Days Of Open Hand - Suzanne Vega > Reviews > In a Daze of open hand

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Definitely a cut above the rest
Lyrics	Thought-provoking
Quality and consistency of tracks	Flawless
How does it compare to the artist's other releases	Good
Value for Money	Excellent

Advantages:	Really makes you think
Disadvantages:	In her own words :  a little too worked on

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

SUZANNE VEGA - DAYS OF OPEN HAND
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About Suzanne:
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Suzanne was born on 11 July 1959, in Santa Monica - California. When she was around the age of one, her parents divorced, and her mother married a Puerto Rican born writer/teacher, Ed Vega. For a lot of years Suzanne did not have any contact with her father. She was brought up in Hispanic surroundings, with her 3 siblings (born to her mother and step-dad), and thus grew up able to speak both Spanish and English.

She will often reminisce about falling a lot as a child, as she was always walking around in a daze, daydreaming. She actually taught herself to play guitar at about 11 years, by just "messing about", and spending a lot of time with her relatives who could play, and then starting songwriting at 14.

Dancing was the route of choice for Suzanne up until she became 18, and realised she was too rebellious for this - she hated routine, and wouldn't perform if she didn't like the dance teacher! This was when she started to go down the music path, and concentrated on her songwriting and attending auditions. Her first gig was 2 January 1976.

Suzanne's music:
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Suzanne Vega's lyrics are more like poetry, and are extremely thought provoking. Her style of music is what I would class of a mix between alternative, rock and folk. She sings in a very soft voice, which I have also heard described as "intimate" I don't really think she can be compared with anyone else, but others have suggested a likeness to Dido, Tracey Chapman, Joan Baez, to name a few…make of that what you will!

If you ever get chance to see her on stage, which I have been very fortunate to have seen her at Bradford, St George's Hall, you will not be disappointed. She has a great stage presence, and fills it with herself and her guitar! Her rapport with the audience is fantastic, and is very witty and intelligent.

The album:
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So…on to the album. People seem to have really mixed views about this, and fans of Suzanne seem to love it or hate it. I am one of the "love it" group of people. Here is a list of the tracks:

1. Tired of Sleeping (4:22).
o Music and Lyrics: Suzanne Vega.
2. Men In a War (4:47).
o Music and Lyrics: Suzanne Vega.
3. Rusted Pipe (4:16).
o Lyrics: Suzanne Vega.
o Music: Suzanne Vega and Anton Sanko.
4. Book of Dreams (3:22).
o Lyrics: Suzanne Vega.
o Music: Suzanne Vega and Anton Sanko.
5. Institution Green (6:15).
o Lyrics: Suzanne Vega.
o Music: Suzanne Vega and Anton Sanko.
6. Those Whole Girls (Run in Grace) (3:09).
o Music and Lyrics: Suzanne Vega.
7. Room Off the Street (3:00).
o Lyrics: Suzanne Vega.
o Music: Suzanne Vega and Anton Sanko.
8. Big Space (3:48).
o Lyrics: Suzanne Vega.
o Music: Suzanne Vega and Anton Sanko.
9. Predictions (4:59).
o Music and Lyrics: Suzanne Vega.
10. Fifty-Fifty Chance (2:36).
o Music and Lyrics: Suzanne Vega.
o Suzanne Vega: Guitar, Vocal.
o Philip Glass: String Arrangement.
o Tim Baker: Violin.
o Barry Finclair: Solo Violin.
o Fred Zlotkin: Cello.
o Al Brown: Viola.
o String Session Supervised and Recorded by Kurt Munkacsi.
11. Pilgrimage (5:10).
o Lyrics: Suzanne Vega.
o Music: Suzanne Vega and Anton Sanko.
Total Time 45:22.

This does not seem to have been a very successful album compared with Suzanne's others, but personally I think it is beautiful and moving. "Tired of Sleeping", is in her own words, about having bad dreams, or very vivid dreams and wanting to wake from them. It was related to actual dreams she has had. This is really the basis of the album, being mainly about dreaming and the subconscious. "Men in a War", is basically a song about veterans losing limbs in a war, and a song which I find quite catchy, whilst making me think at the same time (if that makes sense).

"Book of Dreams" is probably the most commercial of the songs, but still has brilliant lyrics, for example:
I took your urgent whisper
Stole the arc of a white wing
Rode like foam on the river of pity
Turned its tide to strength
Healed the hole that ripped in living.

I think the lack of a hit single from this album is one of the things that contributed to it's lesser popularity, and it's obviously up to you to make your own mind up, but I think it is amazing!

I hope I haven't bored you too much with my first music review, but thanks for taking the time to read it!