The physical disc for India.Arie's new CD depicts a compass pointing north to the words "voyage to india," telling you right away that this collection of music is a journey to the singer's heart. And what a beautiful journey it is.

As with her first CD, India.Arie once again delivers positive, uplifting music that celebrates life and love. Her first song, "Little Things" interpolates Chaka Khan's classic "Hollywood" song into a joyful piece about the "little things" that mean so much in life.

"Talk To Her" is a song to men, reminding us to talk to women in the way that we talk to our mothers and sisters and daughters. "Whether she's 25 or 99, treat her the way your mama taught you to," Arie sings. However, I must confessed I've been baffled for weeks about the heterosexist assumptions in the lyrics. "Nothing in the world could ever exist without its opposite," she sings. "There has to be a sun and moon/a man and a woman." Yeah, I guess, but what does that mean? I'm not sure.

"Slow Down" tells us to "be still" and take some time to clear our space rather than rushing off into chaos. Quoting from the Bible, Arie tells us, "The race is not given to the swift, but to the one who endureth." The song conjures up the essence of Billy Joel's "Vienna" from The Stranger CD.

"The Truth" melodically breaks down the reality of love, from the good to the bad. How could the same man who treats you so bad turn right around and treat you so good? That's the truth.

They say that people come into your life for a reason, a season, or a lifetime. We often don't know why, but it's beautiful to find someone in your life you hadn't expected. That's why one of my favorite songs, "Beautiful Surprise," I like, largely because a friend I like likes it too. With a few guitar strokes and piano chords and Arie's voice, she creates a euphoric sense of destiny in the song.

In "Get It Together," Arie shows us how "no one has the power to hurt you like your kin." It's often those who are closest to us — our friends, our lovers, our family — who cause us the most pain. The way to get over that is to heal ourselves first and let go of all the negative baggage that people have dumped on us. It's a beautiful song that makes you feel you can do anything.

The next three songs seem to express movement toward a destination of love, headed in the right direction, followed by a matrimonial request to "walk with you," and then a declaration that "if you're looking for love, I think I could be the one."

"Headed In the Right Direction" is a simple song that begins and ends with a chorus. Here again, Arie is positive in her music, inspired by an angel in the direction of love. Appropriately, "Can I Walk With You" picks up on that theme in a request for a betrothal.

"Complicated Melody," a song accompanied by Arie's own acoustic guitar and background vocals by Laurnea Wilkerson, uses an beautifully simple arrangement to contrast the complexity of the man of whom she sings. He's so complicated, she says, that she almost cannot sing it on key.

What I like about Arie is that her music is not overpackaged and produced. Instead, we get to hear her voice — the highs and lows — unmasked by layers of artificial sounds.

"The song "Good Man" tells a story so touching that it seems to have been motivated by personal experience. If I don't come back, the man says, "tell the kids about me when they're old enough to understand. Tell them that their daddy was a good man." Apparently, he's gone off to war and his wife discovers his death in the paper.

The penultimate song, "God is Real," may be the most beautiful song on the CD, with a lush sound that feels like the texture of rich experience. The more we see of the world, the more we realize God is real, Arie suggests. The claim seems scientifically dubious, but who wants to quarrel when the music is so beautiful?

The final track is actually a bonus song called "Interested." I must admit I don't understand the philosophy behind bonus tracks. Why not just include them in the CD package? I guess the music industry execs think we want to go thumbing through albums like kids in a Cracker Jack box. Anyway, I think the CD would have been stronger if it had ended with "God is Real," but "Interested" isn't a bad song; it's just out of place.

In fact, no song on this CD is bad. They're all good tunes, very inspirational and uplifting. It's the type of music many of us say we crave. Hopefully, we'll support it now that it's here.

© Copyright 2002 by Keith Boykin.