Beauty Queen Sister

Indigo Girls | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 4, 2011)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: IG Recordings / Vanguard Records
• ASIN: B005HGZVDS
• In-Print Editions: Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (36 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,881 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #29 in Music > Rock > Singer-Songwriters

Editorial Reviews

Grammy-winning folk-rock duo Indigo Girls will release their fourteenth studio album, Beauty Queen Sister. The new album is a stunning 13-song collection featuring the signature storytelling that fans have grown to love, touching on modern-world worries and romanticizing the simplicity of days gone by. Recorded in Nashville, the duo reunited with producer Peter Collins, with whom the Indigo Girls worked on 1992's Rites of Passage and 1994's Swamp Ophelia. Beauty Queen Sister will be the fourth album released on their own IG Recordings/ Vanguard Records.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

57 of 62 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars All the memories of the good times wrapped up in those harmonies...Old friends are new again, October 4, 2011

By 

Storylover (Philadelphia, PA USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Beauty Queen Sister (Audio CD)

It's been a long time since I heard the Indigo Girls like this. I remember the first time I experienced "Blood and FIre" and "Strange Fire", and fell in love with IG, and experienced the folk genre. I've stuck with them through thick and thin since then, even with the broken promises of "Shaming of the Sun" and "Come on Now Social", both of which had good moments but have never been my favorites. I've loved them in "All that We Let In" (magnificent, underrated) and "Become You". It all comes down to those voices--Amy Ray and Emily have a pipeline to my heart, they unleash my love and longing when I hear them. I give myself completely to their care in this album, and I am so happy to be enveloped in the beautiful songwriting and deep harmonic wonder of their combined talents. Stylistically, this is another leap forwards for them, a sampling and an homage to all the disparate parts that make up their brand of modern folk, but under their sure guidance, it sounds unified and wonderful. The guitar picking is classic IG, the melodic lines are fresh but so familiar--like a song you have never heard before but which sounds so familiar, like a bit of home. Production is fairly typical for the IG--it would not be accused of being stripped down, but it is warm and well thought out. Amy Ray has left behind some of her angry roughness but kept some of deep raspy-ness that makes her so unique. Emily is as sweet and shy as ever, touching more of the painful emotions that make me love them so much, but as always it is the intersection of their voices, when the two of them sing together, blending beautifully, achingly that makes me love them. Ultimately, few groups have inhabited so much time in my cassette player, my cd player, my ipod, and my heart as these two, and I can only hope that they will continue producing music as honest and beautiful as this.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A gorgeous, shimmering gem, October 7, 2011

By 

C. A. Mennie - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Beauty Queen Sister (Audio CD)

This disc keeps getting better with every listen. Beautifully recorded, terrific musicianship, thoughtful arrangements and some of the best songs of Indigo Girls career. Share The Moon warmly invites the listener into the album with a catchy chorus and a knowing lyric and every song after builds until the final, riveting triptych of Damo, Able To Sing and Yoke. For Emily, this is a return to form after several albums of hit or miss material; for Amy, this is a triumph. I could go on and on about each of her tracks but for me the kicker is the final song, Yoke. It's a stunner, sparse and haunting, and her burnished alto delivers a weary, heartbroken performance that could only come from age and experience.

This is one of those rare discs that makes it almost impossible to listen to anyone else.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars outstanding album, October 7, 2011

By 

MIDI Maven "MIDI Maven" (Reno, NV) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Beauty Queen Sister (Audio CD)

I've enjoyed the Indigo Girls ever since my younger brother introduced me to their music when he gave me their 1989 eponymous release. I've listened to every one of their studio albums at least once through streaming music services such as Rhapsody or Spotify, although I focused mostly on purchasing their early albums for my own collection. Yet, I'll be adding "Beauty Queen Sister" to my collection. These songs are luscious, with great arrangements and instrumentation, quite different from much of the bare bones folk-oriented music the Indigo Girls have written over the years. Each one is in a story-telling style, and the subject matter is diverse. There are also a number of guest artists on the album (Luke Bulla, Lucy Wainwright Roche, Viktor Krauss, and the Shadowboxers).

Favorites include "John," "Birthday Song," and "War Rugs," but there really isn't a weak song on the album.