...
Amongst this hoard was a CD from Suzanne Vega, simply entitled Suzanne Vega. It is hard to believe that this Album was originally released as long ago as 1985.
This CD contains ten tracks as below:
1. Cracking
2. Freeze Tag
3. Marlene on the Wall
4. Small Blue Thing
5. ... Read review
Suzanne Vega - Suzanne Vega
Though not the songs that would put her on the pop music map--that would come with 1987's ... more
Solitude Standing--Vega's first album, Suzanne Vega, shows her folky song-writing origins and, song-for-song, may still be her best. Produced by Patti Smith guita...
1987'sSolitude Standing--Vega's first album,Suzanne Vega, shows her folky song-writing origins and, song-for-song, may still be her best. Produced by Patti Smith guitari...
brought to mind Joni Mitchell, her urbane lyrics suggested a sensibility that was as much reportorial as confessional. Vega's second album, which replaced the delicate acoustic textures of her self-titled debut with more dramatic arrangements, includes Vega's career song, "Luka", surely one of the biggest hits ever written about child abuse. But it was the energetic folk-rock production of "Luka", thick with ringing guitars and pushed by perky drums, that let the listener luxuriate in a song that suggested the darkness that can lurk behind a neighbour's door. The title tune confronts personal loneliness with a similarly powerful performance, while "Ironbound / Fancy Poultry" makes a downtown landscape sound downright homey. Well-turned tunes like "Calypso" and "Gypsy" recall the softer textures of her debut. Ironically, Vega's next big hit would come when the production duo DNA made a dance hit out of "Tom's Diner", a nursery-rhyme tribute to a coffee shop that opens the album. --John Milward
A review by micksheff on Suzanne Vega - Suzanne Vega February 12th, 2007
Author's product rating:
Originality
Definitely a cut above the rest
Lyrics
Thought-provoking
Quality and consistency of tracks
A couple of weak links
How does it compare to the artist's other releases
Good
Value for Money
Good
Advantages:
Good Songs, Fantastic Lyrics
Disadvantages:
A Few Weaker Tracks
Recommend to potential buyers:
yes
Full review
One of the things about moving House as frequently as I do is that things tend to get boxed up and forgotten about. Even though I moved into my current House almost a year ago I am still getting around to sorting out some of my stuff. One advantage of this laziness however is that from time to you rediscover something that you had forgotten you owned and in my case I recently stumbled across a whole batch of CD's.
Amongst this hoard was a CD from Suzanne Vega, simply entitled Suzanne Vega. It is hard to believe that this Album was originally released as long ago as 1985.
This CD contains ten tracks as below:
1. Cracking 2. Freeze Tag 3. Marlene on the Wall 4. Small Blue Thing 5. Straight Lines 6. Undertow 7. Some Journey 8. The Queen and the Soldier 9. Knight Moves 10.Neighbourhood Girls
Suzanne Vega is a American Singer-Songwriter that fits quite comfortably into the Genre of Folk. What sets her apart on this debut Album that was to make her a household name is her highly literate lyrics and the way that each of her songs reads like a story.
The Album kicks off with a song called Cracking. This is a slow song with little other than an Acoustic Guitar to accompany Vega's rich, folk inspired vocals. There is something quite disturbing and chilling about this opening track in which the lyrics are more spoken than sung. Even when I listen to it now it still makes the hairs stand up on the back of my neck and sends shivers down my spine. As she sings "My footsteps are ticking, Like water dripping from a tree." You can imagine the sound of dripping water as her voice fades into an echo in the background. At just 2 minutes and 49 seconds long this is the shortest track on the Album. This is not my favourite song on this Album by any means but a good introduction and an interesting opening track nonetheless.
Next we have "Freeze Tag." Here a Synthesizer is introduced to accompany the Acoustic Guitar but the pace is still very laid back and slow. This is a beautifully haunting song on which Suzanne Vega reminisces about her Childhood, playing Freeze Tag in the Park. Her obsession with heroines like Marlene Dietrich and James Dean are explored here for the first time, a theme that is to re-occur throughout the course of the Album. " We play that we are Actors On a Movie Screen, I will be Dietrich, And you can be Dean."
Marlene on the Wall is a song about Marlene Dietrich, or rather a black and white Poster of this legendary Actress that hung on Suzanne's Bedroom Wall as she went through her rebellious teenage years, the face on the Poster watching her every move. "Marlene watches from the wall, her mocking smile says it all, as she records the rise and fall, of every man who's been here." This track was released as a Single and reached number 83 in the UK Charts. It was later re-released the following year in 1986 when it reached number 23.
Small Blue Thing was released as the second track from this Album reaching number 66 in the UK Charts. Here we find quite a lyrically deep Song in which Suzanne imagines herself as various strange objects, imaging what it must be like to observe the World as such things like a Marble. This may Sound a little bit bizarre but the raw emotion in her voice carries the track off and it works. Here we realise for the first time that Vega is a true Poet, verging, in my opinion almost on the border of a genius. We also realise however that vocally she is not the best singer in her field but her lyrics go a long way to disguise this fact.
Straight Lines is the sort of track that makes you sit up and listen. It is simple, yet moving and I had listened to Song many times without actually realising that this is a tale about a Woman that has committed suicide, driven to despair by the mundane things in her life: "She is streamlined, she is taking the shade down from the light, to see the straight lines."
Undertow is one of my favourite Songs on this Album. This is another Song that works because of its simplicity. Here there is a Synthesiser, an Acoustic Guitar and even a light String arrangement. "I believe right now if I could, I would swallow you whole, I would leave only bones and teeth, We could see what was underneath."
Some Journey sees Suzanne Vega stepping up the pace slightly and adding a Violin to accompany the Acoustic sounds. This is a medieval tale of love and lust. "Oh, I could have played your little Girl, Or I could have played your Wife, I could have played your Mistress, Running danger down through you life."
The Queen and the Soldier continues in a similar medieval theme but here the story behind this tale is less obvious. " The soldier came knocking upon the Queen's door, He said, I am not fighting for you any more, The Queen knew she'd seen his face someplace before, And slowly she let him inside....."
Knight Moves was the third and final Single to be released from this Album and although it failed to reach the UK Charts it ensured that Suzanne Vega had established herself as an Artist to be reckoned with. This is a very personal tale of love and betrayal: "And if you wonder what I am doing, As I am heading for the sink, I am spitting out all the bitterness, Along with half of my last drink, I am thinking of your Woman who is crying in the hall."
The Album ends with a song called Neighbourhood Girls which sees Vega once again reminiscing about her Youth in a wry tale of New York life: " We had our Neighbourhood Girl, She used to hang out in front of McKinsey's Bar, and we were interested in her, and her Clientele..."
As a debut Album I think that this is a pretty remarkable collection of Songs. Even though most of the Songs on this Album lack the catchy melody that Suzanne Vega introduced in her slightly more pop-influenced follow up, Solitude Standing. In many ways I prefer some of these earlier Songs because they are more simple, and slightly naive, they are performed in a way that makes you sit up and take notice. Her soft, slightly husky voice captivating her audience in an almost hypnotic trance. The production on this Album is simple, yet superb at the same time and although her voice is not yet fully developed it is crystal clear and delivered with perfection.
Suzanne Vega was born in Santa Monica, California in 1959 but moved to New York's Upper Westside of Harlem, an area that is predominantly Hispanic and poor, and a place where crime is rife. Having a Swedish Mother and Puerto Rican Stepfather she has said in interviews that although her Childhood in Harlem was a happy one, she never felt like she fitted in there. This somewhat unorthodox upbringing however is what undoubtedly feeds the Songs that she writes so we must be grateful that her family decided to locate to New York when Suzanne was still young.
This Album was produced by Lenny Kaye and Steve Addabbo, who she would work with again on later projects. The Album achieved Platinum Status in the UK for Sales of over 300,000 copies.
I am thankful that I have rediscovered this CD and I expect that I will be playing it quite a lot over the next few weeks.
Advantages: An incredibly talented musician and lyricist Disadvantages: May be too deep for some listeners
Suzanne Vega, I think everyone who is interested in female rock or folk music should have heard this ladies name somewhere and if not, then you should have.
Suzanne was one of the first folk singers to step out of the clubs and make it big as a recording artist and is now known all over the world—singers like Sheryl Crow, Tori Amos etc have a lot to thank this women for as she helped pave the way for singers like this to also become massive recording ... ...guitar accompanies her music
Suzanne was born on July 11, 1959 in Santa Monica, California she was brought up by her mother and half Puerto step-father Rican in a hispanic neighbourhood in a house that she herself describes as a very creative home where singing was an influential part of her upbringing. If you have never heard any of Suzanne’s music I would recommend that your first purchase would be ‘Tried and True’ which is the first collection ...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Advantages: Great lyricist, this is her best album Disadvantages: Not the best singer ever
As a teenager Suzanne Vega wrote songs on medieval themes. This is evident in her first album, which includes songs like "Knight Moves ": "Watch while the queen, in one false move / Turns herself into a pawn / Sleepy and shaken, and watching while the blurry night / Turns into a very clear dawn" and "The Queen and the Soldier", which is almost more like a story than a song. In these two songs, Vega explores the differences between the sexes, and ... ...is the best introduction to Suzanne Vega's music there is. Actually, I don't think anything else, out of the many albums she has done since, comes close. It is also one of the few highlights of the nineteen-eighties, which is still worth listening to and does not sound at all dated. "Suzanne Vega" can easily be found at a discount price as it is such an early album; as such it is an absolute bargain.
Very highly recommended. ...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Advantages: Good music Disadvantages: It's a shame that she doesn't recorded now
I heart only Suzzane Vega's, the album specially the track " Luka" where she described a girl who's name is Luka with a "lyric that says "My name is Luka, I live at the second floor, I live upstairs from ...". I remember it because it was a good song with good lyrics, about the others song that I don't remember so much have the same topic of the lyrics that for me ia one of the better in English language because her song has a soft ritmic. Now it ...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful
...Moves" and the beautifully abstract "Small Blue Thing". Behind the soft music and Suzanne's softer voice lies lyrics which are often moving and thought provoking. Suzanne Vega is an important artist who has had an influence on many others like Tori Amos and is one who should not be overlooked. ...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful
Advantages: 21 brilliant songs, great lyrics Disadvantages: a couple of weak links
...SuzanneVega is an artist I have always admired. Deeply rooted in folk rock, inspired by Dylan, Cohen and Lou Read and the intelligensia pop of The Smiths and The Police she has had a careeer that has spanned the eighties to the present day. Vega has never been afraid to experiment and to push her song writing abilities harder and with more courage than many other artists, she has always seen music as an art form and followed it with purity and passion. This 21 song retrospective and its 7 track bonus cd show her talents perfectly.
'Luka' I guess is the song most associated with SuzanneVega. Melodic folk rock and sung from the heart. A song about abusive violent relationships. A beautiful tune masking disturbing lyrics 'yes i think I'm ok. I walked into the door again.Well, if you ask thats what I'll say and its not your...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Advantages: Really makes you think Disadvantages: In her own words: a little too worked on
...SUZANNEVEGA - DAYS OF OPEN HAND
=
About Suzanne:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Album Notes: Personnel: Suzanne Vega (vocals, acoustic guitar); Frank Christian (acoustic & electric slide guitars); Steve Addabbo (electric guitar, guitar synthesizer, background vocals); Jon Gordon (electric guitar); Shem Guibbory (violin); Darol Anger (electric violin); Maxine Neumann (cello); C.P. Roth (synthesizer); Paul Dugan, Frank Gravis (bass); Sue Evans (drums); John Mahoney (programming). Recorded at Celestial Sound Studios, New York, New York between January and March, 1985. Vega's debut album marked a turning point, both for singer-songwriters and for female artists. Inspired more by the dark, poetic visions of Leonard Cohen than the hippie goddessisms of Joni Mitchell, she brought to the public an awareness that acoustic guitar-based music could be arch, urbane and artful. She also proved that, in an exceptionally male-dominated era, women didn't have to be either wallflowers or sexpots to make their artistic statements. Though she receives sympathetic backing from Jon Gordon, Michael Visceglia and others, Vega's guitar and voice are at the heart of the arrangements. It's that focus on the song that allows the stark, angular lyrics of "Small Blue Thing," "Straight Lines" and "Undertow" to make their unpretentious poetry heard. And it's Vega's unique, vibrato-less delivery (a combo platter of Lou Reed and Laurie Anderson) that gives perfect voice to these songs of urban rootlessness and spiritual ambiguity.
Album Reviews: Rolling Stone - Ranked #80 in Rolling Stone's "100 Greatest Albums Of The 80s"
Titles on disc 1
1.: Crackin'
2.: Freeze Tag
3.: Marlene On The Wall
4.: Small Blue Thing
5.: Straight Lines
6.: Undertow
7.: Some Journey
8.: Queen And The Soldier
9.: Knight Moves
10.: Neighbourhood Girls
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Listed on Ciao since : 27/06/2000
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24.06.2005
