Customer Reviews

Become You [Exclusive Amazon.com Version with Bonus Disc] [Limited Edition]

5 star:		(59)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I have been an Indigo Girls fan almost right from the start and have loved every minute of it. I have found, though, over the years, that it's always taken me a hearing or two to really get into the album. Not true with Become You. This is the first album that I've fallen in love with on the first hearing. It is simply amazing.

Emily has done it again, pouring her heart and soul into songs that are lyrically and melodically beautiful and, at times, mournful and politically charged. Amy delivers her heartfelt political statements in seamless songs that show her ever increasing musical maturity and deepening philosophy of life, while never letting you forget it's really her behind the mic.

If you're a Girls fan and haven't purchased this CD yet, RUN!, don't walk to your nearest available merchant and demand a copy. You won't be disappointed.

Let me start with this: the Indigo Girls have been a huge part of my growth as a young adult into an adult. "Swamp Ophelia" was one of my first CDs, and I loved it. I have all of their studio and live albums, several promo singles, and a few bootlegs. I've seen them in concert 10 times in the past few years.

I think this is one of their least satisfying efforts.

To be fair: there are some excellent songs here. Amy continues to impress me with her artistic growth and range of emotion. And Emily can still write ballads that tear at my heartstrings. My review here will focus on criticism.

But the truth is, this album is more of a rehashing of past successes than a true coming-home album.

I really liked Come On Now Social. Not at first, of course, but after a while, the complexity of the songs and their messages grew on me and rewarded me after repeat listening. And it's good to see excellent artists pushing themselves in new directions, even if they aren't always as successful as their original efforts. If it wasn't for experimental, risk-taking music, I don't know *what* we'd be listening to these days.

Despite her growth, Amy can't write new chord progressions. My favorite song on the album, "Become You," has a verse that sounds nearly identical to "Jonas & Ezekiel" from Rites. "Yield" recalls "Devotion" from the Retrospective. And there are more offenders. I guess that it's not really that important; after so many albums in the folk-rock genre, I-IV-V progressions are tempting. The chord progressions aren't the center of the music.

But my real qualm here is with how meek the material is. Emily's new tunes (especially Hope Alone and Collecting You) sound like 80's adult-contemporary hits. There's a thin line between touching emotion and mainstream, easy-listening cheese, and Emily crosses that line more than once on this album.

Moreover, Emily's metaphors are stretching a little thin these days. Take "Deconstruction" for example. When I heard it live last summer, I loved it. But after a listen or two, the imagery seems lackluster and contrived. "the trash truck making its way through the neighborhood ... we get to decide what we think is no good?" Please. It saddens me to hear lyrics such as these coming from the woman who wrote Ghost, Love Will Come to You, and Love's Recovery.

That's my two cents. Take it or leave it. Maybe it's because my musical tastes have changed that I don't like this album as much as I want to, but I'd prefer Swamp Ophelia with all its flaws to Become You any day.

Just finished listening to this album for the 2nd time complete and I've got to say that I was pretty surprised when I popped it in the CD player. After the last 2 ("Shaming..." and "Come On Now") I was expecting a lot of electric guitars, heavy drums, and full band "noise". Instead I found quite a few songs that are beautiful in both their melodic value and their lyrics, and an album that sounds a lot more "like the Indigo Girls". If I had to compare this to another of their albums, I would say it's probably closest in pace to Strange Fire or Nomads Indians and Saints; maybe even softer than that. A particularly good song that grabbed me is "Hope Alone"...an excellent song that speaks to anyone's who been in a long term relationship and is "settled" so to speak. There are a few faster paced songs on the disc where you've got some toe tapping (such as "Bitterroot") but for the most part, the type of album that you listen to for the lyrics and the beauty of the music.

Great acoustic guitar riffs and powerful, thoughtprovoking lyrics are the reasons that I got into the Indigo Girls' music in the first place, and THIS album definitely delivers in that respect. Although I love the Girls' "plugged in" stuff too, this was definitely a refreshing and nicely put together change. I would recommend it of course to any IG fan but to anyone who just loves good music period.

I am a tremendous fan of the Indigo Girls, but have been let down by the past two albums to the point where I probably would not have purchased this album if it were not for the glowing reviews from other longtime fans on this site. Emily's songs are her best since her outstanding contributions on 'Swamp Ophelia', and you have to go all the way back to 'Rites of Passage' to find a consistent collection like this from Amy. If you have been dissatisfied with their recent work, do not hesitate to get this one!

I was not blown away by this album upon first hearing it. However, it slowly worked its magic on me and now this is one of my favorites from this formidable, talented duo. I like the Indigo Girls for their sheer songwriting, harmonizing, and musical skills. They're never dull, and willing to experiment and and try a new direction, which is artistically important. I don't consider myself an "acoustic-only Indigo Girls" or "hard-rock, experimental Indigo Girls" fan. I enjoy and respect all of their albums, though Rites of Passage, Swamp Ophelia, and Come On Now Social are definitely faves (along with Become You).
The best tracks on this release are Emily's poetic "Deconstruction" and gorgeous "Hope Alone" while Amy's "Bitterroot" and "Become You" are flawless. However you classify yourself in terms of Indigo Girls' musical styles, this album will not disappoint and features some of their most introspective, mature lyrics to date.

I've been an Indigo Girls fan for years, but I wasn't as fond of their last album, COME ON NOW SOCIAL. I felt it lacked focus and was community-oriented at the cost of quality. BECOME YOU, though, is a different story. It's always fun to hear artists return to their musical roots, but the Indigo Girls did more than that on this album. Amy Ray, in particular, took a quantum leap in songwriting skill on this record; songs like "Become You", "Moment of Forgiveness", and "Yield" are miles ahead of anything else she's ever written. Amy's increasing prowess is visible in Epic's selection of her songs for radio. Before this, it was always Emily Saliers compositions like "Closer to Fine" and "Galileo" that became singles, while Ray's songs found more of a cult following among IG fans. Now Amy's getting the A&R nod, not that Emily's songs are slouching -- I thought Saliers took a similar songwriting leap on SHAMING OF THE SUN a few years ago, and now they're both writing at a terrifically high level, making BECOME YOU one of the best Indigo Girls albums in years, if not the best ever.

This is the CD that true Indigo fans have been waiting for. This reminds me of all the reasons that I fell in love with the Indigo Girls back in 1988. The harmonies are detailed and perfect, you can feel the emotion in the songs...and, once again I can finally relate these songs to my own life. I cannot stop listening to it!!!

...This album does sound different from their other albums but that is what I really like about it. I wanted to hear a different sound from these guys and I really like how they played around with some new sounds. I like the Norah Jones Bluesy sound on "You've got to Show" and I LOVE the banjo and bluegrass sound of "Bitter Root". I would LOVE for these guys to do more songs that have that kind of sound to it. I LOVE the song " She's Saving Me". I think the words are beautiful and nostalgic. I don't know who "she" is but I think it's Mother Earth. I also love "Deconstruction" and although a previous person thought the lyrics were sub-par I think they are brilliant. I love the lines that say....
"We're sculpted from youth, the chipping away makes me weary
And as for the truth it seems like we just pick a theory
The one that justifies our daily lives
And backs us with quiver and arrows
To protect openings cause when the warring begins
How quickly the wide open narrows"

I also love the song Collecting You. I thought the lyrics in that were wonderful as well. I don't think you need to be as poetic as they were in a song like "Ghost" to say something powerful and meaninful.

Buy this album. You won't regret it. I love it...

I think this album is good on its own merit. True, it can't be compared to such albums as Swamp Ophelia & Rites of Passage. So don't try. The songs are inspired and will move you if you let them - but if you try to compare them to the songs from your favorite IG album, you will be disappointed. It's like buying a new shirt and immediately expecting to love it as much as your favorite sweater. If you're a fan of the Indigo Girls, you will appreciate this collection of songs. They are a bit softer than usual, but retain the unique melodic quality that makes IG amazing.

From the toe-tapping start of "Moment of Forgiveness" to the final wistful note of "Nuevas Senoritas", BECOME YOU is a triumphant return to the Indigo Girls of yesteryear.

Both 1997's SHAMING OF THE SUN and 1999's COME ON NOW SOCIAL featured a more produced sound, a harder edge. The music was great, as always, but the sound was different, emphasizing the Girls' backing band and de-emphasizing the harmonies of which the duos' fans had become so fond. Though the new music was fine, their older albums spent more time in my CD player.

BECOME YOU is a return to the minimalist sounds of earlier Indigo Girls albums."Deconstruction" and "Become You" are just two of the songs to showcase their marvelous harmonies. "Become You", especially, is a tremendous song, perhaps their best, and sounds similar to the music on 1992's RITES OF PASSAGE.

Emily's songs are, as expected, mellow and introspective. "You've Got to Show" is almost jazzy. "Our Deliverance" is a beautiful, idealistic hymn to pacificism in which she sings "There is no nation by God exempted -- lay down your weapons and love your neighbor as yourself." Her best work on the album is the almost-visual "She's Saving Me".

Though Emily's songs are great, I'm an Amy fan: her songs are upbeat, direct. She sings with a fiery intensity that I love. The aforementioned "Become You" is a standout, as are the country-tinged "Bitterroot" and the subtle "Starkville". Throughout her songs, Amy demonstrates her new-found harmonica skills.

This album reminds me of the music my parents played when I was growing up: Simon and Garfunkel; Peter, Paul, and Mary; Neil Diamond; John Denver. It's folk-rock in the classic mode. It's folk rock that is itself destined to become classic.

The Indigo Girls have enjoyed a stealth popularity for over a decade, never quite achieving mainstream success. This may change with BECOME YOU, their best album yet. It's an album that will live in my CD-player (or on my MP3-player) for years to come.

"It took a long time to become the thing I am to you...It took a long time to become you."