Suzanne Vega - Suzanne Vega

...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 ...
...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, ... more

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.

Thank you for reading.
 

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