A MUST have for every collection! - 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 my favorite albums ever - It should be a rite of passage for every person to listen to this album from the Indigo Girls. I really love every song on this CD.Three Hits is a nice enough start, with great lyrics and rhythms. But then we go right into Galileo which is one of my favorite songs. The harmonies are gorgeous, the melody is great, and the lyrics are just so engaging. Is there meaning for the fears we have? Why do people maintain their superstitions? How long till my soul gets it right?But that s not enough - Ghost is incredibly poignant and is a song that got me through many rough times. You can sing along with it at the top of your lungs, knowing that the Girls knew exactly the pain you feel. Those smooth harmonies are just brilliant.It keeps going. Joking is another pain-and-angst song, shouting back your anger and sadness at an ex. Love will Come to you has the most amazing visuals in it, me myself with my face pressed up against love s glass. Romeo and Juliet has just the right amount of attitude in it, for a twist on the classic tale. Even the later songs on the CD hold their own. Chickenman is one that seems bizarre at first listen, but has the most catchy tune you ve heard in a long while. Highly highly recommended!
_THE_ essential Indigo Girls album - I just saw on Amazon s Essential CD s section that they didn t have Rites of Passage on it - that s so wrong! If you get only one CD by the Indigo Girls (that isn t Retrospective, which gives you a smattering of songs from all their albums), get this one. It is them at their most beautiful, folky, gorgeous melodic period. (Happily, I had the privilege of seeing them perform both acoustically and plugged-in during that period.) Admittedly, Swamp Ophelia is a very close second, though. THe strongest tracks on Rites include, but are not limited to, Ghost and Galileo. They re just great. Get the album - and Swamp Ophelia too, while you re at it.
One of the best recordings ever captured! - I am a huge music fan. I have had this CD for years, and recently popped it in for the heck of it while cleaning my house because I hadn t listened to it in a few years. How could I have forgotten? When it got to Romeo and Juliet I froze in my tracks. Never in my life have I heard a more emotional recording. It is the closest thing to perfection I have ever heard. I swear that after recording that song that they must have had to send in a janitor in to mop up Amy Ray s guts because they were all over the floor.This CD is amazing and beautifully recorded. The lyrics blend perfectly with the music. I encourage you all to rediscover this CD, and if you don t own it, rest assured that your money will be well spent.
Every song a winner - This is my favorite Indigo Girls record. Unlike some of their other albums, every song here is a winner. While it does not quite have the energy of their debut release (Indigo Girls) it is a more open and approachable album, both acoustically and in terms of thematic content. It has a number of beautiful songs, like Ghost and Cedar Tree, yet these are performed levelly without being cloyingly sentimental or preachy. It also has some songs like Joking and Jonas and Ezekiel which really rock without being as in your face as some of Amy s songs from other albums (e.g. Come On Now Social). I can listen to this album endlessly.