India.Arie: Acoustic Soul : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

The songs this Atlanta-based singer conjures up are rooted in a back-to-basics soul vibe, and the arrangements on her debut album demonstrate the emotional charge unplugged instruments can add to the mix. But the combined effect of these elements -- along with India.Arie's clearly heartfelt delivery -- adds up to much more than what the album's title implies. On "Back in the Middle," a character study of people going to extremes to prove themselves, she runs the vocal gamut from delicate crooning to full-throttle belting. Slow and bittersweet, "Ready for Love" complements yearning (but never mushy) romantic sentiments with an elegantly spare accompaniment of guitar, cello and piano. "Video" is a lilting manifesto about appreciating beauty that's more than skin deep. Too often diva-osity is about grand gestures and sassy attitude; Acoustic Soul is a reminder that true divas also possess quiet inner strength.

SANDY MASUO
(June 4, 2001)