LIVING IN CLIP info
(RBR011-D) 1997

Although the CD doesn't mention any concert dates, most of the material recorded on LIVING IN CLIP comes from 1996 and features Ani's concert and touring unit: Ani on acoustic guitar and vocals (and bass on Hide And Seek); Andy Stochansky on drums, percussion, backing vocals and harmonica; ex-Gang of Four/League of Gentlemen bassist Sara Lee on bass, bass pedals, and backing vocals. Andy Gilchrist and Ani mixed the album at The Congress House in Austin, Texas in 1997. On Amazing Grace and Both Hands, Ani is accompanied by The Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Doc Severinsen and arranged by James Mabry.

      If her studio albums leave her slightly disappointed with the recording process, then her live album celebrates the raw and undiluted side of Ani. Indeed, the album captures the L'il Folksinger in fine, joyous mode. The songs achieve a larger than life hue thanks to the intensity of Stochansky's drumming and Lee's driving bass. Ani's words sound urgent and clipped, full and menacing, proper yet immediate. The recordings, captured on ADAT using an 8-track mixing console, give the singer and band room to move without clinical proceedings. Audience sounds are captured by Ani's vocal microphone (and seemed to come from the first ten rows), but the direct non-miking of the audience (a technique so prevalent with rock concert performance recordings) allows the intensity of Ani's live performances to be heard unfettered. Many of the performances gain added perspective and power, especially Shy which attracted a Grammy Award nomination. The CD box includes a 32-page 'family' photo album, where we see for the first time members of the band and manager Scot Fisher posing and acting out for the camera, as well as action shots of Ani performing on tour. The liner sleeve notes give a definition of "Clipping an Amp," suggesting the spirit of Living in Clip: "Overloading an amplifier with a sonic signal that exceeds the machine's power capacity, resulting in a terrifying snapping sound and the illumination of a tiny red warning light on the face of the amp indicating that is about to blow."

      Critics were quick to call LIVING IN CLIP the definitive Ani recording. For those wanting to hear a complete image of Ani as she appears on any given night on any given tour, the album has no peer. As a seminal live album, LIVING IN CLIP shares equal billing with the ROYAL ALBERT HALL concert of Bob Dylan, FRAMPTON COMES ALIVE by '70s rocker Peter Frampton, and Joni Mitchell's MILES OF AISLES. ~ Raffaele Quirino