Indigo Girls Album: “Strange Fire (Expanded Edition)”

Much has been said about this CD, although not about this remastered version. The real difference has less to do with the remastering and more to do with the two tracks that were added to this version: 1) an old version of "Crazy Game", which stands up fairly well; 2) a rare Amy Ray gem entitled "Everybody's Waiting for Someone to Come Home." It's a simple, haunting, and beautiful ballad that captures Amy's best early songwriting abilities (which, unfortunately, have not improved much in the decade-plus since this album was released). A must-have for Indigo Girls fans who don't already have high-quality (illegal?) bootleg recordings of this great Amy Ray song.

This was the first Indigo Girls album; recorded before the first Epic album "Indigo Girls". There is a very naked live-feel to most of these recordings, most of which very well may be "undubbed first takes" featuring only acoustic guitars and vocals. A few tracks contains additional instruments such as cello, flute and harmonica. Their song-writing at this point is not quite up to the ( very high ) level of their later albums, and the songs are generally not quite as melodic.

For me two tracks stand out; Emily's great ballad "Left Me a Fool" and their cover of "Get Together", the only track to feature electric guitar.

This is one of my favorite IG albums (I have them all), with some of the most deeply personal and touching lyrics you will find. There are no sub-par songs, and the more I listen to it, the more I like it. Wether you are a fan or not, I think it's a must have.

This initial offering by the Indigo Girls reveals all of the reasons why their fans have come to love them. They have a synchronization that is rarely found in music today. The beautiful harmony and the poetry in the lyrics entice you to buy every album. The fact that this album was produced so many years ago, speaks to their timelessness. They haven't lost that beauty and mystery.

Songs like "Strange Fire" and "Hey Jesus" are powerful examples of uniqueness of this collection of songs. It may be their best..it has a quality of purity that more commercialized CD's don't.