lifeblood: songs: backgrounds: you've got to show

2002-xx-xx: indigo girls, keppler associates inc:

"when we were learning the new songs for become you," " says emily saliers, "at first we weren't even thinking about drums or accompaniment - we just worked real hard on our guitar parts and our harmonies so that the songs stood on their own. but when we invited the band to come in, we got so inspired that we ended up using their parts."

"a lot of it was cut live, with all of us set up in the room, and the purity of the songs really comes through."

"it was just me and emily thinking, let's get down to basics," amy ray explains. "that kind of thinking drove all the decisions we made in the studio.

as the producer of become you, peter collins offered "a vision for the songs that we didn't have," says emily. from his suggestions came the latin vibe and stan getz-style sax solo (by dan higgins) of "you've got to show," and carol isaacs' accordion motif on the title song. amy notes that much of the credit for the exceptionally clear and balanced sound should go to engineer glenn matullo: "i think he's the best i've ever worked with at recording vocals and acoustic instruments."

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2015-05-21: es.2001, official indigo girls "a year a month blog" on tumblr:

my songs on become you are highly emotional and intense, as i wove in and out of life's passions and pitfalls at that time. my ever-present theme of unrequited love was there in "collecting you" and "hope alone," "our deliverance'" started as a love song and ended up being an anti-war song. "deconstruction" was written after i first noticed and began to watch a family of foxes that took up space in my wooded yard, and i felt the wonder, mystery and portents that wild birds and animals always represented. "you've got to show" was an experiment with more complicated chords and progressions than i typically used, and it has the only sax solo we ever put on an ig studio record. to this day, "she's saving me" remains my most personal song, as it talks about my sister's death and the power of a woman's friendship and a loving god.