Customer Reviews

Testimony: Vol. 2, Love & Politics

5 star:		(42)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

This album is phenomenal!!! I own all of India Arie's previous albums, and already this one is my favorite. India represents the quiet in a world of chaos. Her music has meaning, her lyrics have depth. This album will get you to look not just at yourself and your own 4 walls, but also on the world around you. India has maintained her integrity and self respect by once again refusing to give into the world's system oversexed marginal talent. The album is soulful, deep, theraputic, beautiful and sensual at the same time. It's great from beginning to end, so you can play it all the way through without skipping one song. Even the interludes she sings are hot. For those out there who have Vol. 1, Vol. 2 is much different. Vol. 1 is a great album if you've just had your heart broken or just got out of a relationship, while Vol. 2 is about real, true love. Love for yourself, and love for one another. I have to say also that India's voice has never sounded better. She hit some notes on this album that I didn't know she could hit! I can't say enough about it, except Buy It!!!! You will not be disappointed.

Although I love all the songs, my favorites are:
Therapy
Ghetto
Chocolate High
He Heals Me
Pearls
Long Goodbye
Better Way

I have all of India.Arie's albums, and have been looking forward to this new one, but wasn't sure what to expect...I was surprised to discover this is one of my favorites! Positive, joyful, diverse and lovely songs. India.Arie continues to be one of my favorite artists.

India.Arie turns in another stellar effort of her fourth CD. The follow up to "Testimony Vol. 1" which garnered her first US #1 album. Musically, she sticks to her acoustic Soul style almost Folk-like in places, with deep social conscious lyrics.

Lead-off single is the retro organ-drenched sultry "Chocolate high" with Musiq Soulchild. The Folk-y "Therapy" (featuring Gramps Morgan) is a more upbeat fast strummed number. Keeping up the tempo are the groovy Hip Hop/Jazz-tinged "Psalm 23" (with MC Lyte), the Blues/Rock "Better way" (about the issues unearthed by Hurricane Katrina and other ills), and closing bonus cut "A beautiful day".

Standouts to me are the awesome Latin-tinged "Ghetto" ("To be hungry in LA/is just like starving in Bombay" she sings, telling us poverty and hardship is shared by all humanity), her beautiful West African-tinged take on Sade's sombre lament "Pearls" (featuring Dobet Gnahore, some lovely harmonies, and including a woman in Rwanda in the lyrics), the tender acoustic ballad "He heals me" (a beautiful love song), and the retro sounding "Yellow" (featuring Terrell Carter) which sounds like some lost song from seventies Stevie Wonder.

India's lyrics, as usual, brim with over-positivity and optimism, something that oddly puts some people off. I wonder why, lyrics like this are a welcome escape from the harsh and sad realities of the world. Another solid outing from the talented Ms. Arie, a winner!

What a musical gift. The most remarkable aspect of India is that she is a technical singer. She is a singer's singer. She sings the chords in such perfect melody and hits some incredible notes both high and low. And her subject matter, content is always on point, relevant to the times we live in. There definately should be more artist like her. I wish I had friends like her. God Bless You.
This cd continues her journey with memorable tracks like Yellow, and the interlude plays between the tracks expressing her gratitude to the most high. And oh course Chocolate High with her equal in male form, Musiq Soulchild, sends out a message of pride that we soon will not forget. I love everything about this release as I have each of her previous, each of building in encouragement and positive reinforcement.
I can truly say thank you, India.

India's done it again. I know not many people can get with the meaning of some of her work. BUT--since becoming a die hard fan in 2000, her music has taught me to appreciate the art on a much deeper level than the commercial or superficial. She even explains her reasons for all of it on the inside cover. I definately have a better understanding of music and India's messages on life and love.

This is a great CD!!!!!!! I was waiting for a new CD and it is worth it..... Excellent Lyrics

India.Arie first came to my attention through an appearance on Oprah during the time her debut CDAcoustic Soul. I thought at the time she was an important breath of fresh air,considering the by then deadly dull shuffling variety of New Jack Swing and early Pro Tools-styled production were all over the place and impossible to get away from.Arie's "acoustic soul" seemed a nice companion to Neo Soul.Since then.....well I have listened to new music but somehow stopped paying attention to India.Arie. Well it's eight years later and the world has been through the toughest near decade I've ever seen anyone had to endure. And even if the debate that this artist's advocacy of "naturalness" in music will save R&B......well even at this point it is apparent even she has begun to move on in her musical adventure.This is the second volume in a set of albums starting with 2006's Testimony: Vol. 1, Life & Relationship and continues here. But this volume is Love & Politics.The songs deal with both issues but also shows how they are intertwined.To emphasize that I have to go towards the end of the album to a song called "The Cure".The epic "ballad",I guess really it pointed out that hate is our worse disease as a society-more then AIDS even.And of course the "cure" is love.Simplistic yes but,fact is people often try to overlook the simple things in life,complicating things in order to appear more mature. And that,in a word in a them with most of the album how "love and politics" aren't in fact the seperate issues they appear.They also find India.Arie stepping lightly outside her signiture sound to create some new hybrids to keep things fresh.On "Therapy",for one the production is more oriented around modern day electronics rather then anything overly natural but neither are lost and the lyrics,as typical with her is definately uplifting.One thing this albums has a lot of are ballads,of course being something she does quite well.Some such as "Pearls","River Rise","He Heals Me" and "Long Goodbye" contain character sketches either relating to romance or the how the difficult lives of woman in third world countries are perceived differently to them."Chocolate High",featuring Musiq Soulchild is the only conventional R&B kind of ballad,comparing the joys of sensuality to the joyful highs of confections. Well there are also a lot of edgier songs here that point to new directions.India's albums are not free of uptempo songs but,on the other hand "Better Way" is a downright scatching political funk-rock with some harsher guitar riffs and more assured vocals from Arie.MC Lyte's electronically weaving rap does a similar thing to Arie's abstract funky take on "Psalms 23". Another most telling song here is "Ghetto",pointing to an important point my buddy Henrique and I once discussed regarding how people who live in a ghetto may not even know there are other ghetto's in other areas of the country and the world and that all environments again interelate-that LA might as well be Bombay as the lyric states. There's a bonus track at the end of all this-"A Beautiful Day"-again kind of a modern song with a totally optimisitc outlook. The liner notes of this album provide no lyrics but instead her own self written liner nots and some snapshots of India in various colorful clothes. It will be awhile before we see how this will progress in time.But her debut and her last album were multiple Grammy winners and huge artistic success.And if the winds of society in general swing the way they seem to I see yet more wonders in India.Arie's future.

If you are looking for an affirmative, sensitive and insightful album, this is the one for you. Though, it took me two years to buy it, it was worth the wait.
There is a track on here for everyone. It is a beautiful synthesis of love songs (Chocolate High) and songs that take a look at world politics and the state of society (Pearls). India.Arie's fabulous guitar playing lifts and enlightens you, as her soaring vocals delight and stir your soul. I really recommend this music to anyone in the process of a major life change. Start your morning with the song "A Beautiful Day," and it will be! I guarantee it. Just listen to these songs. Food for the heart and feelings. A rejuvenating and enlightening experience, without a doubt.

I love India.Arie's incredible voice. This is not one of her best cd's, but it's pleasurable nevertheless. Her duet with Musiq SoulChild is tops.

Damn, I own every India.Arie CD and they are actually all 5star efforts, even though I gotta say that her first CD "Acoustic Soul" has to be my favourite.

India's long awaited Vol.2 sets off right where Vol.1 left us two years ago. Great mellow guitar driven tracks with meaningful and soulful lyrics. This is a CD to relax to! Check out "Chocolate High w/ Musiq", "Ghetto", "The Cure" and "Long Goodbye", which are probably the best tracks on this great soul CD. Go on girl.