Indigo Girls Album: “Rites of Passage [Remaster]”

This is my favorite IG album, and if you are starting your collection, it is probably the first one you should pick up. Emily is at her best -- "Gallileo" & "Virginia Woolf" are stellar. It also includes one of Amy's masterpieces, the oft-debated "Chickenman" (one of the only IG songs to repeatedly show up both on fans' most liked and least liked Indigo Girls songs). Like it or hate it, Chickenman is not standard IG fair, but it has become a staple of their live show, and it has an absolutely infectious rhythm backbone.

Musically, there is no denying that this album is truly brilliant. But perhaps even more notably, the lyrical content of this album makes it also one of the most cohesive works in the Girls' catalog. The album seems to have a central focus on coping with death, life after death, and communication with the deceased. Heavy, dark topics, indeed, but the Girls manage to explore these topics in such a way that we are somehow left feeling good. Observe:

"Galileo" puts a clever slant on reincarnation by not only exmianing a soul's past lives, but also it's future lives: The song's take home message is that we should live the best we can and straighten things up in this life in order to not only "let the next life off the hook", but also to prevent it from being able to cast blame upon past lives for its own situation. Brilliant!

In "Virginia Woolf", Emily presents an alternate interpretation of immortality, allowing spirits to live forever by simply learning about their lives and carrying on their message. This song contains a brilliant metaphor -- communicating with deceased spirits "kind of like a telephone line through time".

In "Ghost", one of Emily's most beautiful arrangements, she laments the loss of a loved one, yet we feel she is almost content to be able to communicate with the passed spirit, even if it is only fleeting.

The sprightly "Airplane", as bright as the music is, hides perhaps the darkest lyrics on the album, in which Emily prepares for death, "making a deal" with God to clean up her act if He spares her. The Roches make an appearance on this song, and their signature "slightly off key" vocal hoarmonization is brilliantly placed in this song, somehow giving us the feel that the airplane is already in the process of crashing. It's almost eerie.

Finally, Amy's "Cedar Tree" deals very explicitly with the passing of a loved one. But it lifts up our spirits with a very sprightly Celtic jig, that is still not out of place in such a dark song.

In the end, after listening to this album, you'll feel like you've gone on a journey, visiting past lives, communicating with those who have passed, and exploring the afterlife. And you will feel strangely refreshed. An absolutely brilliant album.

Beautiful music, intelligent lyrics, what more could you ask for. I first heard this album at the tender age of 14 (I am almost 30 now) while I was working at a music store. One of my coworkers was obsessed with this album and kept playing it in the store. After awhile I realized I was singing it at home and school, and I bought myself a copy.

I love music, and own an uncountable number of CDs. But I think I can safely say THIS CD is my favorite of them all! The lyrics are intelligent and elegantly crafted, the music is moving. Galileo (with it's make you think factor) is my favorite song on the CD, with a romeo and juliet coming in 2nd for it's humor factor. Ghost can make you feel emotions stir at your very core if you have ever lost a lover. After 16 years of hearing Ghost, it can still make me cry.

This CD is great for taking in the car, especially on long drives. Do yourslef a favor and get this one.

One of the most moving and heartfelt collections of music I've heard. After almost 3 years, it's still one of my most played CDs. The lyrics could stand alone. Amazing. Listen and enjoy.

Until this album Amy Ray may have been a little in the shadow of Emily Saliers, when it came to songwriting. It's beyond question that Ray adds a lot of edge (necessary) to the sound of the Indigo Girls; but with songs like "Three Hits", "Jonas and Ezekial" and "Nashville" Amy's songwriting is also beginning to catch up Emily's.

In fact, I think that several of Emily's songs on this album are harder to get into than hers usually are. My favourite Emily songs here are "Galileo", "Let it Be Me" and "Airplane".

This is one the most consistent Indigo Girls albums, and one of my favourites!

Once again the girls are supported famous friends such as Benmont Tench, Jackson Browne, David Crosby and regulars Sara Lee, Lisa Germano and Jerry Marotta.

This is the first Indigo Girls album I ever heard and eventually owned. The lyrics of "Ghost" and "Love Will Come to You" are hauntingly beautiful and resonate with the universal theme of lost love---but with "Ghost," it is more than simply lost love. How could anyone refute that the words "[N]ow I see your face before me / I would launch a thousand ships / to bring your heart back to my island / as the sand beneath me slips / as I burn up in your presence / I know now how it feels / to be weakened like Achilles / with you always at my heels . . ." are not some of the most articulate and poignant lyrics within the realm of song? "Ghost" is not the only amazing song on the album, "Galileo," "Let it Be Me," and "Cedar Tree," all recommend it. Though I have several of their other albums, "Rites of Passage" remains my favorite.