Suzanne Vega - Her Mocking Smile Says It All

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Suzanne Vega

Released: 1st May 1985

Suzanne Vega is the debut studio album by American singer-songwriter Suzanne Vega, released on May 1, 1985 by A&M Records. The album was primarily recorded at Celestial Sound in New York City and was produced by Steve Addabbo and Lenny Kaye.

The album's folk-style and stripped-back arrangements deviated from the prevailing trends of the time, and helped to usher in a new era of singer-songwriters. Suzanne Vega was a critical success and helped Vega's rise to popularity.^[2] The album surpassed sales expectations by selling over 200,000 copies in the US^[3] and was certified platinum in the UK for sales of over 300,000 copies.

From Wikipedia

Cracking

Freeze Tag

Marlene on the Wall

Small Blue Thing

Straight Lines

Undertow

Some Journey

The Queen and the Soldier

Knight Moves

Neighborhood Girls

Something less strenuous than the last Odyssey with Yes. I only really know Vega's first two or three albums and there are 8 in all, so this should only take a few weeks. I'll tell you what I like about her, she sings in a very clear and genuine accent. The recent resurgence of Adele has only served to turn me off her even more as she sings from the back of her throat and down her nose and pretends to be from New Yoik. I love the way Vega sings "It just happens, a l-ah-t". There isn't likely to be too much to say about the instrumentation, I'm expecting acoustic guitar and voice to predominate.

The first song on this debut is a little piece of genius. "Cracked" is actually cracked in it's delivery. The phrasing is odd but absolutely right, as she inserts cracks in the lines that she almost speaks. 'Marlene On The Wall' was her first big hit and features those 'mahcking smiles'. The "handsome fist" line still confuses me.

'Small Blue Thing' is a touching study of introversion. The lyrics are loaded with metaphor, which sometimes makes it hard to figure out what the songs are about, although the mood is clearly communicated. 'The Queen And The Soldier' is a bit of a rambling narrative about I'm not sure what. Love? War? Politics? Is it a Murder Ballad?

Something else about Vega, she has an ear for a catchy tune. 'Undertow' and 'Knight Moves' are genuine earworms. 'Neighborhood Girls' at the end seems like it could be a bonus track, it sounds like it is being performed live and has a much lusher sound than the rest. The definition of an assured debut.

SOLITUDE STANDING

Released: 1st April 1987

Solitude Standing is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter Suzanne Vega, released on April 1, 1987, by A&M Records. It is the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed album of Vega's, being certified Platinum in the US and reaching number 11 on the Billboard 200.

"Tom's Diner" was included twice on the album; the a cappella version was the first track, and the instrumental version was the last track. In 1990, a remixed version of the song featuring DNA reached number five in the US. The song was later used to test prototype MP3 compression software.^[7] "Night Vision" was inspired by the poem "Juan Gris" by Paul Éluard.^[8] "Calypso" is based on the Odyssey, namely the part in which Calypso is forced to let Odysseus go.^[9] It is mentioned in the work All the Young Dudes, a fan fiction by MsKingBean89 in which Odysseus and Calypso's relationship mirrors Remus and Grant's. "Gypsy" is mentioned in the book The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky, in which the main character Charlie includes it on one of his mixtapes. Vega once stated she wrote "Gypsy" when she was only 18 years old (which would be 1977) which means the song was written 10 years before it was first released.^[10]

In 2012, to mark the 25th anniversary of the album's release, Vega played four celebratory concerts in which the album was performed in its entirety. The first was in Copley Square, Boston on July 28; the second and third were at City Winery in Hudson Square, New York City on October 9 (7pm and 10pm shows); and the fourth at London's Barbican Theatre on October 16.

From Wikipedia

Tom’s Diner

Luka

Ironbound/Fancy Poultry

In the Eye

Night Vision

Solitude Standing

Calypso

Language

Gypsy

Wooden Horse

Tom’s DIner (Reprise)

So where do you stand on the version of Tom's Diner on this album versus the DNA remix? Is there even a question to be asked? If you're like me you think they are both remarkable, but you'll rarely hear the a capella original on the radio. I listened to the DNA version as well, Using the de-de-de-duh's as a chorus is a mixed blessing, it makes the song flow, but those pregnant pauses are all part of the greatness of the original. The "bells of the cathedral" is a bit literal too. On the original it is just Vega on voice. It seems to me that the sung lyric is accompanied by a second unspoken narrative going on in her head but which you can still discern. That's an astonishing accomplishment. The lyrics and delivery are both childlike and adult at the same time. I don't like the word 'gotten' as in "and her hair has gotten wet". Sorry, it has 'become' wet, but then she wouldn't say 'become' so I guess it's OK.

You could stop after the first two tracks on this album and be fully satisfied. 'Luka' was a reasonable hit although surprisingly only number 23 in the UK. Maybe my housemates at the time played it a lot. It's not really as it appears, not about a beaten woman, but a child, and not about a girl but a boy. There's much more instrumentation on this than on the first album.

'Solitude Standing' was the third single off the album and only reached 79 in the UK. That's criminal. This was the era of Stock, Aitken and Waterman, so if you think the current vogue for Cowell-sponsored Carey-a-likes is bad, look at the quality that was being pushed out then. 'Calypso' was apparently written in 1978 and refers to the character from the Odyssey. In fact many of the songs are ones that she had written a few years before. If I'm honest, most of it is pleasant but not necessarily very remarkable. On 'Gypsy' she sounds a bit like a female, serious Loudon Wainwright. We finish with the instrumental reprise of 'Tom's Diner', which interesting I guess, but adds nothing to the song itself.

DAYS OF OPEN HAND

Released: April 10th 1990

Days of Open Hand is the third studio album by Suzanne Vega. It was released on April 10, 1990, through A&M Records. The album was the follow-up to the successful Solitude Standing (1987). It was produced by Vega and Anton Sanko, who also co-wrote six of the album's eleven tracks. Recording took place across multiple studios throughout New York from late 1989 to early 1990.

Days of Open Hand combines Vega's established folk-rock style with more varied instrumentation such as the ney and dumbek and experimental arrangements. High-profile contributors to the album include Philip Glass, Shawn Colvin, and John Linnell (of They Might Be Giants). The album saw greater use of synthesizers and samplers than Vega's previous studio albums; these included the Fairlight CMI and Voyetra-8.

Days of Open Hand did not match the success of its predecessor, stalling at number 50 in the US and failing to spawn a hit single. It was more successful in the UK, where it reached the top 10. Despite this, the album did surpass sales of a million copies^[1] and reviews were generally positive. Days of Open Hand was nominated for Best Contemporary Folk Recording and won the award for Best Recording Package at the 33rd Annual Grammy Awards.^[2]

From Wikipedia

Tired of Sleeping

Men in a War

Rusted Pipe

Book of Dreams

Institution Green

Those Whole Girls (Run in Grace)

Room off the Street

Big Space

Predictions

Fifty-Fifty Chance

Pilgrimage

One of the things I decided to research for this post (oh yes. it does happen) was the link between the title of this album and George Michael's 'Praying for Time', which has the line "These are the days of the open hand". Must be some kind of well known literary quote I thought, but can I find a clear reference to it anywhere? I cannot. And I checked at least 5 links from my Google search. Which begs the question, how come two musical works, issued within a few months of each other (Vega's album was first but Wikipedia reckons the stubbly one recorded his in 1989) include the same, rather unusual phrase? As a sidenote, Wikipedia is sparse when it comes to Vega, not much more than the bare facts are forthcoming about most of her work. Anyway, if you have an explanation of it please let me know, I hate an unscratched itch.

So what of the actual content? Well, it's really the Suzanne Vega Band now. She's not a singer-songwriter on a guitar any more. The opening 'Tired Of Sleeping' has a tinge of Losing My Religion mandolin and she does sound a bit shagged out as she sings it. 'Rusted Pipe' uses her plumbing problems as a metaphor for something or other, possibly about having difficulty expressing yourself. 'Book Of Dreams' gives us an extra clue on the album title: "The spine is bound to last a life; Tough enough to take the pounding; Pages made of days of open hand", but is pretty impenetrable nonetheless. 'Institution Green' could be about the Nietzschean emptiness about waiting for the doctor's receptionist to call your turn. I don't want to be flippant, but the elliptical nature of some of the lyrics is a bit exasperating at times. It's better than sixth-form poetry, maybe undergraduate fresher? 'Those Whole Girls (Run In Grace)' I think is an echo of Janis Ian's 'At Seventeen' but it's hardly a classic. The first verse of 'Room Off The Street' clearly refers back to 'Marlene' and is more like her first album in style.

No clue about 'Big Space'. Sorry. A bit monotonal too. I have only one thing to say about 'Predictions', she does that American thing of pronouncing the word 'herbs' as 'urbs'. The aitch is there for a reason you know, it's not silent. If you knew how much this particular linguistic foible annoys us (well, me anyway) and makes us laugh in equal measure you really wouldn't do it. 'Fifty-Fifty Chance' at least is clear, a failed suicide attempt and the frustration of not knowing how to help. I've given the impression I'm not impressed, but this is a good album, it just doesn't have songs with the immediacy and interest of a 'Luka', 'Tom's Diner' or 'Marlene On The Wall'.

99.9F °

Released: 8th September 1992

99.9F° (pronounced Ninety-Nine Point Nine Fahrenheit Degrees) is the fourth album by American singer and songwriter Suzanne Vega.^[3] Released in 1992, the album marked a departure for Vega, as she embraced a more electronic, experimental sound.^[4] It peaked at No. 86 on Billboard magazine's album chart and was Vega's fourth Top 20 album in the UK. The single "Blood Makes Noise" reached number one on the Billboard Modern Rock chart. 99.9F° was the first of two of Vega's albums to be produced by Mitchell Froom, whom she later married.^[3]

The album was certified gold (500,000 copies sold) by the RIAA in October 1997. It was certified silver in the UK (60,000 copies sold) by the BPI in March 1993. Vega has referred to 99.9F° as her favorite of her albums.^[5]

The New York Times wrote: "By far Vega's most rewarding record, 99.9 F degrees ... is the first album in which she breaks almost completely away from the conventions of the New York folk milieu that nurtured her."^[12] Trouser Press wrote that "many of the songs display a new interest in space and sound, using both in an almost sculptural fashion, creating a compelling amalgam that industrializes folk music."^[13]

From Wikipedia

Rock in This Pocket (Song of David)

Blood Makes Noise

In Liverpool

99.9F°

Blood Sings

Fat Man and Dancing Girl

(If You Were) In My Movie

As a Child

Bad Wisdom

When Heroes Go Down

As Girls Go

Song of Sand

Private Goes Public

One of my stipulations is that there needs to be a bit of musical progression, so kudos to Suzzer that she starts experimenting with this fourth album. It first hits you with 'Blood Makes Noise' which is all hefty-ish bass and industrial clanking. and is pretty arresting. 'In Liverpool' appears to bear little relation to Merseyside and more to The Hunchback Of Notre Dame. But it's a brilliant song anyway.

I have to make an admission about the title track. To me it has always sounded like 'Suicide Blonde' by INXS. I know that's really insulting, but does it help that I really like Vega's song? I'm sure she spent many a promotional interview explaining why she put Fahrenheit before degrees in the lyric. I need no explanation, she can be quirky if she wants.

There is some more familiar styles on here as well, 'Blood Sings' is a well-constructed folky ballad and 'Song Of Sand' is just her and her guitar being a bit oblique. 'Fat Man and The Dancing Girl' has some weird background noises. As I am writing I am chopping carrots in the kitchen and could swear I keep hearing a mouse. I think it's her fingers on the guitar strings.

'If You Were In My Movie' might have Suzanne revealing a little too much of her fantasies. Doctor's, Priests and Gangsters appear to be her 'bag'. More good stuff with 'As A Child' and 'Bad Wisdom' and 'When Heroes Go Down' comes on like an Elvis Costello song. Us in Europe got a bonus track, 'When Private Goes Public' which is also a more traditional Vegan offering. I thought this was pretty fabulous actually. She could have ploughed the same furrow for ever more, but here she's produced an interesting and different offering.

NINE OBJECTS OF DESIRE

Released 10th September 1996

Nine Objects of Desire is the fifth studio album by American musician Suzanne Vega, released on September 10, 1996, through A&M Records. As with her previous album 99.9F° (1992), it was produced by her then-husband Mitchell Froom (who also co-wrote three tracks). The recording sessions took place at The Magic Shop in New York City.^[7]

Much like its predecessor, Nine Objects of Desire integrates experimental instrumentation and arrangements into Vega's signature sound. Elements of jazz are present on tracks such as "Caramel" and "Tombstone". High-profile contributors to the album include Tchad Blake on guitar, Jerry Marotta on drums, and members of Elvis Costello's backing band the Attractions.

Nine Objects of Desire peaked at number 92 in the US, continuing a downward trend in Vega's album sales throughout the 1990s. However, it received positive reviews from critics, many of whom praised the songwriting and production. It spawned a UK top 40 hit in "No Cheap Thrill".

From Wikipedia

Birth-day (Love Made Real)

Headshots

Caramel

Stockings

Casual Match

Thin Man

No Cheap Thrill

World Before Columbus

Lolita

Honeymoon Suite

Tombstone

My Favorite Plum

No backtracking or reverting back to her folksy roots. Vega continues to develop her sound and builds on 99.9F°. If anything she goes a little bit too commercial at times here and starts to sound like Sheryl Crowe, but perhaps that's just the production fashions of the mid-nineties showing.The opening track even features some Garbage-style fuzzy effects on her vocal. 'Headshots' has a kind of haunted house vibe, 'Stockings' which carries thematic echoes of 'Tom's Diner' has a 'Mama Told Me Not To Come' riff and a Moroccan Souk backing.

'Casual Match' has a sort of 'Owner Of A Lonely Heart' clatter at the start. 'Thin Man' has a real Donald Fagen/Steely Dan feel to it. SO much so that I found myself checking that he didn't produce it or was involved in some other way. 'No Cheap Thrill' is the most Crowe-ish of all. I think this might have been a single because it sounds familiar, but I would probably have sworn blind that it was Sheryl.

All of this is a good listen. Whoever wrote the Wikipedia entry tries to identify the 9 objects and how they relate to the songs. Not sure anyone needs to know. One thing is certain is that object 9 is Suzanne's 'Favourite Plum' which has a kind of Gothic mystery about it. The artwork is nice I think, that apple is a lovely shade of green and she's looking pretty good too.

SONGS IN RED AND GRAY

Released: 25th September 2001

Songs in Red and Gray is the sixth studio album by American singer-songwriter Suzanne Vega. It was released on September 25, 2001, by A&M Records.

On Songs in Red and Gray, Vega returns to her signature acoustic folk-pop sound, shedding the experiments she had done in the 1990s with her husband, record producer Mitchell Froom.^[2] New producer Rupert Hine shows some traces of his past work with '80s new wave bands by employing electronic beats,^[4] but mostly allows Vega's voice and guitar to dominate in a manner reminiscent of her debut album and its 1987 follow-up, Solitude Standing.^[2][4]

Most of the songs, like "Widow's Walk" and "If I Were a Weapon", deal with the dissolution of Vega's marriage with Froom.^[2][4][8] Her "calm, hushed, clear singing"^[2] belies the album's "mood of heartbroken defiance".^[4] The lyrics are "the most personally revealing songs she has written" in her career.^[8]

From Wikipedia

Penitent

Widow's Walk

(I'll Never Be) Your Maggie May

It Makes Me Wonder

Soap and Water

Songs in Red and Gray

Last Year's Troubles

Priscilla

If I Were a Weapon

Harbor Song

Machine Ballerina

Solitaire

St. Clare

She isn't prolific. Following a standard opening career arc of an album every two to three years, Vega fans had to wait five for this one. She sounds much more like her original self here. No industrial bangs and crashes, and melodic and introspective. From the themes it's clearly a breakup album following her divorce from Mitchell Froome.

'Widow's Walk' is a bit grim, as she likens a divorce to bereavement and seems to blame herself for making bad choices. '(I'll Never Be) Your Maggie May' has a pleasant light choppy melody. 'Soap and Water' could be trying to reassure the child caught up in the breakup but "you are my little kite, carried away in the wayward breeze' might not really do the trick. The relationship with her daughter and the effect of the split on her is explored further in the title track. 'Last Year's Troubles' reflects on the romanticisation (real word?) of history in comparison to today, pointing out that folk were just as awful then, even if they did have nicer clothes. Suzanne's devotion to metaphor is given full rein in 'If I Were A Weapon', but that isn't to say that the meaning is unclear - more tiffs with the hubby. 'Machine Ballerina' has an amiable melody set against harsh lyrics.

So we find Suzanne in a cynical mood, hurt by the dissolution of a marriage and sticking it all down on the album. This is about as personal and painful an album as you are likely to hear, despite the pretty tunes. Don't listen to this if you are pissed off with your partner.

BEAUTY AND CRIME

Released: 17th July 2007

Beauty & Crime is the seventh studio album by singer-songwriter Suzanne Vega. It is her first album of new material since 2001's Songs in Red and Gray and her first for Blue Note Records. It was released on July 17, 2007. Beauty & Crime won the Grammy Award for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical, on February 11, 2008. It was dedicated to Tim Vega, Suzanne's younger half-brother who had died in 2002.

After lukewarm commercial success for her last two albums, Nine Objects of Desire (1996) and Songs in Red and Gray (2001) A&M Records ended their contract with Vega^{[citation needed]} with the release of the more commercially successful hits package Retrospective in 2003.

Vega embarked on an extensive tour and performed songs from Beauty & Crime in their early forms, including "Unbound", "Edith Wharton's Figurines", and "New York Is a Woman".

From Wikipedia

Zephyr & I

Ludlow Street

New York Is a Woman

Pornographer's Dream

Frank & Ava

Edith Wharton's Figurines

Bound

Unbound

As You Are Now

Angel's Doorway

Anniversary

Obvious Question

It's a bit bland if I'm honest. I've listened to it a lot and can't get excited about it. The opening 'Zephyr and I' is quite catchy, and 'Pornographer's Dream' has an arresting title at least. 'Ludlow Street' is a bit too breezy for a song about lost love. 'New York Is A Woman' is notionally the title track, as it is contained in the lyric. A meditation on an individual's relationship with the city and how it is always an unrequited love. 'Frank and Ava' are in love but can't get on with each other, probably a commoner complaint than you might think. There's something of a return to the Mitchell Froome sound with 'Unbound', which follows directly on from 'Bound' but doesn't appear to relate in any other way, or maybe I need to make more effort. 'As You Are Now' is a rather beautiful poem set to music, I'd say from a mother to daughter.

There's a bonus track, 'Obvious Question', making me think of New Model Army's 'Stupid Question' but obviously nothing like it. It sounds like something off the debut.

TALES FROM THE REALM OF THE QUEEN OF PENTACLES

Released: 18th February 2014

Tales from the Realm of the Queen of Pentacles is the eighth studio album by the American singer-songwriter Suzanne Vega.

Released in February 2014, it was Vega's first album of new material in seven years. The album features contributions from Larry Campbell and Tony Levin (bassist from King Crimson and Peter Gabriel). Although Vega's music had been sampled by various artists in the past, the album contains Vega's first own attempt at sampling with the track "Don't Uncork What You Can't Contain" which includes interpolations from 50 Cent's 2005 song "Candy Shop".^[5]

The album entered the UK Albums Chart at No. 37, the first time one of Vega's studio albums reached the UK Top 40 since 1992. It received generally favorable reviews.^[6]

From Wikipedia

Crack in the Wall

Fool's Complaint

I Never Wear White

Portrait of the Knight of Wands

Don't Uncork What You Can't Contain

Jacob and the Angel

Silver Bridge

Song of the Stoic

Laying on of Hands/Stoic 2

Horizon (There Is a Road)

Well I like the title. Any hoary old prog rock outfit would be proud of it. The content itself? She is still failing to inspire me I think. It has a more of a rock edge, especially on 'I Never Wear White', where she' starts to go off like that Fast Show character: "black, Black, BLACK!!" 'Portrait Of The Knight Of Wands' ends with a very irritating guitar effect that sounds like a fly that can't figure out why it can't fly through a pane of glass.

Arabic flourishes complement 'Don't Uncork What You Can't Contain' making it a bit hard to figure out if it is just a commentary on the tale of Aladdin or a little bit of advice for life. Probably both. The clapping accompaniment to 'Jacob And The Angel' is pretty satisfying, with vague guitar backing it up. The homemade sound of 'Song Of The Stoic' is nice too. She even drafts in some Great Gig-style soul backing on 'Laying On Of Hands/Stoic 2'.

So I guess that Suzanne has got plenty more in the tank, but hers has been an unusual odyssey in that she seems to have come full circle and this last album has songs that mimic the sound of her first. That intermediate, Froome produced period was the most interesting for me, but she's been pretty rewarding throughout.