Swamp Ophelia (CD - 1994)

Additional personnel: John Painter (guitar, flugelhorn, accordion); Lisa Germano (violin, mandolin); Kristin Wilkinson (violin, viola); Sheila Doyle, David Davidson (violin); Jane Scarpantoni, Anthony Lamarchina (cello); Bill Newton (harmonica); Joel Sonnier (accordion); Connie Grauer (melodica, synthesizer); James Hall (trumpet); Chuck Leavell (piano, vibra chimes); Danny Thompson (acoustic bass); Sara Lee, Jan Dykes (bass); Tony Levin (stick bass); Jerry Marotta, Kim Zick (drums, percussion); Michael Lorant (drums, background vocals); Jane Siberry, The Roches, Sam "Shake" Anderson, Larry Ray, Sr. (background vocals).

Recorded at Woodland Sound Studio, Nashville, Tennessee.

SWAMP OPHELIA was nominated for Best Contemporary Folk Album in the 37th Annual Grammy Awards.

Personnel: Emily Saliers (vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, classical guitar, dobro, bouzouki); Amy Ray (vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar); Michael Lorant (vocals, drums, background vocals); John Painter (guitar, electric guitar, accordion, flugelhorn); John Mark Painter (guitar, accordion, flugelhorn); Lisa Germano (mandolin, violin, pennywhistle); Sheila Doyle, Chris Teal, David Davidson (violin); Kristin Wilskinson, Kristin Wilkinson (viola); Jane Scarpantoni, Anthony LaMarchina (cello); Bill Newton (harmonica); Jo-El Sonnier (accordion); Connie Grauer (melodica, synthesizer, bass synthesizer); James Hall (trumpet); Chuck Leavell (piano, chimes); Jerry Marotta (marimba, drums, bongos, percussion); Jan Dykes, Sara Lee (bass guitar); Kim Zick (snare drum, timpani, tom tom, triangle); Sam Anderson, Larry Ray, Sr., Jane Siberry, The Roches , Sam "Shake" Anderson (background vocals).

Recording information: Woodland Sound Studios, Nashville, TN.

Unknown Contributor Roles: Love Sponge String Quartet; Tony Levin .

Arrangers: John Painter; Mike Batt.

Amy Ray and Emily Saliers continue to hone their signature lush melodies on their fifth studio effort, Swamp Ophelia. Reflecting back to their pioneering singer/songwriting days of the late '80s and early '90s, this album is confident in the face of the male-dominated music industry and the Indigo Girls are no longer afraid to hit upon past relationships and personal emotion. Saliers and Ray's incredible harmonies are most stylish and songs such as "Language of the Kiss" and "Touch Me Fall" are illustriously romantic and serene. "Least Complicated" is vocally enchanting, layering bongos and percussion to make this cut an album standout. Their choir-like unison allows their vocal power to carry them through the entire record, but accompanying musicians, such as Lisa Germano (mandolin, violin), Canadian songstress Jane Siberry, and cellist Jane Scarpantoni, also make Swamp Ophelia more pleasurable. But the duo also move beyond the sweet and tender by dipping into darker realms, especially on "Dead Man's Hill." Their earthy voices creep along the haunting tom-toms to provoke another musical side. This album is another humanistic effort from the Indigo Girls' deep and indwelling passions and ideas. This release molds the beauty of what's yet to come. ~ MacKenzie Wilson

Emerging from the Georgian musical hothouse which germinated bands like R.E.M., the Indigo Girls walk the line between pop aspirations and folk sensibilities. And on their latest offering, SWAMP OPHELIA, they continue to plumb the enigmatic depths of relationships and the feminine persona with rare spiritual resolve, and practiced lyric grace.

Song stylists Amy Ray and Emily Saliers are The Indigo Girls, and you couldn't get much farther away from the prevailing riot grrrl stance than in beautiful songs like "Power Of Two" and "Touch Me Fall," stories in which the protagonists are strengthened and buttressed by the love of another. With their acoustic guitars and distinctive vocal harmonies, the Indigo Girls are throwbacks to a bygone era of music, when folk troubadours like Dylan and Joni Mitchell transformed all the prevailing notions of what constituted pop songforms with their ultra-personal imagery and bold melodic styles.

It is that intimate quality, animated by a '90s point of view, that distinguishes Amy and Emily's music from the rest of the pack. minimize