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Staring
Down the Brilliant Dream
For more than two decades, Indigo Girls Amy Ray and Emily Saliers
have presented some of their best music in front of cheering crowds
– sometimes in the cramped confines of a small club, sometimes in a
vast arena packed with thousands.
The Grammy-winning singer-songwriters celebrate their long-standing
passion for live performances on their upcoming release, Staring
Down the Brilliant Dream on IG Recordings/Vanguard Records.
Available on June 29th, the two-disc CD features 31 songs, each
hand-selected by the duo to capture the most memorable moments of
their 2006-2009 shows.
The CD documents that amazing three-year run of concerts, but also
reminds both their longtime fans and casual followers that the
Indigos still consider live shows “the most vibrant part of what we
do,” Ray says.
They captured that vibrancy with the help of soundman Brian Speiser,
who listened to hundreds of recorded shows from across the country.
“Brian helped us vet certain songs that he had a good feeling
about,” Saliers says. “We wanted to include not just new songs, but
tracks that covered our whole discography and a few of the more
obscure tracks.”
Knowing that some live CDs can be rough around the edges, Saliers
and Ray made certain each track they included reflected them at
their musical best. It may have been a great night full of energy
and enthusiasm, but if the performance wasn’t up to par, it didn’t
make the cut.
“I didn’t want people to take home a recording with glitches and
forgotten choruses,” Saliers admits. “Some fans might find that
charming, but I like giving them the best of what we could present.
So when we got a good recording, it was exciting.”
When they nailed a technically difficult song such as “I Believe In
Love,” and then discovered the performance also packed the emotional
wallop they were looking for, “We turned to each other and said,
‘Whoa, how did that happen?’ because it was this little nugget that
was so great to find,” Ray says.
Some tracks made the final cut because they featured great back-up
work by longtime band members Carol Isaacs on keyboards, Clare Kenny
on bass and Matt Chamberlain on drums. Some begged to be included
because Julie Wolf’s piano part deserved to be heard again. Other
tracks were essential because they included terrific guest vocalists
such as Michelle Malone on the Rolling Stones’ “Wild Horses” and
Brandi Carlile on Bob Dylan’s “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right.”
The Indigos weren’t sure if they should include a version of their
crowd-pleasing “Closer To Fine” on the CD until they heard a version
with Jill Hennessey and new comers A Fragile Tomorrow singing
back-up. Then they knew they had to.
“The tracks that are special were attached to special nights,”
Saliers says. “It’s usually dictated by the crowd. Sometimes the
energy is so tremendous and the crowds are so rowdy, but then you
can suddenly hear a pin drop during the ballads. You recognize that
as a performer, and you can tell that the crowd is with you. And
it’s reciprocal – we feed them and they feed us. And we walk off the
stage at the end of the night clapping each other on the back and
saying, ‘That was awesome.’ “
“We really wanted this CD to feel like you’re right at the venue
listening to the show,” Ray says, “that it’s a continuous experience
and you’re drawn into it as if you were there.”
“When I listen to a live CD, I want to be able to hear some shining
moment that’s unique and has a different feel to it than the studio
version, something that brings you closer,” she adds.
Like a miniature travelogue, Staring Down The Brilliant Dream comes
packaged with fan-submitted photos that document the duo’s life on
the road. Every photographer whose work is published will be
credited in the booklet.
“We went through all the photos and picked as many as we could to
include,” Ray says. “It was such a cool thing that the fans took the
time to send them all in, and it really made the CD feel like more
of a communal experience.”
The CD also comes packaged with personal notes penned by Saliers and
Ray that describe how they wrote each song, what they remember about
that specific show, and why - among the thousands to chose from -
they value those particular performances so much. Those detailed
memories prove that after years of performing, they remain as
engaged and present onstage as ever.
Produced by The Indigo Girls and Brian Speiser, Staring Down The
Brilliant Dream is a vivid reminder of all the concerts audiences
were lucky to catch -- and consolation for the ones they missed.
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Presented in conjunction with NCBPAC & Landshark Entertainment
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