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.
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.
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'.
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.
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.
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.
It's a bit bland if I'm honest. I've listened to it a lot and can't 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.
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.
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