Search - Indigo Girls :: 1200 Curfews

A wonderful album that is as good as hearing them in concert

Lawrance M. Bernabo | The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota | 01/04/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

""1200 Curfews" is one of the best live albums available, a retrospective examination of the Indigo Girls in the style of the definitive collection produced by Bruce Springsteen. Originally the idea was to record two shows on their "Swamp Ophelia" tour, but instead the duo decided to go with recordings from earlier concerts as well as radio broadcasts and summer shed tours, along with impromptu backstage and home performances. The songs are recorded on everything from 48 track digital machines to cheap 2 track recorders. Consequently, with "1200 Curfews" the most memorable songs are not the ones you are going to find on the Indigo Girls' other albums. On first listening the songs that stand out are probably the cover songs performed by the Indigo Girls. The one that stands out heads and shoulders above the rest is their cover of Dylan's "Tangled Up in Blue," yet another reminder that the man's ear for harmony was always vastly superior to his voice, as Peter, Paul and Mary and many others have already proven. Gerard McHugh's "Thin Line" is the song you will not recognize but instantly love, taped in a dressing room before a concert. Personally, I like their cover of Neil Young's "Down by the River," especially the guitar solo, although I recognize this is an acquired taste. "Midnight Train to Georgia," never did anything for me, but it is a nice turn of pace and one of the key things about this album is that they do include a lot of different things. There are studio and live versions of Buffy Sainte-Marie's "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee," which has an awesome bass line and is certainly one of the more political efforts by the duo. Emily Saliers does a solo performance of Joni Mitchell's "River," which always reminds me of the "I'll Be Home for Christmas" episode of "thirtysomething" (if you have seen that one, you will remember it too). This is not to say that there are not some fine moments on some of their better-known songs. "Least Complicated" ends with the crowd in Philadelphia continuing the "na na na na na na na" long after the song has ended. A gentle performance of "Power of Two" done for a radio show. I like the live versions of "Pushing the Needle Too Far" and "Chickenman," which convinces me that Amy Ray's singing just goes to another level in live performance. But my favorite is clearly "Strange Fire," because instead of a simple guitar duet the entire band joins in and I love the cello and violin (Jane Scarpantoni and Scarlet Rivera respectively). A very powerful version of one of their oldest songs. The liner notes include handwritten comments on the songs by Emily and Amy that add a nice personal touch. If you have ever seen the Indigo Girls in concert you already know that they are one of the better shows you can ever hope to see. They are as committed to their music as they are to their causes and so it is no surprise that their live able is so special. For my money, this is the Indigo Girls album to have. It is certainly the one I listen to the most."

Indigo Girls At Their Finest Hour

Miss P | Dirty Jerz | 05/02/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"There is no question that the Indigo Girls put on an incredible live show. If you take all the best songs from every live performance they have done and make a 2-disc compilation, you would have 1200 Curfews. This album followed the release of Swamp Ophelia and includes tours from that time period, so fans of Swamp Ophelia are in for quite a treat. The beauty of this album is that just when you think you know the songs inside and out, you listen to them live and it's as if you're hearing them for the first time. There are quite a few Swamp songs included, 2 notables being "Least Complicated" and "Mystery." But the two discs cover the entire spectrum of IG songs, from a dive bar, rock out version of "I Don't Wanna Know" to a tender "Ghost," to a crowd-pleasing "Galileo." They also include an unreleased song by Gerard McHugh, called "Thin Line," which is probably one of my favorite songs on the cds.There are also some amazing covers on this album. When Emily sings the 'Montague Street' verse of Dylan's "Tangled Up in Blue," it takes your breath away. She also shows her dynamic range on Joni Mitchell's "River." (I actually prefer her version to Joni's.) But the gem of this album has got to be "Midnight Train to Georgia." It still blows me away and I've heard it a million times.Although I don't think it was necessary to include "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee" not once, but twice, I can overlook it and still give the album 5 stars. It's that good. I think it's safe to say that almost every Indigo Girls fan already owns this double-cd, but if you're just starting to listen to their music and want a great mix of songs from all the albums, this is the one to buy."

Have a concert in your living room!

Shelley Gammon | Kaufman, Texas USA | 07/28/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"There are lots of live cuts and discs from lots of artists, but they're typically not the same as being at a concert. Most discs just let you hear the lesser quality than studio sound... and a few wolf whistles, and that's it... but this 2-disc set shines above the rest.If you close your eyes, you'll think you're at an outdoor concert. You can hear the members of the audience singing along and the sound of the acoustic guitars and the voices in harmony is fabulous.Previously unavailable tracks (except through bootleg circles) such as "Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee" will blow you away with the depth of the meaning of the lyrics and the picture painted with the words. Single classics such as "Closer to Fine," "The Power of Two" and "Galileo" are also presented as live cuts. Whether you've been a fan for the past 10+ years or if you just recently started hearing tracks from the girls, you won't be disappointed in this fun, melodic and rockin' live set."