Indigo Girls Rarities CD

Indigo Girls: Emily Saliers, Amy Ray.
Personnel: Amy Ray (vocals, guitar, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, slide guitar); Emily Saliers (vocals, guitar, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, piano); Ani DiFranco (vocals, guitar); Sara Lee (vocals, pennywhistle); Michael Stipe (vocals, trumpet); Randell Kirsch (vocals, acoustic bass, percussion); Michael Lorant (vocals, drums); De De Vogt, Michelle Martin, LuAnn Kirsch, Chris Hickey (vocals); Tom Morello (guitar, drums); Frank French (acoustic guitar, electric guitar, mandolin, keyboards, percussion); Bill Taft (banjo, cornet); Sam Bush (mandolin); Sheila Doyle (violin); Karen Chance (pennywhistle); Carol Isaacs (accordion, keyboards); Chuck Lavelle (piano); Michael Larant, Jerry Marotta (drums, percussion); Chris Verene, Simone Simonton, Josh Freese, Rev. Brady Blade (drums); Dan McNamara (congas, percussion); Don McCollister, Paulinho Da Costa, Barbara J. Marino (percussion).
Additional personnel: Scarlet Rivera (violin); Chuck Leavell (piano); Randell Kirsch (acoustic bass guitar); Dave Edwards, Sara Lee, Tom Morello, Claire Kenny (bass guitar); Dan McNamara (congas, percussion); LuAnn Kirsch, Chris Hickey (background vocals); Jerry Marotta, Michael Lorant, Michael Stipe, Paulinho Da Costa, Ani DiFranco, Sam Bush, Frank French, Rev. Brady Blade, Carol Isaacs, Barbara J. Marino.
Audio Mixers: David Leonard; Ralph Sall; De De Vogt; Melanie Hammet; Eddie Miller ; Glenn Matullo; Patrick McCarthy; Tim Oliver; Bob Clearmountain.
Audio Remixers: Tom Morello; Dave Cooley.
Liner Note Authors: Amy Ray; Emily Saliers.
Recording information: Athens, GA (02/??/1986-10/24/2004); Bass Performance Hall, Ft. Worth, TX (02/??/1986-10/24/2004); Cabaret Metro, Chicago, IL (02/??/1986-10/24/2004); Civic Center Music Hall, Oklahoma City, OK (02/??/1986-10/24/2004); Cleveland, OH (02/??/1986-10/24/2004); Congress House Studio, Austin, TX (02/??/1986-10/24/2004); Doppler Studios, Atlanta, GA (02/??/1986-10/24/2004); Dragon Path Music [Frank French Studio 2] (02/??/1986-10/24/2004); Keswick Theatre, Glenside, PA (02/??/1986-10/24/2004); Nickel & Dime Recording Studios, Avondale Estates, GA (02/??/1986-10/24/2004); Ocean Way Recording, Los Angeles, CA (02/??/1986-10/24/2004); Pabst Theater, Milwaukee, WI (02/??/1986-10/24/2004); Sound And Fury Studios, Atlanta, GA (02/??/1986-10/24/2004); Soundcheck (02/??/1986-10/24/2004); Southern Tracks Studio, Atlanta, GA (02/??/1986-10/24/2004); Tree Sound Studios, Norcross, GA (02/??/1986-10/24/2004); Woodland Sound Studio, Nashville, TN (02/??/1986-10/24/2004).
Rarities spans two decades, from a 1986 version of "Never Stop" -- written in Emily Saliers' Tulane dorm room in 1981 -- to "Walk Your Valley," a song meant for Indigo Girls' 2004 album All That We Let In. In between there are covers, live recordings, guest appearances, and memories. There's a percussive take on "Uncle John's Band" from the 1991 Grateful Dead tribute Deadicated, and a live version of Elton John's "Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters" from 2004; Amy Ray's vocal on the Clash's "Clampdown" cuts like gravel, even if the instrumentation is way too clean. "The judge said five to ten but I say double that again/I'm not working for the clampdown." The Shaming of the Sun outtake "Winthrop" is Saliers and her piano lost in a contemplative reverie, and Amy Ray has a confession to make about "Cold As Ice," captured here live in Chicago in 1993. "I always felt bad for using a Foreigner title for my song," she writes. Other Rarities highlights: the atmospheric Michael Stipe collaboration "I'll Give You My Skin"; Woody Guthrie's "Ramblin' Round" performed live with Ani DiFranco guesting; and the closing harmony piece "Finlandia," performed with the folk trio Girlyman. With more than 20 years to go on, some fans might wish for more from this set. It has a few nice surprises, but diehards will already have most of the tracks. That said, Rarities wasn't meant to be comprehensive. It feels like a