Track Listing

1. Clampdown
2. I Don't Wanna Talk About It
3. Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters- Live Version
4. Let Me Go Easy- Live Version
5. Winthrop
6. Free Of Hope
7. Shed Your Skin- Tom Morello Remix
8. Never Stop- 1986 E.P. Version
9. Ghost- Demo Version
10. Uncle John's Band
11. I'll Give You My Skin (featuring Michael Stipe)
12. Free In You- Dave Cooley Remix
13. Point Hope
14. Ramblin' Round- Live Version (with Ani Difranco)
15. Cold As Ice- Live Version
16. Walk Your Valley
17. It Won't Take Long
18. Finlandia- Live Version

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #24246 in Music
• Published on: 2005
• Released on: 2005-06-14
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Limited Edition, Original recording remastered

Amazon.com
Have the Indigo Girls hit the doldrums? Their concerts of late often prove to not only be lackluster, but dated, as singer/songwriter/guitarists Amy Ray and Emily Saliers veer dangerously close to seeming more like relics than icons. Part of that stems from their reliance on familiar material, as if their writing has slowed to a trickle. Now comes more suggestion of that in Rarities, an album made up of leftovers, odds and ends, demos, other previously unreleased material, and contributions to side albums. The good news is that there is much here to enjoy, all of it wrapped in the Girls' trademark corduroy-and-silk harmonies. Their demo version of "Ghost" is fraught with fevered longing, a remix of "Shed Your Skin" delights with its swirling, hypnotic soundscape, and the cameos by Michael Stipe ("I'll Give You My Skin") and Ani DiFranco ("Ramblin' Round") resonate with artistry and star power. But the 18-song album bloats with less-than-sparkling cuts (for example, a cacophonous rendering of Vic Chesnutt's "Free of Hope," two early and undistinguished songs from both Emily and Amy, and a techno-meets-country remix of "Free in You"). In the end, this is more a collector's disc than a window on the duo's "rarest" moments. --Alanna Nash

Customer Reviews

good collection; but CD skips (?)
a good collection of songs for Indigo Girl fans; odd problem with the CD skipping though.

Great Stuff
These are wonderfully written songs by some of the best. The air of soulful harmony the Girls bring to each song is just perfect. Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters is better than any version Elton John ever did. This is one of my most-played collections.

It's Collecting Dust
Listened to it once - then put it back in it's case to subsequently collect dust. Most of these songs I've already acquired through other means, and the new remix was just bad. Looking forward to the new album release in September for a little redemption.