Rarities

1	Clampdown 3:17
2	I Don't Wanna Talk About It 3:36
3	Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters Live 3:27
4	Let Me Go Easy Live 2:58
5	Winthrop 4:18
6	Free of Hope 5:44
7	Shed Your Skin Tom Morello Remix 4:25
8	Never Stop 1986 EP Version 2:27
9	Ghost Demo Version 5:10
10	Uncle John's Band 4:50
11	I'll Give You My Skin / Michael Stipe 3:34
12	Free in You Dave Cooley Remix 3:35
13	Point Hope 6:52
14	Ramblin' Round Live 3:19
15	Cold As Ice Live 3:59
16	Walk Your Valley 3:41
17	It Won't Take Long 7:41
18	Finlandia / Ani DiFranco Live 2:31

Barnes & Noble

As the title of this 18-track set indicates, the Indigo Girls worked themselves into an archive-emptying mood in recent months -- which might have something to do with their decision to leave their longtime home base at Epic Records. Unlike many such odds-and-sods sets, however, most of Rarities deserves to be rescued from obscurity, particularly a handful of covers that bear out the duo's remarkably broad musical aesthetic. Amy Ray's punk standard bearing, for instance, cuts sharply through a take on the Clash's "Working for the Clampdown," while Emily Saliers' more earth mother–esque tenor buoys a version of the Grateful Dead's "Uncle John's Band." Naturally, given the pair's coffeehouse roots, there's a side trip into Woody Guthrie territory -- in the form of "Ramblin' Round," which features guest vocals by Ani DiFranco. Georgia homeboy Michael Stipe shows up as well, on the eerie "I'll Give You My Skin." While a good number of the material on Rarities' has been previously released in some form, the disc also offers up a few goodies that even diehards might not be familiar with, including Saliers' solo performance of a Shaming of the Sun–era ballad entitled "Winthrop" and the extended, Appalachian-flavored harmony-fest "Finlandia." Beautifully packaged and carefully compiled, Rarities seems like a thank-you gift to fans who have followed the Girls for the better part of two decades. David Sprague

All Music Guide

Rarities spans two decades, from a 1986 version of "Never Stop" -- written in Emily Saliers' Tulane dorm room in 1981 -- to "Walk Your Valley," a song meant for Indigo Girls' 2004 album All That We Let In. In between there are covers, live recordings, guest appearances, and memories. There's a percussive take on "Uncle John's Band" from the 1991 Grateful Dead tribute Deadicated, and a live version of Elton John's "Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters" from 2004; Amy Ray's vocal on the Clash's "Clampdown" cuts like gravel, even if the instrumentation is way too clean. "The judge said five to ten but I say double that again/I'm not working for the clampdown." The Shaming of the Sun outtake "Winthrop" is Saliers and her piano lost in a contemplative reverie, and Amy Ray has a confession to make about "Cold As Ice," captured here live in Chicago in 1993. "I always felt bad for using a Foreigner title for my song," she writes. Other Rarities highlights: the atmospheric Michael Stipe collaboration "I'll Give You My Skin"; Woody Guthrie's "Ramblin' Round" performed live with Ani DiFranco guesting; and the closing harmony piece "Finlandia," performed with the folk trio Girlyman. With more than 20 years to go on, some fans might wish for more from this set. It has a few nice surprises, but diehards will already have most of the tracks. That said, Rarities wasn't meant to be comprehensive. It feels like a collage, from its cross section of music, to the jumble of album art and photographs inside, to its bold graphics integrating song lyrics. Rarities is an instant Indigo Girls scrapbook for everyone. Johnny Loftus