of these songs--they are fantastic. Go back and listen to "Jukebox" on Up Up Up Up Up Up. It's obvious that the passion and ability is on that record, as promising as this version begins. "You Had Time" is so promising, but then we get a couple of musicians who come off like they are thinking of being somewhere else. On "Shrug," it sounds like no one wants to be there.

Having said such possibly scathing things, let me state the obvious that this set is worth owning for the phenomenal "Self Evident." On music alone! If only all her performances with the band could have been so sharp! *That* is what they are capable of, that is what they should be doing. (It makes their other work here twice as embarrassing, frankly.) It really is amazing, folks. Ani nails the grief, significance, and the double-pronged peversity of 9/11 . Truly not to be missed. You'll understand and feel more each time you listen to it. So...five stars for Self-Evident. Four stars for a handful of performances, and a reluctant three stars at the rest of the tunes. It's not whether or not I like the cd that I can't figure. I do. It's how much. When you buy it, I hope you find it frustrating less often than I do.

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.

I'm new school ani fan, which many of you will cringe at. My favorite albums are puddle dive, out of range, l.plastic castle and to the teeth.

Now, on to this and why I don't like it. I'm not against Ani's new funk-hop-jazz-rock move. I think it's awesome. To the teeth I think is the best studio release which represents this musical move. And as for Revelling, songs like Ain't that the Way and O.K. I appreciate greatly, almost approaching Loom or God's Country (someone just puked on their cat, eh?). I like them for different reasons. I fell in love with her songs that were profound social and personal commentaries that touch places in the back of your cerebellum that were so buried in nerve cells you forgot to look. But there's also something compelling about fun lines like "I gotta sweet tooth today so you betta not cut that pie." It's good that an artist so revered can be so downright dorky at the same time. People forget that Ani is among the world's prize winning dorks.

So much shouting so much laughter does not contain engaging live versions of any of her newer or older masterpieces. Get living in clip if that's what you want. If anything, the opening track's ear-pummeling guitar strum breaks off the brass coatings of swan dive. I was disappointed in Letter to a john, which was played so fast I could barely pay attention to it. She tries to joke about why she plays acoustic guitar. Why doesn't she play electric? Because if she's going to play the way she does here half the time I'll need to mix in my own distortion to calm it down.

If you want live, get living in clip. If you want experimental jazz and funk, get to the teeth. And if you want the old stuff get it and rock it out. Don't get a double album that halves your attention span.

Being fairly new to Ani Difranco, I can't review this in relation to her other albums. I don't have an expressed opinion of her "progression" from the early days to Evolution, except that I believe this to be a good combination of both worlds. With each song Ani uses her talent to speak for a generation that is unwilling to buckle under corporate leadership, and would rather share their opinions than accept those of the government, the media, their friends or their families. Her music is a category of itself- folk roots with punk and jazz influence. And her singing is something else- sometimes edgy, other times softly wafting between the atmosphere of the song and the atmosphere of Ani's emotions (which combines nicely). Perhaps her vocals can be a little too forceful, bouncy, and possibly even too weird for the tastes of some. But I've found that those are the moments when I am most compelled by Ani's aura, her DIY ethos, and what she's got to say. Given, there is the occasional tracks I skip on a regular basis ("Swan Dive", "Ain't That the Way", "Whatall is Nice"). But out of twenty four total, that doesn't make much of a dent. And while I could review each song individually, it doesn't capture the flow. The tug of the guitar strings, the soft-harsh-soft world Ani sings you into. Her angsty "Self Evident" speech, the entertaining, "Napoleon", the liberating "Not A Pretty Girl". Seldom played tunes, such as "Gratitude" and "Cradle and All" make an appearance as well. Ani Difranco may literally say the same thing to every, but different lyrics speak to different people. With So Much Shouting, So Much Laughter though, there's something for everyone.