At Just over a decade since her eponymous debut album, “Nine objects of Desire” album shows that none of the interesting wordplay of that collection has gone.
Now the music has more of a sophisticated feel than the debut had, this is the influence of her now ex-husband Mitchell ... Read review
A review by Miles13 on Nine Objects Of Desire - Suzanne Vega May 9th, 2005
Author's product rating:
Originality
Definitely a cut above the rest
Lyrics
Sublime
Quality and consistency of tracks
A couple of weak links
How does it compare to the artist's other releases
Outstanding
Value for Money
Excellent
Advantages:
It's Suzanne Vega
Disadvantages:
None come to mind
Recommend to potential buyers:
yes
Full review
At Just over a decade since her eponymous debut album, “Nine objects of Desire” album shows that none of the interesting wordplay of that collection has gone.
Now the music has more of a sophisticated feel than the debut had, this is the influence of her now ex-husband Mitchell Froom. Along with the drum work of Jerry Marotta, this player has worked for the likes of Robbie Robertson, Peter Gabriel, Steely Dan and Ron Sexsmith in his long and varied career as a session man.
His drum work against the keyboard playing of Mr Froom creates the perfect foil for the lyrics and vocals of Ms Vega.
The first thing that I noticed about this album was how “big” the sound is, every sound that matters is larger than normal. I don’t know if that’s the way that Mitchell Froom’s partner in recording, one Tchad Blake who has also worked in past on recording sessions by Los Lobos and Ron Sexsmith, has recorded and mixed this album but the overall sound of the whole collection is excellent.
The resulting recording sessions have been mastered by another of my favourite audio wizards one Bob Ludwig.
As the opening song begins “Birthday (love made real)” the passage of time that separates this album from the debut of 1985 disappears, the familiar wordplay that attracted me to the artist in first place is still there but now the music now lives up to the words. The sound of the tracks continues the feel and sound of the previous album “99.9°F” with the same layers of percussion and keyboard sounds.
The best example of this on the album for me is the track “Causal Match” with it’s use of a “drum loop” drums and percussion and huge sounding keyboards against the chorus of “A Casual Match, In a very dry season, Fire and ash, Is the season’s yield”, a very impressive song that’s only second to the track that was released as a single “No Cheap Thrill” has all the elements in huge amounts to spare. If the song had been played more on “Day Time” radio the track would have been a huge hit in my humble opinion.
The last 3 tracks on the album are more like the style of her Debut album, more folk than funk of the new style.
In less than 40 minutes with these 12 vignettes, Suzanne Vega has covered more subjects than some more popular artists do in a whole recording career, this is album not to be over looked by music fans…
Album Notes: Personnel: Suzanne Vega (vocals, acoustic & electric guitars); Steve Donnelly (slide guitar, guitar); Tchad Blake (guitar, samples, special effects); Jane Scarpantoni (cello, strings); Mark Feldman, Matthew Pierce, Ted Falcon (strings); Cecilia Sparacio (flute); Don Byron (bass clarinet, clarinet); Dave Douglas (trumpet); Mitchell Froom (Moog synthesizer, keyboards); Sebastian Steinberg (acoustic bass, bass); Bruce Thomas (bass); Pete Thomas (drums, percussion, samples); Jerry Marotta (drums, percussion); Yuval Gabay (drums). Recorded at The Magic Shop, New York, New York. Vega's second collaboration with husband/producer/keyboardist Mitchell Froom expands the sonic palette introduced on 99.9 F to create an atmosphere that is both more open and more distinctive. Froom's ubiquitous synthesizers and samples step aside on several songs to make way for tastefully orchestrated horns and strings. The semi-industrial pop of 99.9 F gives way to a more eclectic compositional bent. "Caramel" is a smooth, jazzy ballad that bears a strange kinship to an Astrud Gilberto bossa nova. "Lolita" boasts a lilting samba feel mediated by electronic percussion. This being a Suzanne Vega album, there are also a few introspective acoustic-guitar based plaints. In fact, these (particularly the subtle, eerie narrative "Honeymoon Suite") are among the most memorable of NINE OBJECTS' 13 songs. Elsewhere, colorful, lighthearted arrangements offset dark subject matter, as on "Thin Man" and "Tombstone," both contemplations of mortality. NINE OBJECTS OF DESIRE finds Vega pushing the envelope slightly, while maintaining the quality songcraft that her listeners have come to expect.
Album Reviews: Rolling Stone (11/28/96, p.136) - 4 Stars (out of 5) - "...she deftly executes a difficult artistic maneuver: moving ahead by stepping back....impressive clarity (there's hardly an oblique word of thought here) and economy (no wasted ones, either) that recall her earliest work..." Spin (10/96, p.138) - 6 (out of 10) - "...Vega and [producer Mitchell] Froom hold their noses at cheap thrills, eager to substitute not necessarily expensive thrills, but (ah) deeper ones. Their record works, even occasionally wins, on these terms..." Entertainment Weekly (9/20/96, p.82) - "...Vega has managed to remake herself as the most consistently challenging and exciting singer-songwriter working today." - Rating: A
Titles on disc 1
1.: Birth Day (Love Made Real)
2.: Headshots
3.: Caramel
4.: Stockings
5.: Casual Match
6.: Thin Man
7.: No Cheap Thrill
8.: World Before Columbus
9.: Lolita
10.: Honeymoon Suite
11.: Tombstone
12.: My Favourite Plum
Ciao
Listed on Ciao since : 09/05/2005
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