5/5 Give me the courage to love with an open heart: Great new album by India.Arie
  by A. G. Corwin
On the opening track to her new album, Testimony: Volume 1 Love and Relationships, India.Arie gently invokes the serenity prayer, "god grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference." and asks God to give her the courage to love with an open heart. With those elegant words, beautifully sung, India.Arie enters on a one hour journey of healing, understanding, and reflection. Her musical style is parts jazz, blues, R&B, and her voice is the sparkle in the mix, bold where needed, gentle where appropriate, and always interesting,

Opening track These Eyes is a wonderful song with a great beat and chorus. A surprisingly good cover of Don Henley's Heart of the Matter follows. The uptempo word play of Private Party shows India.Arie celebrating her womanhood, "my body is beautiful, sacred, and im gonna celebrate it." I think we can all guess what kind of party that will be, but its more than that, its India realizing her strength in being a woman relies in her believing in herself, not being dependant on a man.

The track There's Hope has a great Fugees-like sound to it; a beat heavy mid-tempo track with a great vocal. Just a fun, fun track all around. India's Song is about shedding the baggage of hatred, and learning to live again, with some amazingly introspective lyrics. A cleverishly fun track is I Am Not My Hair, combining a fast fingered acoustic guitar with a beat heavy vocal. Probably my favorite track on the CD. Great is another exceptional track, but Better People is a discoish mess whose lyrics deserved better music.

The most touching pieces on the album are the three interludes titled, Living, Loving, and Learning. That is the message of this album, and this is India.Arie doing all three through her music, and its a lot of fun to listen to her journey. The record closes with a gorgeous track called This Too Shall Pass, and we are left with the desire to listen again, and delve further into this fascinating world India has created with Testimony Vol 1. Wonderful album and highly recommended.

A.G. Corwin
St.Louis, MO


5/5 Long Awaited, Most Anticipated, Highly Motivating
  by William m Coles (BALTIMORE, MARYLAND United States)
Oh my GOODNESS,
What a POWERFUL, INSPIRATIONal, SPIRIT FILLED WORK OF ART. Congradulations to India........India........India!
What a collection of songs. I especially applaud Miss Arie for her dedication, staying grounded in her style and brand of music and not sacrificing her integrity to be get paid or be like the crowd. The work that was put into this project is very evident from the results of the product. All of the tracks are meaningful, have depth and extremely relative to the challenges we face in situations, love & relationships. I really can not put one track over the other because they are a complete package. THis is definately a collector's album. I will KEEP IT IN HEAVY ROTATION. ANYONE WHO DISSES THIS MUST NOT BE A REAL BRUTHA OR SISTAH. AND U KNOW WHAT I MEAN...........

5/5 Classic. Wow.
  by W. E. Phillips (USA)
From the second I heard her debut single, "Video," in 2001, I knew that I would be a fan for life. I didn't completely love either of her first CDs. Her debut was nice, but a few songs were iffy for me. Her second album felt a little rushed and seemed like a handful of great tracks tossed in with a bunch of filler material. And I could never stand her interludes, sorry to say. By no means did I not enjoy the CDs. I would probably give both four stars, but the point is... I had never been able to listen to one of her albums straight through, even though I love her. Until now, that is.

This album was so unexpected. It was one of the most pleasant surprises of the year for me. The whole thing is amazing. I listen to it straight through all the time, interludes and all! Her voice has improved so much; it has gained a new purity and is now smooth as butter. It glides over the tracks. The production is flawless. She has added a lot of other influences in the mix, including country and gospel. Her re-make of "Heart of the Matter" made me love the song, a small miracle in itself. I listen to "Wings of Forgiveness" every morning, as well as "I Choose" and "Better People."

To the many people claiming this is a "sell-out," I don't know what to tell you, but it's not. It's just not.

In short, this album is absolutely amazing. It is one of my favorites of all time! Each song is excellent, has a catchy melody, and delivers a great message. I demand that you buy this album. I cannot wait until Volume 2, Life & Politics. It's supposed to come out sometime this summer!

5/5 Now, this is the REAL voyage to India
  by Anthony Rupert (Milwaukee, WI)
India.Arie did a great job when she came out in 2001 and delivered Acoustic Soul; in fact, she did such a great job that the album was nominated for a whopping seven Grammys. And seven Grammy nominations means you'll at least win ONE, right?

Well, as we all know, that's not the way it went down (she even performed on Saturday Night Live with a backwards 7 on her shirt). But the thing is, after she and her mother complained about how backwards the Grammys were, India quickly went into the studio to record Voyage to India, to which she scored three Grammys after all. I'm not saying that was a bad album, but to me it didn't stand out next to Acoustic Soul. After that she kind of disappeared, but she finally emerged with Testimony: Vol. 1, Life & Relationship, her best album to date.

I listened to this entire album a few times and I couldn't find one song not worth rewinding. There is standout after standout, like "These Eyes", "Good Morning" and "India's Song". India also does a good job covering Don Henley's "The Heart of the Matter"; and even the necessary we-are-the-world song "Better People" sounds great.

And of course there are a few songs of empowerment on here, most notably "I Am Not My Hair" featuring Akon (one of those artists that seems to shine on every album except his own). Country superstars Rascal Flatts also impress on the acoustic "Summer" (but they're only singing background vocals, so I don't know if that should really count as a guest spot). At any rate, every song on here is damn good, so whether you want some great music to play for your friends or you want to follow track 5 and have your own private party, my testimony is to pick up India's latest album and never take it out of your stereo.

Anthony Rupert

5/5 Poetic Beauty and Changing Perspectives
  by Rebecca Johnson (Washington State)
Even as the first notes melt into your consciousness you may feel yourself taking a deep breath and relaxing into the mood. What a stunning start to a poetic album. "I want to love with an open heart," gives me shivers. The honesty of the lyrics and the beauty of India Aire's voice continues into the second song. I like her attitude and how she puts her foot down on conflict and stands up for herself. There is sadness but a sense of renewal.

Good Mourning sounds like a sleepy morning with a record playing in the background. It takes a while to take off and then gets downright sensual. She is working through feelings and you can feel her releasing the pain. "good morning independence or is it loneliness."

Like a dark night of the soul, her music explores a relationship that is falling apart. Did destiny get in the way or is she following her heart? Does she need pain as a muse to create her music? Like any true artist she seems to be creating even when in conflict.

In Wings of Forgiveness she admits she is still in love. Whatever will happen next? She seems to be awakening to her own inner knowledge. "You are only human..." She reaches such a beautiful poetic moment on the album. I like how she "makes peace with her complexity."

One of the most intellectual and emotionally satisfying poetic explorations within sound I've heard lately. She seems wise beyond her years and is open to learning from life's mistakes. Not only does this album have moments of soul stirring beauty, it is fun to listen to for the surprises and story that seems to flow through the songs.

~The Rebecca Review