Living In Clip

Musician - "...showcases the charisma and emotional range of a natural performer, as well as the keen sense of rhythm, phrasing, and punctuation of a born song stylist....Her band's spare, punk-kissed folk arrangements build seductively in dynamics and drama..." Option - "...captured in her true element, DiFranco sounds more and more like a superstar waiting for the rest of the world to catch up." Entertainment Weekly - "...This live double disc captures the giddy exuberance of her revival-meeting shows along with the primal release that's her trademark." - Rating: A- Rolling Stone - Included in Rolling Stone's "Essential Recordings of the 90's." Spin - 8 (out of 10) - "...The object of all the adoring screams and applause on LIVING IN CLIP isn't self-righteous, just forthright in a way we haven't heard since Joni Mitchell was a staple on American pop charts..." Rolling Stone - 4 Stars (out of 5) - "...puts the oldies in a context in which both initiates and believers can understand why DiFranco is...one of the decade's defining voices....these versions blow away the studio originals..." Rolling Stone (5/13/99, p.64) - Included in Rolling Stone's "Essential Recordings of the 90's." Rolling Stone (5/15/97, pp.111-112) - 4 Stars (out of 5) - "...puts the oldies in a context in which both initiates and believers can understand why DiFranco is...one of the decade's defining voices....these versions blow away the studio originals..." Spin (7/97, p.111) - 8 (out of 10) - "...The object of all the adoring screams and applause on LIVING IN CLIP isn't self-righteous, just forthright in a way we haven't heard since Joni Mitchell was a staple on American pop charts..." Musician (7/97, p.85) - "...showcases the charisma and emotional range of a natural performer, as well as the keen sense of rhythm, phrasing, and punctuation of a born song stylist....Her band's spare, punk-kissed folk arrangements build seductively in dynamics and drama..." Entertainment Weekly (4/25/97, p.71) - "...This live double disc captures the giddy exuberance of her revival-meeting shows along with the primal release that's her trademark." - Rating: A- Option (7-8/97, p.101-102) - "...captured in her true element, DiFranco sounds more and more like a superstar waiting for the rest of the world to catch up."

On this exuberant live double album, recorded at various shows over the course of a year, Ani DiFranco clarifies her reputation for dynamic, fierce and charming live performances. She is backed on LIVING IN CLIP by the wonderfully rhythmic duo of bassist Sara Lee and drummer Andy Stochansky. In addition to the jaggedly aggressive acoustic guitar work, vocal versatility, and sharp-witted songwriting that are to be expected by now, there is a vitality and authenticity to DiFranco's music here; she refuses to be pinned down, constantly dancing between folk and punk, warily ironic and brutally honest, soft and shrill.
DiFranco is capable, vocally and lyrically, of being scathing and vulnerable practically in the same note, a feat accomplished on "Untouchable Face"; and her voice soars with power on "Amazing Grace", on which she is backed by the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra. Not afraid to take on wider, political issues, DiFranco is equally skilled at making disturbingly accurate personal observations, as on "Adam And Eve".|