Indigo Girls (album)
Encyclopedia
Indigo Girls is the second studio album by Indigo Girls
. It was released in 1989 on Epic Records.
The album received excellent critical reviews, and went gold after six months and eventually went platinum. The duo was nominated for a Best New Artist
Grammy (losing to Milli Vanilli
), and won one for Best Contemporary Folk Recording
. It was reissued in 2000 with two bonus tracks.
Michael Stipe
sang on Kid Fears, and the other members of R.E.M.
performed on Tried To Be True. As well, the Irish
band Hothouse Flowers
backed the duo on several tracks.
2000 reissue bonus tracks
Additional personnel
Singles
Indigo Girls
The Indigo Girls are an American folk rock music duo, consisting of Amy Ray and Emily Saliers. They met in elementary school and began performing together as high school students in Decatur, Georgia, part of the Atlanta metropolitan area...
. It was released in 1989 on Epic Records.
The album received excellent critical reviews, and went gold after six months and eventually went platinum. The duo was nominated for a Best New Artist
Grammy Award for Best New Artist
The Grammy Award for Best New Artist has been awarded since 1959. Years reflect the year in which the Grammy Awards were handed out, for records released in the previous year. The award was not presented in 1967...
Grammy (losing to Milli Vanilli
Milli Vanilli
Milli Vanilli was a pop/dance music project formed by Frank Farian in Germany in 1988, visually fronted by Fab Morvan and Rob Pilatus. The group's debut album achieved international success and earned them a Grammy Award for Best New Artist on Feb. 21, 1990. Milli Vanilli became one of the most...
), and won one for Best Contemporary Folk Recording
Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album
The Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album was awarded from 1987 to 2011. Until 1993 the award was known as the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Recording. In 2007, this category was renamed Best Contemporary Folk/Americana Album...
. It was reissued in 2000 with two bonus tracks.
Michael Stipe
Michael Stipe
John Michael Stipe is an American singer and lyricist. He was the lead vocalist of the alternative rock band R.E.M.Stipe is noted and occasionally parodied for the "mumbling" style of his early career as well as his social and political activism. He was in charge of R.E.M.'s visual image; often...
sang on Kid Fears, and the other members of R.E.M.
R.E.M.
R.E.M. was an American rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by singer Michael Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills and drummer Bill Berry. One of the first popular alternative rock bands, R.E.M. gained early attention due to Buck's ringing, arpeggiated guitar style and Stipe's...
performed on Tried To Be True. As well, the Irish
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
band Hothouse Flowers
Hothouse Flowers
The Hothouse Flowers are an Irish rock group that combines traditional Irish music with influences from soul, gospel and rock.-Career:The group first formed in 1985 when Liam Ó Maonlaí and Fiachna Ó Braonáin began performing as street musicians, or buskers, on the streets of Dublin,Ireland as "The...
backed the duo on several tracks.
Track listing
- "Closer to Fine" (Emily SaliersEmily SaliersEmily Saliers is an American singer-songwriter and member of the Indigo Girls. Saliers plays lead guitar as well as banjo, piano, mandolin, ukulele, bouzouki and many other instruments.-Background:...
) – 4:02 - "Secure Yourself" (Amy RayAmy RayAmy Elizabeth Ray is an American singer-songwriter and member of the contemporary folk duo Indigo Girls. She also pursues a solo career and has released four albums under her own name, and founded a record company, Daemon Records....
) – 3:35 - "Kid Fears" (Ray) – 4:34
- "Prince of Darkness" (Saliers) – 5:21
- "Blood and Fire" (Ray) – 4:38
- "Tried to Be True" (Ray) – 2:59
- "Love's Recovery" (Saliers) – 4:23
- "Land of Canaan" (Ray) – 3:57
- "Center Stage" (Ray) – 4:46
- "History of Us" (Saliers) – 5:27
2000 reissue bonus tracks
- "Land of Canaan" (Radio single remix) (Ray) – 3:06
- "Center Stage" (Live) (Ray) – 4:04 Recorded live at Shepherds Bush EmpireShepherds Bush EmpireThe O2 Shepherds Bush Empire is a music venue in Shepherd's Bush, London, England, run by the Academy Music Group. It was built in 1903, as a music hall, and in 1953 became the BBC Television Theatre...
, London, November 24, 1994
Personnel
Indigo Girls- Amy RayAmy RayAmy Elizabeth Ray is an American singer-songwriter and member of the contemporary folk duo Indigo Girls. She also pursues a solo career and has released four albums under her own name, and founded a record company, Daemon Records....
– lead vocals, guitars - Emily SaliersEmily SaliersEmily Saliers is an American singer-songwriter and member of the Indigo Girls. Saliers plays lead guitar as well as banjo, piano, mandolin, ukulele, bouzouki and many other instruments.-Background:...
– lead vocals, guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
s, twelve string electric guitarTwelve string guitarThe twelve-string guitar is an acoustic or electric guitar with 12 strings in 6 courses, which produces a richer, more ringing tone than a standard six-string guitar...
on 2, lead electric guitar on 6
Additional personnel
- Peter O'Toole – mandolinMandolinA mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single...
on 1 2, backing vocals on 1 - Fiachna Ó BraonáinFiachna Ó BraonáinFiachna Ó Braonáin plays the guitar and sings vocals with the Irish band Hothouse Flowers. Born in Dublin, he received his school education at Scoil Lorcáin and Coláiste Eoin...
– tin whistleTin whistleThe tin whistle, also called the penny whistle, English Flageolet, Scottish penny whistle, Tin Flageolet, Irish whistle and Clarke London Flageolet is a simple six-holed woodwind instrument. It is an end blown fipple flute, putting it in the same category as the recorder, American Indian flute, and...
on 1, backing vocals on 1, Hammond organHammond organThe Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond in 1934 and manufactured by the Hammond Organ Company. While the Hammond organ was originally sold to churches as a lower-cost alternative to the wind-driven pipe organ, in the 1960s and 1970s it became a standard keyboard...
on 2 - Liam Ó MaonlaíLiam Ó MaonlaíLiam Ó Maonlaí is an Irish musician best known as a member of the Hothouse Flowers. Ó Maonlaí formed the band in 1985 with his schoolmate Fiachna Ó Braonáin....
– bodhránBodhránThe bodhrán is an Irish frame drum ranging from 25 to 65 cm in diameter, with most drums measuring 35 to 45 cm . The sides of the drum are 9 to 20 cm deep. A goatskin head is tacked to one side...
on 1, backing vocals on 1 - Luka BloomLuka BloomLuka Bloom is an Irish folk-rock singer-songwriter. He is the younger brother of Irish folk singer Christy Moore.-Early life:...
– backing vocals on 1 - Paulinho Da CostaPaulinho Da CostaPaulinho da Costa is a Brazilian percussionist born in Rio de Janeiro, considered one of the most recorded musicians of modern times. Playing over two hundred percussion instruments, he has participated in thousands of recording sessions, Grammy Award-winning albums, hit songs, soundtracks, radio...
– percussionPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
on 1 2 4 8 - Dede Vogt – bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
on 2 3 7 10 - Jay Dee DaughertyJay Dee DaughertyJay Dee Daugherty is an American drummer and songwriter most known for his work with Patti Smith. As a member of the Patti Smith Group, he has been nominated twice to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.- Biography :...
– drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
on 2 4 8 - John KeaneJohn Keane (record producer)John Keane is an American record producer based in Athens, Georgia, who has worked extensively with R.E.M., Indigo Girls and Widespread Panic. He owns and operates John Keane Studios in Athens, which opened in 1981....
– twelve string electric guitar on 3, bass on 4, shakerShaker (percussion)The word shaker describes a large number of percussive musical instruments used for creating rhythm in music.They are so called because the method of creating sound involves shaking them—moving them back and forth rather than striking them. Most may also be struck for a greater accent on certain...
on 6, slide guitarSlide guitarSlide guitar or bottleneck guitar is a particular method or technique for playing the guitar. The term slide refers to the motion of the slide against the strings, while bottleneck refers to the original material of choice for such slides: the necks of glass bottles...
on 8 9, bass drumBass drumBass drums are percussion instruments that can vary in size and are used in several musical genres. Three major types of bass drums can be distinguished. The type usually seen or heard in orchestral, ensemble or concert band music is the orchestral, or concert bass drum . It is the largest drum of...
on 9 - Michael StipeMichael StipeJohn Michael Stipe is an American singer and lyricist. He was the lead vocalist of the alternative rock band R.E.M.Stipe is noted and occasionally parodied for the "mumbling" style of his early career as well as his social and political activism. He was in charge of R.E.M.'s visual image; often...
– backing vocals on 3 - Bill BerryBill BerryWilliam "Bill" Thomas Berry is a retired American musician, multi-instrumentalist, best known as the drummer for the alternative rock band R.E.M. In addition to his drumming duties, Berry played many other instruments including guitar, bass guitar, and piano, both for songwriting and on R.E.M....
– drums on 6 - Peter BuckPeter BuckPeter Lawrence Buck , is an American rock guitarist who is best known for playing in and co-founding alternative rock band R.E.M....
– electric guitarElectric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
on 6 - Mike MillsMike MillsMichael Edward "Mike" Mills is an American multi-instrumentalist and composer who was a founding member of the alternative rock group R.E.M.. Though known primarily as a bass guitarist, backing vocalist, and pianist, his musical repertoire includes also keyboards, guitar, and percussion instruments...
– bass on 6 - Jai Winding – pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
on 7 - Kasim SultonKasim SultonKasim Sulton is an American bass guitarist, keyboardist, and vocalist. Best known for his work with Utopia, Sulton sang lead on 1980's "Set Me Free," Utopia's only top 40 hit in the United States...
– bass on 8 - John Van TongerenJohn Van TongerenJohn Van Tongeren is a music composer, mainly for films and television series.- Biography :Van Tongeren began his career as one of the original members of Media Ventures . During his time at Media Ventures Van Tongeren worked on films such as Thelma and Louise, True Romance and Drop Zone with Hans...
– keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
on 10
Charts
Album| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1989 | The Billboard Billboard (magazine) Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis... 200 |
22 |
Singles
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | "Closer to Fine" | Billboard Modern Rock Tracks | 26 |
| 1989 | "Closer to Fine" | The Billboard Hot 100 | 52 |
| 1989 | "Closer to Fine" | Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks | 48 |
| 1989 | "Closer to Fine" | Billboard Adult Contemporary | 48 |
Certifications
| Organization | Level | Date |
|---|---|---|
| RIAA – U.S. | Gold | September 11, 1989 |
| RIAA – U.S. | Platinum | April 16, 1992 |
| RIAA – U.S. | Double Platinum | June 3, 1997 |