Prom

The Indigo Girls' Amy Ray is sensational. The song "Let it Ring" is a true reflection of the events taking place in America in present day- the fight for justice, equality, and respect for all people. I just heard the Indigo Girls last weekend in New Orleans, and it was the best live performance I've ever seen. Sometimes live performances are lackluster, but I would have to say that these girls are even better live. What amazing performers- Amy Ray definitely brought down the house with "Let It Ring". Check it out!

if for no other reason than "Rural F****t". Amy Ray manages to capture the punk attitude of her live performances in this album. You just want to crank up the volume and dance around the room. But don't be deceived. She can punk it out, but still writes amazing lyrics that draw you into the story that she's telling. Huge props go out to her studio musicians as well. The sound is tight, tight, tight on this release.

After listening to either of Amy Ray's solo albums it becomes quickly apparent that there is a wealth of music brewing inside of this artist that needs to get out--but not as an Indigo Girl. I have always thought that both women possess incredible talent and this album allows listeners to enjoy a completely different level of that talent. Although Amy's solo music may surprise some IG fans, it's great to listen to. Amy channels raw emotion into meaningful, powerful songs. What more can you ask for???

For Amy Ray's second solo disc, the "more intense" half of the Indigo Girls taps into her past for an exploration of awkward adolescence that is both heartbreaking and empowering. Boldly exploring issues of sexual identity and alienation, Ray charts the rocky path to maturation, recalling nights spent hanging out with "all the punks and the queers and the freaks and the smokers" who "feel like they'll be waiting for the rest of their lives" (the powerful opener "Put It Out for Good"), days spent "drinkin' with the older boys and trippin' by the lakeside" ("Driver Education") and years agonizing over how "not to walk like a man" ("Pennies On the Track"). On "Rural F#ggot," she gives advice to an angry young boy struggilng with his sexuality, and later sings of her desire for a relationship filled with purity on "Sober Girl." It's all presented in a straight-up rock and roll fashion, equally informed by the punk rock swagger of forebears like the Clash and Joan Jett as it is by Ray's own Southern roots. Through it all, Ray's knack for mixing melodrama with melody remains clear-headed and compelling, never letting pathos or melancholy stand in the way of a damn good rock tune. As an artist who admits to being inspired by and influenced by the DIYers of the now-defunct "queercore" (aka homocore) music scene, Ray is doing something equally important: She's carrying the flame of the movement, issuing a call as much for activism as she is for making identity-driven music that sure feels good to rock out to. This is an instant classic. Buy it.

"Prom" exposes Amy Ray's part of the Indigo Girls, but this a great album in it's own right. While you can hear a resemblance to some of the harder Indigo Girls songs, the songs aren't just half of Indigo Girls. The first listen is easy because of the the strong melodies, but the concrete lyrics draw you in and really give the songs depth. This is a classic American Rock 'N' Roll album akin to Billy Joel's Piano Man or The Stranger. Amy Ray is an amazing talent and this is a great album.

I absolutely adore this album. I started listening to the Indigo Girls in the 1990s and have always favored the more electric Amy Ray songs and now I feel as though I'm really getting away with something, having two entire edgy Amy Ray albums all to myself. Well, I guess you all can listen too. ;-) Anyhow, the songs on Prom are rich with storytelling and Amy's deep, gravelly voice and I love the music. Put It Out for Good is my current favorite song.