REVIEW: Indigo Girls, Swamp Ophelia
- Bob Gajarsky
Diversity. It's not the first word you think of when talking about the Indigo Girls. But on their fifth major label release, Swamp Ophelia, that's exactly what comes through from start to finish.
The first striking feature about Swamp Ophelia is the cover art and packaging. Emily Saliers and Amy Ray are featured in a 19th century style painting that is quite eye-catching. The inside liner notes, which slide out of the cardboard casing, contain the lyrics and more black and white shots of the Indigo Girls. Although I am not a fan of the digipak which houses the disc, the sleeve is done in a truly original format.
The diversification of the Indigo Girls comes through on the first track, "Fugitive" and lasts straight through to the last track, "This Train Revised". "Fugitive" includes not only the acoustic and electric guitars the Girls are known for, but also a trumpet, flugel horn, African drums and Jane Scarpantoni (R.E.M., Bob Mould, Tiny Lights) on cello. Scarpantoni also appears on "This Train Revised" , where the vocals of Ray and Saliers are ably complemented by 2 violinists, a viola, and Saliers playing a dobro.
In addition, "Train" is the album's most controversial track. "It's a fish white belly lump in the throat / razor on the wire / skin and bone piss and blood in a railroad car / 100 people gypsies queers and David's star" are part of the song which is written specifically about the Holocaust. Ray says , "I'd studied the Holocaust when I was in college...I had to get these feelings out of my system. There's a lot now being uncovered about the homosexual experience of the Holocaust and how it affected those survivors...it's made very clear that although Jews were by far the main victims of the Holocaust, there were many others too".
The song which will probably appeal most to the traditional Indigo Girls fan is "Least Complicated". A musical trip through Emily Saliers mind and past is emphasized with accordions, a penny whistle and drums. The cornucopia of intstruments used on the album are more commonly associated with someone like Paul Simon.
Other tracks? "Power of Two" sounds a bit like James Taylor revisited and "Touch Me Fall" combines the old and new Indigo Girls; 5 minutes of peaceful bliss in the song while the final minute is a mix of loud guitar and drums.
Jane Siberry and The Roches help with backup vocals on two tracks each, and the aforementioned cellos and violins seeminly pop up on all tracks. Only one track is in the "old" Indigo Girls style and that is "Fare Thee Well", where Emily Saliers sings vocals and plays acoustic guitar. However, it seemed like that "old" style was wearing a bit thin.
Despite all the praise, it's not the Indigo Girls best work. It does move the band away from the purely acoustical sound into a more diverse area and this diversity will surely satisfy all fans of the Indigo Girls on Swamp Ophelia.
