Suzanne Vega

Suzanne Vega

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Though not the songs that would put her on the pop music map--that would come with 1987's Solitude Standing--Vega's first album shows her folky songwriting origins and, song for song, may still be her best. Produced by Patti Smith guitarist Lenny Kaye, the sound is softly sculpted by Kaye's silvery guitar and an airy, occaisonal string section, matching the dream-like introspection of "Queen and the Soldier" and the surreal word play of "Small Blue Thing." Vega's philosophical, quiet, but confident approach would open the door for a second generation of female singer-songwriters like Dar Williams and Shawn Colvin. Her debut remains an unassuming sleeper for one of the '80s best folk or pop albums. --Roy Francis Kasten

Suzanne Vega,Suzanne Vega,A&M,Adult Alternative Pop/Rock,Alternative Folk,College Rock,Contemporary Folk,Folk & Traditional,Pop,Popular Music,Rock,Rock/Pop,Singer/Songwriter

Beauty & Crime
Average customer rating:

One of Vega's finest albums with a diverse sound filtering through jazz and folk elements

It just keeps getting worse!

The best so far?

She's Like A Fine Wine, She Gets Better With Age

Arrest this Woman! - More Pointless Music from Vega

Beauty & Crime
Suzanne Vega
Manufacturer: Blue Note Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Time on Earth

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ASIN: B000H6SU9A
Release Date: 2007-07-17

Tracks:

Zephyr & I
Ludlow Street
New York Is a Woman
Pornoghrapher's Dream
Frank & Ava
Edith Wharton's Figurine
Bound
Unbound
As You Are Now
Angel's Doorway
Anniversary

Amazon.com

With a career spanning more than two decades, Suzanne Vega has long stressed quality over quantity. It's no surprise, therefore, that her first release in six years is more than worth the wait. Her eye for detail, laconic vocal cool, and thematic focus on New York City continue to distinguish her artistry, but the sonic sheen applied by British producer/multi-instrumentalist Jimmy Hogarth sparks a musical renewal. Crisp guitar riffing recalls the streetwise work of fellow New York chronicler Lou Reed, while chamber strings, electronic atmospherics, and multitracked background vocals lift the results well beyond the folk realm. Vega writes from a perspective of memory and maturity, recalling the New York of old on "Zephyr & I" and "Ludlow Street," showing the musical sophistication of bittersweet seduction on "New York Is a Woman," applying a musical Brazilian wax to "Pornographer's Dream," and contemplating her life as a wife on "Bound" and as a mother on the lullaby "As You Are Now." The results are richly satisfying throughout. --Don McLeese

Amazon.com

On Beauty & Crime, Suzanne Vega's Blue Note Records debut, the Manhattan native uses New York City as the backdrop for a collection of eleven new songs that juxtapose acoustic guitar-driven melodies with coolly synthesized beats; intensely personal lyrics with compelling, short story-like narratives; images of today's scarred cityscape with memories of Vega's old Upper West Side 'hood and Lower East Side haunts. The past commingles with the present, the public with the private, familiar sounds with the utterly new, just like the city itself. Making her first new studio album in six years, Vega says, "I feel like I really stretched my limits. I pushed myself out of my comfort zone--to sing in keys I wouldn't have sung in before, to work with different textures, to be unafraid of doing what ever sounded good to me. I wanted to make a modern classic."

Suzanne Vega Photos

Album Description

2007 album produced by Jimmy Hogarth. She is accompanied by an eclectic group including Will Malone, Gerry Leonard, Lee Renaldo, Mike Visceglia and Doub Yowell. EMI.

Customer Reviews:

One of Vega's finest albums with a diverse sound filtering through jazz and folk elements.......2007-08-03

Suzanne Vega may be an acquired taste but after you've taken a drink of her latest album, you'll find it both intoxicating and difficult to give up. Admittedly there are those who dislike her hushed vocal delivery (which sounds at times like a female Lou Reed with echoes of Bob Dylan/Leonard Cohen where she isn't trying to "sing" the material so much as "discuss" her observations). I love Vega's delivery so sue me. She's a literate songwriter whose lyrics provide a nice constrast to the music which veers from folk, jazz, elements of techno sometimes within the same song.

"Beauty and Crime" is one of her best albums musically. This concept album about her adopted home New York is a loving and sometimes blunt assessment of the city that surrounds her and has been her muse off and on over the past twenty years. Vega has often taken stylistic detours sometimes off the beaten path like her flirtation with the techno elements that decorated "99.9f" and the smooth samba beat that showed up on "Nine Objects of Desire". Unlike those two albums the production of Jimmy Hogarth is less distracting and self-conscious than those two albums allowing the quality of the songs to shine through. For those that are interested the Japanese release has one extra song that comes in at just under two minutes. It's a good song but you won't miss it (unlike "Golden" from "Songs of Red and Gray) if you purchase the U.S. release of the album.

"Zephyr & I" and "Ludlow Street" have some of the most inviting melodies/arrangements since Vega's breakthrough album. "New York is a Woman" uses a pretty plain metaphor to describe a visitors first visit to the Big Apple. Vega's presentation is pretty straight forward folk outside of the occasional use of horns to decorate the song. "Poronographer's Dream" has an inviting beat and arrangement that echoes nightclub jazz. "Frank & Ava" and the lilting "Bound" are two other highlights. "Unbound" features the type of arrangements that were characteristic of "99.9F" but they are less obtrusive here,

As much as I have enjoyed all of her albums, "Beauty and Crime" is probably one of her most consistent, inviting and musically rich since her first two albums. "Days of Open Hand" was good but didn't extend much beyond "Solitude Standing". "99.9F" played with her sound providing her songs a great diving board to leap off into varied and different musical terrain. That continued on the stylistically diverse and often beautiful "Nine Objects of Desire" and "Songs in Red and Gray". "Beauty & Crime" brings all of this together but, more importantly, does so with the strongest batch of material she has written to date.

For those fans that are interested Vega's website also has a live album recorded for the "Songs in Red and Gray" tour available. It's also available for download from Itunes.

Retrospective: The Best of Suzanne VegaSolitude Standing
Nine Objects of Desire

It just keeps getting worse!.......2007-07-28

Ugh...I loved Suzanned Vega and then she married some fat old guy. Her music sucks to put mildly but fortunately it is a free country so you don't have to buy it...'nuf said

The best so far?.......2007-07-22

Trying to objectively assess any record a matter of weeks after its release is difficult, particularly when it's from such a complex artist as Suzanne Vega - as her previous albums show, her inherently "catchy" songs need time register for their underlying strength and hidden depths to be revealed... but, with time, it's quite possible that this could well prove to be the best release from this supremely gifted artist. In the meantime, sit back and enjoy another pure 5 star outing.

She's Like A Fine Wine, She Gets Better With Age.......2007-07-20

When I picked up Suzanne Vega's seventh studio release "Beauty & Crime", I did what a lot of people do these days - I ripped MP3 files for my computer. When I saw that the total time of the songs was only 34 minutes, I was a little disappointed because I have waited 6 years for her follow-up to the terrific "Songs in Red and Gray". But then I played the songs. Wow! The lady still has the magic. Although the songs are pretty short (only one exceeds 4 minutes and I actually think that song - "Bound" - drags on a little too long), they pack a punch. Personal favorites are "Edith Wharton's Figurines", "Unbound" and the one everyone seems to like, "New York is a Woman", which is about a suburban man's first trip to New York City. As a suburban man who will soon take his first trip to New York, I feel like Suzanne just gave me a tour!

I thought the CD was great and I hope she sees enough success with it that we'll hear from her again, hopefully sooner than 6 years from now. I'm looking forward to seeing her for the first time live later this year.

Arrest this Woman! - More Pointless Music from Vega.......2007-07-20

You know, I love acoustic female singer-songwriters as much as the next person (which isn't saying a whole lot), but I also know trash when I listen to it. This, unfortunately, falls into the latter category. I had highly anticipated this release, alongwith the new Sinead O'Connor record, but Sinead eventually let me down with her tepid double album of a release. Vega somehow manages to outdo her with this certifiable doozy of an album, which is a pity, since her last studio album was rather pretty.

"Beauty & Crime" (Suzanne evidently has very little of the former, and she has committed the latter here), is Suzanne's "Ode to New York" (did we really need another one?). I think Tori Amos did it best when she limited her political consciousness to one song about New York on her "I Can't See New York" from the "Scarlet's Walk" album. Well, this album is no "Scarlet's Walk". In fact, its not even "99.9F", which is amongst the weakest of the Vega albums. On its own, its an oddity with no definable purpose - which is OK if the music was great. But when the recently mangled Bjork record has more replay value than this monstrosity, I don't know what to say.

Lets consider the track "Ludlow Street". Even if you're a Vega fan put aside your love for this woman for an instant. On this track, her songwriting abilities are on par with lets say, Lindsay Lohan or Jojo. I kid you not. Here is a sample:

L"ove is the only thing that matters.
Love is the only thing that's real.
I know we hear this every day.
It's still the hardest thing to feel."

And thats just the FIRST VERSE!

Things only get worse on "Pornographers' Dream", which as a tune is acceptable enough (but then again, so were "The Garbage Pail Kids"). Here, Suzanne is apparently talking about a mans' pornographic muse or something - it isn't especially clear (or interesting):

"Bettie Page is still the rage
with her legs and leather;
she turns to tease the camera, and please us at home,
and we let her."

The problem then, if we turn from the lyrics, is the abject disrespect that Vega has for the listening audience. Granted, her tinny voice isn't exactly a selling point, but she is known for making harmlessly average folk-pop songs. What she's done here however, is bewildering. Even if you're a past fan, or a lover of music by Tori Amos, Fiona Apple, Aimee Mann etc, theres nothing here of any worth, really.

Whats even worse is the cover photo that does nothing to elevate this beyond a vanity project of the most ill conception. I hate getting personal about artists, but in this case, one has to wonder how the record company could greenlight something so abjectly pedestrian. Its Vega after all, so its not like we expected anything groundbreaking (how could we?), but still - this is beyond whatever low expectations you had coming in.

"Frank and Ava" is a song that is again a mis-step. I have to wonder, is THIS the New York that Vega is observing? Its not terribly inviting. At best, this is like someone took the concept of sitting in a cozy Starbucks drinking a cup of coffee, and reverse engineered it on the premise of "how bad could we do this". I kid you not.

People, there have been only three great albums this year. "American Doll Posse" by Tori Amos, "Release the Stars" by Rufus Wainwright, and "Paige Aufhammer" by Paige Aufhammer. This record is nowhere near the top (read the critical reviews), and I would advise Vega from avoiding the recording room like the plague, in the future. This woman is not a musician, has no right recording music, and her place can be taken by someone more deserving. Sorry, but thats the truth.

Worst female album of the Year. Avoid.

Average customer rating:

Zero Stars : Can Someone put this Woman out of her Misery?
If you want to discover one of the most under-rated artists out there, start here...
Moving
A Generous Retrospective & Fair Assessment Of Works
An Introspective RETROSPECTIVE!

Retrospective: The Best of Suzanne Vega
Suzanne Vega
Manufacturer: Interscope Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Beauty & Crime
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Suzanne Vega

ASIN: B00008PRS4
Release Date: 2003-04-22

Tracks:

Luka
Tom's Diner - DNA
Marlene On the Wall
Caramel
99.9 Degrees Farenheit
Tired Of Sleeping
Small Blue Thing
Blood Makes Noise
Left Of Center
(I'll Never Be) Your Maggie May
In Liverpool
Gypsy
Book Of Dreams
No Cheap Thrill
Calypso
World Before Columbus
Solitude Standing
Penitent
Rosemary
The Queen And The Soldier (Live)
Woman On The Tier (I'll See You Through)

Amazon.com

It's the rare singer-songwriter whose emotional confessions rise above bathos to find true resonance with their listeners; rarer still the one who can connect their audience with the plight of everyday strangers. Suzanne Vega not only managed that feat on her unlikely, child-abuse themed breakthrough hit "Luka" in `88, but opened the door for a renaissance of intelligent, female folk-oriented music in the decade that followed. This 21-track anthology spans Vega's career before and since, a chronicle of cool, sharp-eyed detachment infused by a restless, oft-underrated sense of musical invention that spans club-mixes (the "Tom's Diner" here was originally a "pirate" deejay mix by DNA that Vega wisely adopted), Latin jazz ("Caramel"), electro-percussive rhythm explorations ("Blood Makes Noise," "99.9F," and ""Woman on the Tier" from the Dead Man Walking soundtrack) neo-classicism ("Small Blue Thing") and a sharp-edged pop sense ("I'll Never Be Your Maggie May," "Book of Dreams") that can't be denied. That it's all still clearly rooted in a diverse pantheon that includes Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, and Woody Guthrie is all the more remarkable. Rarities include "Left of Center" from the Pretty in Pink soundtrack, a live "Queen and the Soldier" and previously import-only "Rosemary." Also features all lyrics and the insightful recollections of Vega colleague/Patti Smith guitarist Lenny Kaye. --Jerry McCulley

Customer Reviews:

Zero Stars : Can Someone put this Woman out of her Misery?.......2007-07-30

Wow.

An Entire CD of songs to slash your wrists to.

Suzanne really outdid herself this time. Not content with banging out album after album of ridiculous 'folk' songs, she decided to put the 'hits' from those CDs onto one disgusting monstrosity of an album. And here you have it.

To be fair, I'm sure Vega would be just fine as a housewife or a postal worker, but as a singer/songwriter she is an abomination beyond compare. Listen to the meandering "Rosemary". How could anyone not want to jump off a cliff, or better still, push ones' entire family off a cliff while the sick number played in the background?

Granted, Vega is not recognized as especially talented or noteworthy (even amongst her own fanbase, which is pretty pathetic really) - but she just sinks to low levels here. What was the need of a Greatest Hits from a woman who has been dying to get at least ONE major hit since her child-abuse melodrama "Luka"? This woman HAS no hits, will never have hits, and I would advise her to move to the countryside and take up knitting or crocheting, or something else more befitting her matronly appearance.

I heard she just got married. Congratulations Suzanne. Not stop making music.

If you must listen to this piece of trash, check out the sound clips instead. If that doesn't do you in, I don't know what will.

Zero Stars. Someone please get this woman away from a mike. I mean, her first husband left her for Vonda Sheppard. I can definitely see why. STOP SINGING SUZANNE!

If you want to discover one of the most under-rated artists out there, start here..........2006-10-08

Because Suzanne Vega has, over the past 20 years, produced some of the very best rock-poetry you'll find. An artist that's prepared to push things out to the edge lyrically without losing sight of the fact that what makes a song work is a great tune, an exciting, carefully executed arrangement and... beautifully sincere delivery. And, when she gets it right, as this compilation more than adequately shows, the results are quite stunning.

So, if you want to be introduced to the joys on offer start with this and, once you've taken it all in, get ready for a pleasant surprise because, so far, there are only six albums to spend you're hard earned money on. And, unlike most artists' output all of them contain enough "gems" that aren't included here to justify the expense. Sometimes less is better and in Suzanne Vega's case the vast majority of what she's released deserves inclusion in any comprehensive "retrospective" - which, of course, means that an album like this can only be a "sampler" for her superbly consistent and intriguing music.

Moving.......2005-10-03

How relevant could the female, quasi folk, New Yorkish musical perspective be to a man in Australia? I don't know but I love it. She is moving, personal, "feministic", sensual, chameleonistic, and above all- the tunes rock. She is not mainstream but will leave a legacy that is second to none. Nearly every track on every album is a gem or simply a pleasant few minutes of this short life. If any artists songs convey pleasure and pain concurrently it hers. Go for any of it!

A Generous Retrospective & Fair Assessment Of Works.......2005-09-15

After new wave, dance and more agressive sound of the early 80's, Suzanne came on the music scene during the mid 80's as the return of more acoustic, folk and new age music was on the rise. Suzane's vocals were quiet and her arrangements were simple, making her mark with her debut as a cross between her past Joni Mitchell and her contempoaries Tracy Chapman & Enya. With songs like Marlene On The Wall, Freeeze Tag, The Queen & The Soldier and Crackling from her debut and her classics from Solitude Standing Luka, Tom's Dinner and the title track, have lead her to more experimental types of music.

This collection pulls it all together and includes rare tracks like Left Of Center (feat. Joe Jackson, from Pretty In Pink) and Woman On The Tier from Dead Man Walking. It even includes the track Rosemary from her first Collection called Tried And True. It contained 17 songs. This one has 21 and includes most of them.

An Introspective RETROSPECTIVE!.......2005-07-23

"Haven't you ever heard Suzanne Vega before?" my friend asked me about 2 years back. And when I replied in the negative, he hummed the tune of 'Tom's Diner' to me and I was like, "That sounds familiar..." He lent me his copy of 'Retrospective' and today it's one of my favorite albums!

See, when I like particular albums or music, especially if it's a female artist, it's usually because their lyrics, their beliefs as expressed in their music, their philosophies and so on, appeal to me in some way. That's the reason I've long liked arists like Madonna, Sarah McLachlan, Enya, Dido...to mention a few among the female artists I like... With Suzanne Vega it was and still is a bit different because I don't actually understand her songs to be very honest... Perhaps I'm not old or mature enough to understand them but still I've enjoyed listening to this album SO much, I listen to it over and over again! I just like her music - every song is different and has a new thought to offer... I like that her songs are at times pensive (Small Blue Thing), wistful (I'll never be your Maggie May, Caramel), whimsical (Gypsy..), nostalgic (Rosemary), some are plain eccentric (Blood Makes Noise) and then there are the "everyday" songs like 'Tom's Diner' or 'In Liverpool'. I find almost all her songs wonderfully reflective. I love 'Penitent' for its music, 'Solitude Standing' for her personifictaion of Solitude as a woman who's been through so much in life.. 'Tom's Diner', besides it's great catchy tune, captures a regular experience so simply and vividly! 'Calypso' reminds me of Dido's 'My Lover's Gone' - both have kind of a similar mythological strain to them that I like a lot. There's 'Rosemary' which is nostalgic enough to give one goose bumps and 'Gypsy' which is so enchantingly dreamy...such an unabashedly comfort-seeking little ode! And then there's 'Luka' of course which is so hummable and also subtly moving...

Suzanne Vega is a difficult artist to understand. She's certainly a gifted, original artist with a very good voice. I hope that gradually as I keep listening to this album I'll realise things that I hadn't realised before...and new insights into her music will keep coming... I give this album a thumbs up! Great music, great reflections and a refershing alternative to some of the other music currently around...

Average customer rating:

This CD blew me away...
A firm standing album
Mother of the MP3
This album got me through high school
One of the few REAL Class acts

Solitude Standing
Suzanne Vega
Manufacturer: A&M
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Retrospective: The Best of Suzanne Vega

ASIN: B000002GHB

Tracks:

Tom's Diner
Luka
Ironbound/Fancy Poultry
In The Eye
Night Vision
Solitude Standing
Calypso
Language
Gypsy
Wooden Horse (Caspar Hauser's Song)
Tom's Diner (Reprise)

Amazon.com

Suzanne Vega emerged in the mid-'80s, and while her intimate voice and acoustic guitar 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 neighbor'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 English 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

Customer Reviews:

This CD blew me away..........2007-07-20

When I first heard Tom's Diner it was like I was sitting there next to the artist watching these event unfold as you sat in the window booth. But I was blown away when she sang the whole thing in acapella. Luka I already like from hearing it on the radio. Ironbound and Gypsy stirred up images in my mind of hardship and fleating love. Night Vision took me a few years to figure out...yeah I am a little slow sometimes. But when I got it it was another 'wow' moment. That is what I like about Suzanne Vega's music. It makes me get lost in the lyrics images. Tom's Diner is a prime example. But if you are a person that likes lyrics that don't make you think or imagine then you shouldn't buy this CD.

A firm standing album.......2007-06-05

Despite the hype surrounding Tom's Diner and Luka, the rest of the songs on this album firmly stand on their own. The accoustics and artful poetry via Suzanne Vega stand out in her second album with thought provoking compassion. Don't merely fall into the envelope of Tom's Diner and Luka (which, while great songs, are not her only stars). After 20 years this album still holds strong and brings you to the nostalgia of a bygone era.

Mother of the MP3.......2007-04-10

According to sources on the web, the first song in this collection, Tom's Diner, was used as the model piece in the development of the mp3 compression algorithm. Thus, Suzanne Vega has earned the title, "Mother of the MP3." Somehow appropriately, since it is rendered without music in the first cut, music for Tom's Diner is played without words in the last. It is worth the price of the album if only for Tom's Diner. The rest is pretty good too.

This album got me through high school.......2006-12-30

Every song tells a story. I bought a tape of this CD when it came out and it had nothing to do with Luka. The best song in my opinion is Night Vision. Wow...

Suzanne Vega is a writer. In fact check out the book Solitude Standing and you'll see that her life is her lyrics.

They used to list her as folk music and I do believe it's because they can't "slot" her anywhere. Her music had too much soft guitar to be rock/pop so she got the folk label but now that there are more categories she could be considered alternative. That's what they call you when they don't know what you are.

If you like to be entertained by storytelling and good, well-written songs then you won't be disappointed with this purchase.

Whenever I hear anything from this album I'm taken back to those strong teenage emotions felt on rain soaked afternoons that I walked home listening to this in my walkman.

I have never seen another album on Amazon receive so many fives. The only one who didn't give five was actually rating a so-called live performance.

_,.-:*'``'*:-.,_,.-:**:-.FIVE STARS*:-._,.-:*'``'*:-._,.-

One of the few REAL Class acts .......2006-10-13

Suzanne is by far one of the most prolific female (or any other kind) singer songwriter in the world.I was skeptical when I first heard Luka on the radio on Suzannes debut.While that was and still a very good glimpse into her abilities...it wasn't her best. Fortunately for me I heard Solitude Standing on a progressive radio station and the "honeymoon" has never ended. In concert she is totally captivating with her non pretentious and humble musical masterpieces.Her use of linguistics, melody,and diverse subject matter never fail to transport one to a lush garden of imagination. Accents of meticulous placements of bass, and percussive spices that only one woman in the world can cook up. Truly one of a kind and the classiest acts ever to grace a stage.

Average customer rating:

Suzanne Vega: Nine Objects Of Desire
Emily Dickinson reincarnated
Great follow-up to 99.9F
Caramel!
Softer and More Refined Vega!

Nine Objects of Desire
Suzanne Vega
Manufacturer: A&M
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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99.9 F°
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Songs in Red and Gray
Suzanne Vega
Days of Open Hand

ASIN: B000002G60
Release Date: 1996-09-10

Tracks:

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

Customer Reviews:

Suzanne Vega: Nine Objects Of Desire.......2007-05-20

This is one of the most wonderful CD's I own. I have two more of her CD's on the way, just waiting for delivery.

Emily Dickinson reincarnated.......2006-09-07

This is one of those incredibly under-appreciated albums that shows that true art and poetry are still being created. Suzanne proves that love songs can be incredibly mysterious with the use of strange settings and metaphors. "Honeymoon Suite" has a haunting tone, which is so rare in more recent pop music. "World Before Columbus" is my personal favorite (and one of my all-time favorite songs). With wonderful metaphors, it deals with everything from world history and greed to love and a desire to live and feel more deeply.

Other passages delve into fears, darkness, and issues of mortality (e.g. "Birthday," "Headshots," and "Tombstone"). "Thin Man," I discovered, refers to the skeletal "figure of death" (i.e. the Grim Reaper) mentioned in the liner notes. The song is remarkably similar in imagery to Emily Dickinson's "Because I Could Not Stop for Death." These themes are balanced, though, by periodically upbeat and jazzy songs, some with racy overtones (e.g. "Caramel" and "Stockings.") As always, Mike Visceglia's base-playing and the other instrumentation are as good as it gets. It is difficult to imagine a more beautifully written and arranged single-disc album.

Great follow-up to 99.9F.......2006-07-16

After 99.9F, which I consider her greatest CD, I wondered how Suzanne could pull off another spectacular record. She did it with this one. It's reminiscent of 99.9F, but not as industrial sounding. The rhythms here are a little more interesting and FINALLY we hear songs that are obviously about her own perspective (e.g., Birthday, Honeymoon Suite, World Before Columbus). Her lyrics on this one are no longer mysterious and open to multiple interpretations. There are a few missteps, however, and this album has the distinction of containing the only Suzanne Vega song I hate: Lolita. What was she thinking? Also, Casual Match has a decent verse, but the chorus is completely unaffecting. Otherwise, this is one great CD.

Caramel!.......2005-09-06

I love this CD! It's great when your relaxing at home with a cup of coffee. I'm only nineteen and I don't usually listen to this type of music. It's very easy listening. Caramel is my favorite and probably the only one I've really listened too, but I can let the CD just play while I'm at home and every song is nice.

Softer and More Refined Vega!.......2005-07-24

This was Suzanne Vega's second album produced by Mitchell Froom. There is a great variation in moods and styles and Froom obviously has a great skill of giving Vega's songs inventive arrangements without ruining them with over-production.

This album is a natural follow-up the very experimental album "99.9 F" which had a lot of odd sounds and rhythms. You find quite a lot of the same things here, but the overall impression is that of a softer and more refined album.

What make Suzanne Vega's albums so good is the songs and her soft voice; what makes her albums great is the perfectionism in which the songs are arranged and produced. Both elements are present on this album, which may very well turn out to be her most satisfying and enduring.

A handful of these songs would have fitted nicely into "99.9 F"; "Birthday", "Stockings", "Casual Match", "No Cheap Thrill" and "Lolita" . Among them my favourites are "Stockings", with great sensual lyrics, "No Cheap Thrill" and the almost heavy "Birthday".

On other tracks a more refined touch is apparent. "Caramel" is a latin-inspired great tune with a tasteful hornarrangement. "My favourite Plum" is another memorable song with a beautiful string arrangement. "World Before Columbus" are "Honeymoon Suite" two acoustic songs with Vega playing the guitar. I particularly like the thought-provoking lyrics of "Honeymoon Suite".

"Headshots" is another favourite.

Least appealing are the jazzy track "Tombstone" and the riff-based "Casual Match" and "Lolita"

Average customer rating:

More colorful than Red and Grey!
After "99.9" and "Nine Objects," a serious comedown
Great Songs and Lyrics!
A Beautiful Mind
Agreed, her best since her first

Songs in Red and Gray
Suzanne Vega
Manufacturer: Spectrum Hmn
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Similar Items:

Nine Objects of Desire
Solitude Standing
99.9 F°
Suzanne Vega
Days of Open Hand

ASIN: B00005O6JG
Release Date: 2001-09-25

Tracks:

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

Amazon.com

Suzanne Vega remains one of the most relentlessly, mercilessly tasteful recording artists alive. Every note on Songs in Red and Gray has been arranged with the meticulous precision of a butler laying silver on a table. Every sound is so polished and buffed that you barely notice you're listening, every syllable of every lyric only admitted to the melodies after painstaking reviewing and rewriting, and every song sung as if Vega believes that her core audience consists of elocution teachers. This has worked, occasionally, for Vega before--it should not be forgotten what an original presence she was with "Left of Center" and "Marlene on the Wall"--and it works, occasionally, for Vega now. There are a few fine songs here, notably the gently acerbic "Last Year's Troubles" and the wryly subversive "Maggie May" (not the Rod Stewart standard), but there is also a whole lot of glutinous, over-refined suet. Vega still needs to give her songs a much longer leash. --Andrew Mueller

Customer Reviews:

More colorful than Red and Grey!.......2005-10-12

This is the first time that I have really listened in depth to Suzanne Vega's songs. The words are powerful. The music and the musicians are superb. Every time I listen to her sing I fall under her spell. This Album is a must for all SV fans.

After "99.9" and "Nine Objects," a serious comedown.......2005-08-25

"99.9" had a crisp intelligence and a skeptical tone, "Nine Objects" was a masteripiece of jazzy sensuality. This CD, however, is hopelessly muddled on too many levels; though many of the orchestrations are fine (the low, urgent strings on "Widow's Walk" perfectly compliment her gun metal-tough delivery), the lyrics often get lost in a thicket of overwriting. (Slog through the words for "It Makes Me Wonder" where she rhymes a reference to breast milk with "ilk"--it makes me wonder too, Suzanne.) Though some have appreciated her use of metaphor on this CD, I found them to be both absurdly purple and cryptic. ("Daddy's a dark riddle/Mama's a headful of bees" sounds like bad college-girl creative writing, not to mention the thudding metaphor of "The virgin Mary on a chain has hit me in the mouth again." Egad!) Vega has never seemed as affected or pretentious--so out of touch with her audience--as she has in the ghastly "Priscilla," with lines such as "but still we did play" that wouldn't even qualify as college-girl creative writing. (This annoying tense tic reappears in "Harbor Song" where she sings "Whenever I do travel.") She also tries to revisit certain songs and themes from previous albums, but instead of being commentary or deepening a theme it seems like she's rehashing ideas (the card game on "Solitaire" pales compared to "No Cheap Thrill" from "Nine Objects;" "If I Were A Weapon" rips off "If You Were In My Movie" from "99.9"). As an artist writing about the dissolution of a marriage, one expects more thematic richness and genuine emotion from her than just sounding vaguely nettled---for the first time, her coolness seems like a front, a pose to cover darker emotions. Only occasionally do the lyrics, vocals and instruments combine into alchemy--"Widow's Walk," the weary delivery and razor-sharp detail in "Song In Red and Gray," and the compassionate yet sorrowful final elegy "St. Clare." Has Vega given up on all romantic relationships? Has her dark mood weighed down her talent, and trapped it in the muck at the bottom of her mind? Here's hoping she can cut loose the chains and soar again in the future.

Great Songs and Lyrics!.......2005-07-17

This was Vega's first album after her divorce from her husband and producer on her two previous albums, Mitchell Froom. The theme of breaking-up is naturally dominating many these songs.

The production of this album is slightly softer than ""99.9 F" and "Nine Objects of Desire", and probably less daring. The record has been criticised for being overproduced; personaly I think her production suits her songs brilliantly. And songs are mostly great and like always, Suzanne Vega's lyrics are melodic and thought-provoking.

Only few songs are immediately catchy and it may take a few listens to get into many of them.

My first favourites were the up-beat songs "I'll Never Be Your Maggie May". "Last Year's Troubles" (great lyrics on that one too!) and "If I Were a Weapon".

Among the slower and more silent songs "Soap and Water" and "St Claire" are really great.

All in all an album you can enjoy and listen to many times!

Now I'm eagerly awaiting her new album which supposedly is to be released in late 2005.

A Beautiful Mind.......2005-06-10

Suzanne Vega is such a unique voice in music. She shares her experiences and observations on life, but never stoops to overtly shouting about anything; neither musically nor lyrically. This seems to bother some, such as the Amazon reviewer, but I simply find this as a different approach to reporting or viewing life. Suzanne tells her stories with an ethereal sense of control, by a force of will minimizing emotions such as anger and regret; they argue a balanced understanding of life where beauty resides in the ability to deal with life's ups-and-downs with love, hope and a wry sense of humor.

As for the various comments about the production values of Red and Grey, I have no problems listening to the songs on good equipment; the sounds, like the lyrics, are largely well thought out and clearly intentioned. Much popular music relies on the artistic (and often times non-artistic) collisions of many sounds together; it's neither good nor bad that there is not much of that here... It's more like a stream of sounds all headed in the same direction versus a collage of sounds that blend together.

Not a perfect album by any stretch, but it has many perfect human moments; realistic, slightly sad, personal songs that flow gracefully over turbulent ground...

Agreed, her best since her first.......2004-07-13

Few albums have touched me and knocked my socks off at the same time as this one has. This is by far her best songwriting since Suzanne Vega and Solitude Standing. I have enjoyed all of her albums, but these songs have a rawness, intimacy and intensity that I have rarely ever seen. On top of that, the musical arrangements framing the lyrics are perfect - not over done, not underdone. You can "feel" the emotion before she starts singing. I am not a professional critic, but I would say this is a flawless album. Pure Suzanne in the lyrics and her songwriting has reached a maturity and level of excellence that all of her fans have been watching her work towards.

Average customer rating:

Suzanne Vega doesn't bore me
Today
The woman on this album still fascinates me
Ok..
Just amazing

Suzanne Vega
Suzanne Vega
Manufacturer: A&M
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Similar Items:

Solitude Standing
Songs in Red and Gray
Nine Objects of Desire
99.9 F°
Days of Open Hand

ASIN: B000002GGY
Release Date: 1993-02-23

Tracks:

Cracking
Freeze Tag
Marlene On The Wall
Small Blue Thing
Straight Lines
Undertow
Some Journey
The Queen And The Soldier
Knight Moves
Neighborhood Girls

Amazon.com

Though not the songs that would put her on the pop music map--that would come with 1987's Solitude Standing--Vega's first album shows her folky songwriting origins and, song for song, may still be her best. Produced by Patti Smith guitarist Lenny Kaye, the sound is softly sculpted by Kaye's silvery guitar and an airy, occaisonal string section, matching the dream-like introspection of "Queen and the Soldier" and the surreal word play of "Small Blue Thing." Vega's philosophical, quiet, but confident approach would open the door for a second generation of female singer-songwriters like Dar Williams and Shawn Colvin. Her debut remains an unassuming sleeper for one of the '80s best folk or pop albums. --Roy Francis Kasten

Customer Reviews:

Suzanne Vega doesn't bore me.......2007-07-20

This was the second CD of Suzanne Vega's that I ever bought. I figured that since I liked 'Solitude Standing' (my first) I would like this one. And I was right. I could not explain it but every song grabbed my attention. I think it has to do with the fact that Suzanne Vega can write lyrics about tangable things and not bore you to death with superficial repeatitive lyrics whose rhyme you can figure out before it is sung. Suzanne Vega's lyrics don't bore me. They are food for my ears, mind, and spirit.

Today.......2007-03-15

I am a Small Blue Thing...
like a marble or an eye... okay, here's the deal, listen to the tracks if you can and judge for yourself. It's good music. It is pretty, relaxing and thought-provoking.

Oh and she can actually sing.

The woman on this album still fascinates me.......2007-03-07

This was my first Suzanne Vega album and remains one of my two favorites along with Solitude Standing. Suzanne's lyrics gave you just enough of a glimpse to make you long to understand the unspoken secrets lurking in the head of this mysterious, extremely intelligent yet strangely vulnerable woman. Very SEXY stuff without any sense of her consciously trying to be.

Like most of her fans I especially enjoyed "Marlene On The Wall" and "The Queen and The Soldier" -- but I'm also terribly curious about what kind of man she was writing to when she wrote "Some Journey". I wonder about the "rose tattoo from the fingerprints on me from you" -- was she abused herself? There are mysteries here that you may never solve, but your mind and your heart will grow in the process. Buy it, enjoy it. This is Suzanne at her best.

Ok.........2007-02-19

This is sublime. I mean Heaven more so than cake. I love this cd. I am someone. I'm not nothing. Poo..It may not stop the power. Freakin rock? Yeah..Heavy metaL devil horns..I love..This! I am the Neighborhood girl ever changing!

Just amazing.......2006-12-09

It occurred to me only just tonight how much "The Queen and the Soldier" applies to the Iraq war, so many years after Vega performed it. As a love song and a political allegory alike, it's a haunting and timeless piece of work.

As is the rest of the album, for that matter. Only her most recent effort, "Songs in Red and Gray," can deliver a serious challenge.

Average customer rating:

The subconscious set to music
Incredible
Lovable melancholy
A Nice Quiet Album!
Beautiful and disturbing

Days of Open Hand
Suzanne Vega
Manufacturer: A&M
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Similar Items:

99.9 F°
Solitude Standing
Nine Objects of Desire
Songs in Red and Gray
Suzanne Vega

ASIN: B000002GIT
Release Date: 1990-04-06

Tracks:

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

Album Description

Out of print in the U.S.! UK reissue of the singer/songwriter's third album, originally released in 1990. 11 tracks including 'Tired Of Sleeping', 'Book Of Dreams' and 'Men In A War'. Spectrum.

Customer Reviews:

The subconscious set to music.......2006-08-28

This is an extremely deep and sophisticated work by Suzanne Vega. Virtually all of the songs, however, seem to relate to one thing in particular: the subconscious (dreams, fantasies, fears, a desire to feel, and memory). The abstract and unreal passages led me to reach this conclusion, along with the fact that the opening track, which sets the tone, is "Tired of Sleeping." I have come to love Days... because of understanding it this way. I believe that Salvador Dali would have absolutely loved it.

My personal favorites are "Tired of Sleeping," "Big Space," "Rusted Pipe," "Predictions," and, especially, "Pilgrimage," all of which deal with abstract emotional and psychological journeys. "Predictions" seems to support the expression that "History repeats itself" by beginning: "Let's tell the future, Let's see how it's been done..." I love the universal perspective of this. Mike Visceglia's base-playing on "Pilgrimage" is other-worldly and mysterious. It seems like the soundtrack for an archaeological documentary on National Geographic or the History International channel--a program where they are uncovering ancient secrets. Vega is unapologetically inscrutable on this follow-up to her huge hit record Solitude Standing.

Incredible.......2006-07-16

I think one of the reasons this album was overlooked was because there are no obvious singles. In fact, Suzanne herself said her record company was having a difficult time coming up with a single when it was released. However, taken as a whole, the album is simply magnificent. It's actually a better album listening to it from start to finish than listening to individual songs. There's not a bad song on the CD, although the poppy Book of Dreams is not stellar. Suzanne said that she wrote Book of Dreams to be a single, which is really never a good idea in my opinion. Men in a War is also not her greatest either, but if fits within the context of the album. My favorites would probably be Rusted Pipe and Pilgrimmage. I used to see this CD purely as transitional; she needed to make this CD after Solitude Standing in order to make 99.9F, which has long been my favorite. However, I now realize this is a great work in and of itself. It took me several years to come to like it, but I now consider it one of her great albums.

Lovable melancholy.......2006-03-15

Suzanne Vega is probably popular more for her hit 'Luka' and her feat featuring DNA on 'Tom's Diner'. Her style of singing delicately, tightly structured lyrically pleasing songs, possesss the power and charm to overpower your mind and inundate with tranquillity.

Days Of Open Hand is a pretty collection of mellow songs with a distinct melancholic feel. The most beautiful and gripping track is probably 'Fifty-Fifty' which I guess, is about someone having tried to commit suicide. The violins wind you in their agonising pain and sympathy. Simple yet moving and intelligent lines.

"...
Fifty-fifty chance,
the doctor said
in the cardiac room
as she is lying in bed.
...
She's going home tomorrow at ten
The question is will she do it again
..."

'Room of the street' is a great number too, sung very timidly, very Suzanne Vega. 'In my book of dreams' and 'Men in a war' are cool numbers too where the latter picks up pace as it progresses.

'Tired of sleeping' and 'Big Space' are a treat to hear. The simplicity of the lyrics is what really spellbounds.

"...
Oh mom...
The dreams are not so bad
I wonder when I'll be waking
It's just there is so much to do
and I'm tired of sleeping
..."

Men in a war--
"...
Men in a war
If they've lost a limb
Still feel that limb
As they did before..
He lay on a cot
He was drenched in a sweat
He was mute and staring
But feeling the thing
He had not
--
I know how it is
When something is gone
A piece of your eyesight
Or maybe your vision
A corner of sense
Goes blank on the screen
A piece of the scan
Gets filled in by hand
..."

Brilliant!

If you're looking to hear 'Luka' and 'Gypsy', try and get your hands on her previous offering, 'Solitude Standing'. Another pretty pleasing cool, calm and ear-friendly listening experience. Nice to listen to in the weary afternoons.

A Nice Quiet Album!.......2006-02-24

I have always considered this album Suzanne Vega's least interesting - containing only 2 and a half really good songs. "Tired of Waiting" is among her very best, and though some may find the single "Book of Dreams" a little too commercial it's another favourite of mine. Though not quite up to the same standards of these two songs, there is a great rhythm in the melodically relatively simple song "Men in War".

Having read other reviews of the album here on Amazon, I realize that other reviewers consider the album among her finest. This obviously made feel like giving the album a new re-listen. Though this may not have changed my overall opinion of the album, I do agree that a song like "Rusted Pipe" is actually very good.

A nice quiet album with the strongest material placed in the first half of it.

Beautiful and disturbing.......2003-12-20

Disturbing, cryptic, mystical, haunting. This is indeed Suzanne Vega's darkest recording, and all of her recordings are dark in some way. Nonetheless, when compared with her previous two releases, this CD seemed a drastic departure into a world of dreams, fear, mystery, perhaps even insanity. I'm shaking my head at the reviews describing the nightmarish "Tired of Sleeping" as a pop song or lullaby - no. Ms. Vega experimented with atmospheric sounds here in a way that captivated me and perhaps anticipated her next CD with its more dramatic experiments with industrial sounds. My sense is that this is her most emotionally courageous material; that it is almost a stream of subconsciousness. It speaks in the language of dreams instead of the poetry of the waking. I am another of those for whom this is their least favorite Suzanne Vega CD, but I am also among those who find it challenging and hauntingly beautiful. In the end, I am more comfortable with more familiar feelings about divorce on "Songs in Red and Gray" or with the ever-so-cool music on 99.9Fº. If you are more open to being uncomfortable, even disturbed, you may find this a truly remarkable work.

Average customer rating:

Different and exciting...
musical poetry in motion
Another Vega CD Easy On the Ear
Vega's Mechanical World!
A whispering ghost in the machine that haunts but may not move

99.9 F°
Suzanne Vega
Manufacturer: A&M
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Similar Items:

Nine Objects of Desire
Solitude Standing
Days of Open Hand
Songs in Red and Gray
Suzanne Vega

ASIN: B000002G0O
Release Date: 1992-09-08

Tracks:

Rock In This Pocket (Song Of David)
Blood Makes Noise
In Liverpool
99.9 Degrees Fahrenheit
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

Album Description

Import pressing of her 1992 album that is out-of-print domestically. Suzanne Vega makes it clear from the cover inwards that she's up to something different on 99.9 F. Her fiery red and yellow photo-manipulated hair and bandaged finger stand in stark contrast to the orderly mysticism conveyed on the front of her previous release, DAYS OF OPEN HAND. Producer MitchellFroom surrounds her strong songs with surprises in instrumentation, arrangement, and mix. The set opens smartly with a couple of selections that stand in stark contrast to the more traditional folk bearing of her previous output. By the third song, "In Liverpool", things break open to reveal a lushand popish heart. The title song is a dazzling groove of fuzzy and staccato guitar chords cast over layered percussion and her lilting vocal. An array of superb players, includingdrummer Jerry Marotta, guitarists David Hidalgo and RichardThompson, and bass player Bruce Thomas accompany her. While it represented a bit of an unexpected turn at the time of its release in 1992, 99.9 F is one of Vega's finest albums. Universal.

Customer Reviews:

Different and exciting..........2006-10-10

What makes Suzanne Vega such an interesting artist is that she's not just one of the best rock poets out there but she's prepared to push things to the edge. Usually, it's in her subject matter which deals with unusual, occasionally disquieting issues - prostitution, child abuse, death, divorce, even lesbianism - delivered, very cleverly, via strong often ecstatic melodies and driving, tightly metered lyrics that make the impact of what she's actually singing about so hauntingly effective.

But on 1992's "99.9F" she and her husband, Mitchell Froom, took things one step further - adding challenging and, for the time, highly adventurous arrangements to her essentially folk-rock melodies. And it worked... with the hard, often harshly "industrial", multi-layered rhythms adding to the impact of her songs and perfectly complementing her almost deadpan approach to them. Different, exciting, at times (as on the exquisite "In Liverpool") quite beautiful, and, with only a couple of exceptions, very effective it's not only stood the test of time but begs the question why she hasn't worked with more similarly adventurous producers to take things even further.

Not that there's anything wrong with her sparse, equally intriguing but musically "safer" output since then - both "Nine Objects of Desire" & "Songs in Red & Gray" are superb albums - but, as 99.9F showed, her highly distinctive, almost detached delivery coupled with the sheer power of her compositions are ideally suited to a more innovative & adventurous approach... time for a collaboration with one of the new generation of perceptive electronica/dance master mixers?

musical poetry in motion.......2006-04-19

Love this cd... have had it for years... always a joy to listen to. To the few who criticize Suzanne's departure from her earlier folk styling, her venturing toward lyrics which are more mood/image evoking rather than narrative are missing one of her finest talents... ie., as a word smith and poet. My favs on this disk are the very songs that are more abstract. I also think the band did a great job with these songs.

Another Vega CD Easy On the Ear .......2006-01-05

Nothing remarkable but several nice tracks. If you like Vega you will like this CD.

Vega's Mechanical World!.......2005-11-17

Suzanne Vega's fourth album "99.9F" was produced by her husband Mitchell Froom, and his completely different approach to recording brought new life into her music. After the releatively pale album "Days of Open Hand" new inspiration was needed; and Vega really do sound inspired on this album. Many tracks feature odd mechanical sounds and noises, and there is an overall greater variety in style and moods than on her previous albums.

The odd sounds on tracks like "Rock in This Pocket", "Blood Makes Noise" and the title track may at first seem a little weird, but especially "Blood Makes Noise" and "99.9F" have become some of my all-time favourites; though different, these are still very melodic songs.

More traditional Vega songs are the catchy "In Liverpool" and the up-beat "When Heroes Go Down"; both highlights and both were chosen for singles.

There are also a handful of quieter tunes, and among those "Bad Wisdom" stand out.

A whispering ghost in the machine that haunts but may not move.......2005-08-25

Having rhapsodized about Vega's "Nine Objects of Desire," it's interesting to go back and listen to this precursor. As several people have noted, this was where Vega moved away from folk into a more industrial sound, with an emphasis on machinery and a harsh, metallic background/underscore. The creative friction results from this inhuman setting interesecting with all-too-organic lyrics that contain numerous references to blood, illness, and the frailty/fragility of the human body, especially in regards to AIDS. ("Blood Makes Noise" "99.9 F" "Bad Wisdom") Vega's brisk intelligence and quick wit give numerous tracks a special urgency, and the bizarro-carnival melodies of others fascinate even if the lyrics are on the cryptic side ("Fat Man and Dancing Girl" "As A Child"). And one song is so peculiar lyrically ("As Girls Go"), the only logical reaction to it seems to be to shrug. If you love "9 Objects," consider this an intriguing if somewhat chilly example of an artist stretching to expand beyond her comfortable "folkie" boundaries, towards becoming something truly breathtaking.

Average customer rating:

Lilith Ladies do not Dissapoint
Better than the first!
Sixpence makes this CD none the richer
McLachlan & Cole save this CD-, however, sonically it sucks
Fabulous!

Lilith Fair, Volume 3

Manufacturer: Arista
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Lilith Fair: A Celebration Of Women In Music, Volume 2
Lilith Fair: A Celebration of Women in Music
Women for Women
Lilith Fair - A Celebration of Women in Music
Passenger

ASIN: B00000IOPW
Release Date: 1999-05-18

Tracks:

Soul Record -- Me'Shell Ndegeocello
Naked Eye -- Luscious Jackson
Never Said -- Liz Phair
Onion Girl -- Holly Cole
Kiss Me -- Sixpence None The Richer
Luka -- Suzanne Vega
Black and White -- Sarah McLachlan
Underneath a Red Moon -- N'dea Davenport
Not an Addict -- K's Choice
Get Out The Map -- Indigo Girls
Little Black Girl -- Rebekah
Deeper Well -- Emmylou Harris
Surrounded -- Chantal Kreviazuk
Spit of Love -- Bonnie Raitt

Amazon.com

A document of the 1998 tour, Lilith Fair: A Celebration of Women in Music, Vol. 3 is thus far the most lively and affecting recording of Sarah McLachlan's summer festival. From the percussive chop-socky blues of Emmylou Harris's "Deeper Well" to Holly Cole's richly intoned "Onion Girl" to Sixpence None the Richer's quirky take on the pop hit "Kiss Me" to Rebekah's sparsely searing "Little Black Girl," the women presented here are fierce, fiery, and fabulously fruitful. Included also are Suzanne Vega's late-'80s signature song, "Luka," the Indigo Girls' banjo porch rocker "Get Out the Map," and N'dea Davenport's sultry-smooth "Underneath a Red Moon." While some notable '98 participants lack representation here (where are Paula Cole, Missy Elliot, and Lucinda Williams?), this volume is a proud achievement of fine production and optimal sequencing, and the performances are of greater diversity than offered previously. --Paige La Grone

Customer Reviews:

Lilith Ladies do not Dissapoint.......2005-07-21

While all of the songs on this record are outstanding and fun to hear live, Liz Phair's "Never Said" is a radio classic. Her first real recognition came from this song which helped make her an indie princess. An awesome buy.

Better than the first!.......2001-01-13

I got this CD last night and have listened to it 6 times since, it is that good!!!! Luka is a depressingly excellent song, and Get Out The Map is cute and country-ish. It is so ecclectic and broad. My favorite songs are probably Luka, Get Out the Map, Naked Eye, and Never Said. If you are a fan of female music, buy this, you won't be dissapointed!

Sixpence makes this CD none the richer.......2000-03-22

Holly and Sarah are great. Many of the artists are edgy and mature. But "Kiss Me" by Sixpence is an example of the sappy shallowness that this CD gets stuck in. Two stars is generous. Reissue this without the Sixpence track.

McLachlan & Cole save this CD-, however, sonically it sucks.......1999-10-11

I demand some reasonable effort by producers to do a decent job of recording music, and ARISTA seems, in general, to be subpar on most of their releases. However, this seems to be worse than their average. While they can blame it on this being a live album -- it's a poor excuse. If you have any audiophile tendencies, don't buy this CD -- although the music is reasonably good, the shabby job of recording/transferring to CD format will leave you disappointed and wanting your money back.

Fabulous!.......1999-09-05

I was give Volume 2 and I thought it was good. I decided to go see how Volume 3 was. I loved it! In my opinion even better then the Volume 2! It has a wide variety of songs that all sound great. i loved Sarah's "Black and White". It's amazing!

Bleecker Street: Greenwich Village In The 60's

Average customer rating:

Hard to Fault
Problem is....
Very good cover album
A pleasant reminscence.
Nostalgic tribute of 60's folk

Bleecker Street: Greenwich Village In The 60's

Manufacturer: Astor Place Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B00000IQMK
Release Date: 1999-05-25

Tracks:

Bleecker Street - Jonatha Brooke
My Back Pages - Marshall Crenshaw
Morning Glory - Chrissie Hynde
No Regrets - Curtis Stigers
Pack Up Your Sorrows - Loudon Wainwright III/Iris DeMent
Reason To Believe - Ron Sexsmith
Darling Be Home Soon - Jules Shear
The Love's Still Growing - Suzzy & Maggie Roche
Everybody's Talkin' - Patty Larkin
The Last Thing On My Mind - Cry Cry Cry
So Long, Marianne - John Cale/Suzanne Vega
Thirsty Boots - John Gorka
I Ain't Marchin' Anymore - Larry Kirwan/Black 47
Since You've Asked - Beth Nielson Chapman
Let's Get Together - Paul Brady
Turn, Turn, Turn - Instrumental

Amazon.com

Tribute albums come in all shapes and sizes. Most, however, simply come and go. The ones that stick around are backed by a vision that extends beyond "Let's get a bunch of people together to do a bunch of Clash songs" (to cite one ignoble example). Bleecker Street's raison d'être is to shine a light on a fleeting and relatively uncelebrated period in the '60s folk boom--the nascent singer/songwriter era that came in the wake of Bob Dylan's move from protest songs to personal ones. The songwriters celebrated here--Eric Andersen, Fred Neil, Tim Buckley, Phil Ochs, and Dylan among them--penned songs that have become part of the fabric of American folk. Tim Hardin's "Reason to Believe" (splendidly revived by Ron Sexsmith) is as straightforward a lament as has ever been put to tape; John Sebastian's "Darling Be Home Soon" is longing set to music. With Bleecker Street, the deities and apostles share a piece of heaven, which, of course, is as it should be. --Steven Stolder

Album Description

Full title - Bleecker Street - Greenwich Village In The 60's. New York may not be the folk music Mecca it once was but there is certainly enough history to warrant a tribute album such as this. Bleecker Street was the breeding ground for such artists as Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan, Pete Seeger and Tim Buckley. On this single disc a suitable line up of relatively contemporary artists line up to pay their homage. Participants include Loudon Wainwright III, Suzanne Vega, Chrissie Hynde and Marshall Crenshaw. Highlights of this 16 track folk feast include Ron Sexsmith's version of Tim Hardin's 'Reason to Believe', John Cale and Suzanne Vega's take on Leonard Cohen's 'So Long Marianne' and Chrissy Hynde's awesome version of Tim Buckley's 'Morning Glory' and many more. Deleted in the US & only limited quantities available of the import at this low price. Gatefold digipak.

Customer Reviews:

Hard to Fault.......2007-06-12

Tribute albums are often hit and miss affairs, but this one is hard to fault. The song selection is excellent, the artists are all sympathetic to the spirit of the project, and nobody is trying too hard to reinterpret. It's one of the few CDs of its type I can enjoy from beginning to end. The standout for me is Curtis Stiger's reading of 'No Regrets' (a pleasant surprise, having otherwise heard only his disappointing cocktail jazz fare). Marshall Crenshaw's 'My Back Pages' is another highlight (although, perhaps, it owes more to Sunset Strip than Bleecker Street) and Ron Sexsmith's 'Reason to Believe' isn't far behind. Almost gets another star for an altogether too rare performance on CD by the wonderful Iris DeMent. Buy with confidence.

Problem is...........2006-03-06

the spirit that first surrounded these songs is gone. That New York is gone. These songs were written at a time of social change and when you need not have had an income of six figures to live in Greenwich Village; they were written at a time of social change, when when New York was free from Starbuck's and Disney stores. The artists covering these songs simply cannot capture the original spirit of these songs; times have changed. "Let's Get Together" for example, may sound naive today -- at best-- yet there was something about that naivete of that era that made the song sincere, even plausible: "try to love one another right now." It would have been better to have compiled the originals by the original artists.

Still, there are some good covers, So Long Marianne sung by John Cale and New Yorker Suzanne Vega stands out. The otherwise passionate Larry Kirwan and New York's own Black 47's cover of I Ain't Marchin Anymore sounds empty and hollow; Chrissie Hynde does a decent job with Morning Glory. Nillson's cover of Everybody's Talkin' is better than this.

Very good cover album.......2005-05-17

Not a bad song or rendition on this CD. The take on the great Phil Ochs song,"I Ain't Marching Anymore" is worth the price---it's a brassy, bold, and in your face cover, the way I imagine Ochs would have liked it. A few of the words have been changed but it only adds to the power of his signature song. The lead off, Simon's "Bleeker Street" is very effecting, Brooke's vocals are coffee house pitch perfect. A great effort.

A pleasant reminscence........2003-02-12

The various artists really capture the ethos and spirit of the times. The innocence, hope, joy, and optimism of those now long ago times. Play this album to forget about the greed and fear and despair and hopelessness of our new millenium.

Nostalgic tribute of 60's folk.......2002-10-05

Bleecker Street is a more than satisfactory collection of folk songs from the 1960's is a nice relaxing antidote for the weary soul. Looking at the photos of Bleecker Street with its cafes, apartments, and even the arch in the park, I felt myself transported back to all those years ago.

All the artists, be they folk, alternative, or other, do admirable covers of the songs. I must admit I even liked the songs I'd never heard of before. Hey, after all, the album's released by Astor Place so there's a high standard by virtue of that fact.

Of familiar tunes, I was taken with Jonatha Brooke's cover of Simon and Garfunkel's title track and Marshall Crenshaw's rendition of Dylan's "My Back Pages." Patty Larkin's cover of "Everybody's Talkin'" has a tasteful understatedness, which makes a contrast to Harry Nilsson's version. The oft-covered "Reason To Believe" is a familiar friend here, done gently by Ron Sexsmith. And who can forget the timeliness of "Let's Get Together": "C'mon people now/Smile on your brother/Everybody get together/Try to love another right now." Kudos to Paul Brady there!

Of unfamiliar tunes, highlights included Cry Cry Cry's version of "The Last Thing On My Mind," "Pack Up Your Sorrows" by Loudon Wainwright III and Iris Dement, and "The Love's Still Growing" by Suzzy & Maggie Roche. Beth Nielsen Chapman's lovely crystal clear voice enhances her cover of Judy Collins' "Since You Asked."

The most upbeat song is Larry Kirwan & Black 47's cover of the angry anti-war anthem "I Ain't Marchin' Anymore." This song was originally done in 1964, and it lists military engagements involving White America fought in, such as the Mexican War, World War II, and Little Big Horn. Given the current state between the U.S. and Iraq, it's still relevant today.

The rear of the CD booklet listing the artists and songs also lists the original performers. I'll list the song and original artists:

No Regrets, Tom Rush
Pack Up Your Sorrows, Mimi & Rich Farina
The Love's Still Growing, Buzzy Linhart
Reason To Believe, Tim Hardin
Darling Be Home Soon, John Sebastian
Since You've Asked, Judy Collins
Morning Glory, Tim Buckley
Turn Turn Turn, Traditional
Thirsty Boots, Eric Andersen
Last Thing On My Mind, Tom Paxton
My Back Pages, Bob Dylan
Let's Get Together, Dino Valenti
Bleecker Street, Simon & Garfunkel
Everybody's Talkin', Neil, Fred
So Long Marianne, Leonard Cohen
I Ain't Marchin' Anymore, Phil Ochs

Overall, a superior and introspective cover album, which reinforces the standard of how cover songs collections should be.

Music Review: