This next album caused me to go
back to downgrade my previous review. If this album couldn’t hit four stars,
then “Blood Sugar Sex Magik” doesn’t belong their either. New Year’s resolution:
mark harder!
Disc 691 is…. Nomads Indians Saints
Year of Release: 1990
What’s up with the Cover? An artistic rendering
of Emily and Amy, with words written all over their faces, presumably to show they
are songwriters. Also a bunch of words that look like they’ve been
spray-painted over top of one another to make each one that much more
unreadable. Not even street taggers do this, and here you can see why.
This
cover looks ridiculous to me although not as ridiculous as the real life Emily
and Amy depicted on the inside of the jacket – check this out!
This
‘look’ wasn’t good in 1990, and it hasn’t aged well over the last 25 years.
How I Came To Know It: I was already a fan of the
Indigo Girls since being introduced to them through my friend Susan. This was
just me buying their new album when it came out with my then meager income. So
yes, I’ve owned this album a long time.
How It Stacks Up: I have six Indigo Girls albums. “Nomads Indians
Saints” is pretty good, but not enough to make it on the podium. I rank it
fourth.
Rating: 3 stars but almost 4
I’ve known this album so long (it is one of my first
CDs) that is hard to separate its familiarity from how good it is objectively.
Fortunately, “objectively” is a concept that has limited value when it comes to
art criticism. We like what we like for the reasons we like it, one of which is
familiarity. If you think you’re not approaching with these and many other inherent
biases, you’re just fooling yourself.
“Nomads Indians Saints” is a minor departure for the
Indigo Girls. It is still solidly in the guitar-strumming nineties folk scene,
and it is still dominated by Amy Ray’s deep and resonant voice, Emily Salier’s
higher, pure tones and some alchemical process that creates deep and beautiful
harmonies when the two are combined.
The slight departure is a smoother production, and a
bit more instrumentation. Their self-titled album and “Strange Fire” are both sparser sounding records. “Nomads” is still a quality record, but the
production decisions take a bit of the edge off, and from time to time I miss
that edge.
Regardless of whether you like your folk rough or
relaxed, “Nomads, Indians, Saints” does itself a big favour by leading off with
its best track, “Hammer and a Nail.”
This song was a revelation to the twenty year old me that first heard it. The
song’s message is “stop moping, stop overthinking – just get off your ass and get
on with your life.” I really needed that advice in 1990, and on any
particularly bad day since. “Hammer and a
Nail” has a positive energy to it that can’t help but seep into your
marrow, particularly if you play it a few times in a row (something I’ve done
often).
Despite all this, I consistently mis-hear the lyrics
of the first line. It is supposed to be “Clearing
webs from the hovel” but I always hear “Clear
and west from the Hubble.” In my defence the Hubble was launched the year
this album came out, so it was on my mind. Also, equating space exploration
with a song about getting back to basics is proof of another line in the song, “I’ve been digging too deep, I always do.”
I’ve always heard that line correctly, for all the good it’s done me over the
years.
The rest of the album doesn’t hold up to “Hammer and a Nail” but there is still
plenty of good stuff to go around. There is an acoustic guitar solo on “Welcome Me” that is understated and
perfect, and “Southland in the Springtime”
features some of the prettiest vocals the Indigo Girls have done on this or any
other record.
I expect my folk records to have some folksy wisdom,
and “Nomads Indians Saints” delivers on this front. In addition to “Hammer and a Nail,” “Watershed” is a great “enjoy the journey”
song:
“Up on the watershed, standing at
the fork in the road
You can stand there and agonize
Till your agony’s your heaviest
load.
You’ll never fly as the crow
flies, get used to a country mile
When you’re learning to face the
path at your pace
Every choice is worth your while.”
This is just the sort of thing old existentialists
like me need to hear to recharge our batteries. My other favourite line from
this song is:
“Well there’s always retrospect
to light a clearer path
Every five years or so I look
back on my life
And I have a good laugh.”
I’m sure Sartre would remind me that my past self is
only a construct in my mind, but he couldn’t deny that there’s wisdom – and hopefully
a little humour – to be gained from a ‘then and now’ comparison with the old
you.
There are a couple of places where “Nomads Indians
Saints” meanders a little musically, but like a drive down a country road,
there is plenty of good scenery along the way so you won’t mind. Also, the musical
lessons the Girls were working out on this record would lay the groundwork for
the classic folk record that would come next. But I digress – I’ll talk about
that album when I roll it.
Best tracks: Hammer and a Nail, Welcome Me,
Southland in the Springtime, Watershed, Hand Me Downs
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