Indigo Girls Album: “1200 Curfews”

Description :

Indigo Girls: Emily Saliers (vocals, acoustic & electric guitars, dobro); Amy Ray (vocals, acoustic & electric guitars, mandolin, melodica). Additional personnel: Gail Ann Dorsey (vocals); Jerry Marotta (vocals, saxophone, drums); Jimmy Descant (electric guitar, background vocals); Michelle Malone (mandolin, background vocals); Scarlet Rivera, Sheila Doyle (violin); Jane Scarpantoni (cello, pennywhistle); Sara Lee (pennywhistle, bass, background vocals); Sandy Garfinkel (harmonica); Michael Lorant (tambourine, background vocals); Gerard McHugh, Dede Vogt, Russell Carter (background vocals). Producers: Indigo Girls, Russell Carter, Jerry Marotta, Richard Winn, David Kehrer. Engineers include: Don McCollister, Fred Derby, Tchad Blake. Recorded between 1982 and 1995. Includes liner notes by Indigo Girls, Steve Morse and Russell Carter. The idea started off simple enough--record a couple of the Indigo Girls' better shows, and release a live album. Well, 1200 CURFEWS later, this celebrated acoustic duo has released a double album, chock full of exceptional live performances from a wide variety of settings. And they're not all from the stage either. "Thin Line," a modest little gem of a song, was recorded in the dressing room of the Santa Monica Civic Center. The majority of tunes on this formidable set were, however, recorded on stage, and the Girls deliver on all fronts. We get raw emotion, shimmering acoustic hooks and plenty of straight-up, honest music. The Indigo Girls rarely use any percussion, and are happy to present their songs with bare-bones arrangements. The aforementioned "Thin Line" is a perfect example. As Amy Ray starts off with her powerful, deep voice and deliberate phrasing, Emily Saliers joins in with her trademark harmonies. She expertly rides a few notes above, or sometimes right alongside, her partner. The effect is mesmerizing. The band also gives Buffy Saint Marie's "Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee" a go, and they achieve a haunting rendition of a timeless protest song. Another highlight is "Jonas And Ezekial," a bluesy, tightly-wound exploration of heaven and hell. "Every devil I meet is an angel in disguise," sings Ray. As they often do, these two fine musicians build to a harrowing climax, where they are wailing in a mesh of layered harmony and perfect vocal counterpoint. This is a great live act that has recorded an immaculately-mixed two-disc set. Loyal fans as well as newcomers should be more than satisfied.

There is no question that the Indigo Girls put on an incredible live show. If you take all the best songs from every live performance they have done and make a 2-disc compilation, you would have 1200 Curfews. This album followed the release of Swamp Ophelia and includes tours from that time period, so fans of Swamp Ophelia are in for quite a treat. The beauty of this album is that just when you think you know the songs inside and out, you listen to them live and it's as if you're hearing them for the first time. There are quite a few Swamp songs included, 2 notables being "Least Complicated" and "Mystery." But the two discs cover the entire spectrum of IG songs, from a dive bar, rock out version of "I Don't Wanna Know" to a tender "Ghost," to a crowd-pleasing "Galileo." They also include an unreleased song by Gerard McHugh, called "Thin Line," which is probably one of my favorite songs on the cds.

There are also some amazing covers on this album. When Emily sings the 'Montague Street' verse of Dylan's "Tangled Up in Blue," it takes your breath away. She also shows her dynamic range on Joni Mitchell's "River." (I actually prefer her version to Joni's.) But the gem of this album has got to be "Midnight Train to Georgia." It still blows me away and I've heard it a million times.

Although I don't think it was necessary to include "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee" not once, but twice, I can overlook it and still give the album 5 stars. It's that good. I think it's safe to say that almost every Indigo Girls fan already owns this double-cd, but if you're just starting to listen to their music and want a great mix of songs from all the albums, this is the one to buy.

There are lots of live cuts and discs from lots of artists, but they're typically not the same as being at a concert. Most discs just let you hear the lesser quality than studio sound... and a few wolf whistles, and that's it... but this 2-disc set shines above the rest.

If you close your eyes, you'll think you're at an outdoor concert. You can hear the members of the audience singing along and the sound of the acoustic guitars and the voices in harmony is fabulous.

Previously unavailable tracks (except through bootleg circles) such as "Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee" will blow you away with the depth of the meaning of the lyrics and the picture painted with the words. Single classics such as "Closer to Fine," "The Power of Two" and "Galileo" are also presented as live cuts. Whether you've been a fan for the past 10+ years or if you just recently started hearing tracks from the girls, you won't be disappointed in this fun, melodic and rockin' live set.

Way back in 1992 or so I heard a little song called 'Galileo' and was hopelessly hooked on the Indigo Girls. I didn't think it would get much better than that - but it did.

After hearing "1200 Curfews," I fell in love with the Indigo Girls all over again. It made me more fully appreciate old favorites, and gave me some new favorites as well. The album manages to convey all the emotion of the Girls' live performances but stay true to the essence of the songs.

"1200 Curfews" is a good album. No, it's a great album. Buy it! And buy me one while you're at it - I've worn out my copy.

I love a good live album much more than anything put together in a studio but I'm normally sceptical of a "best of" live album that picks and chooses from a number of venues and dates. This release is definitely the exception and is a winner from start to finish. I could maybe do without the track from their early days (which has historical interest but is a definite flat spot) but every other song is a fantastic version of a stellar song. Higlights include an intimate "Power of two" and a thumpingly good "Tangled up in blue" which is my favourite version of this oft covered classic (if you haven't already, check out the Indigo girls guest performance on Joan Baez's "ring the bells". Their version of "Don't think twice" is a small slice of heaven).

Surely after a few years, some great albums and some greater concerts it's time this release had a follow up? A two disc live selection that picks up where this album left off would have me queing up ready to buy it on the release date.