Pros: Great songs like Tom's Diner, Luka, and Calypso
Cons: Her rap songs just didn't belong
The Bottom Line: I'm torn because there are some exceptional songs here, but there are also ones that I didn't care for. So it's really a coin toss if you want it.
AmberM's Full Review: Retrospective: The Best of Suzanne Vega by Suzanne...
I first heard of Suzanne Vega back in 1990 or 1991, I believe when I heard "Tom's Diner" on the radio. I loved it! The eclectic quasi-folk musician in me responded to her soft melodic voice.
The sharp-featured woman is either a hit or miss in the music industry. I have never come across an individual who did not have either a "yeah" or "nay" view of her talent and voice. Usually I am drawn to singers who polarize people because I tend to get the same visceral reaction from people as well.
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1) Tom's Diner
For those of you not "in the loop", what we know as Tom's Diner, with the funky trombone instruments and the drums playing in the background while Suzanne sings the song, was not her original intention for this ditty. It was a strictly acappela lyric that she sang on a radio show in the late 1980s, and as a result a band approached her with the background music and they collaborated to make the hit song. This funky dance-disco song introduced a new audience of listeners to Suzanne Vega. And it's a terrific song and definately deserves to be the first song on the CD. Who can resist the intro "da duh da duh dah"?
The song reminds me of a folk version of Sheryl Crow's "All I Wanna Do". Not because of the instruments or her voice but because of the lyrics, talking about people in a diner/bar. Perhaps this was Sheryl's inspiration for writing her song.
2) Luka
I don't want to be fasctitious, but I can't hardly think of anyone over the age of 23 who has never heard this phenomenol song about a child abuse victim. It sparked a national movement in the mid 80s about child abuse and their rights for protection. A first person account of child abuse is hard to pull off without sounding cheesy or preachy, plus there is the 1980s staple sound of a synthesizer....yet it still isnt cheesy. Suzanne's voice is at her best and is pretty, like Jewel's voice in her debut album Pieces of You. The music itself is an upbeat tempo and she is pulling off one of the best lyrical crusades of the 20th century. She get's right into the heart and mind of an abused child and is able to write down exactly their psychological state of mind about denial and acceptance of the abuse.
3) Marlene On The Wall
This is the typical Vega fan favorite in her concerts because of it's fast pace guitar groove, makes it an easy to dance to while watching her poignantly sing her message. This song reminds me of a female Bob Dylan mates with Tracey Chapman. Personally, not my favorite song for her vocally because she speaks it and cuts off the ends of each phrase. But hey, that's what folk music is about sometime: breaking the rules of vocalises. But I love the lyrics: "But the only soldier now is me / I'm fighting things I cannot see / I think it's called my destiny /
That I am changing" These lyrics resonate in my soul and probably the soul of a lot of women trying to transform their soul into a better soul.
4) Caramel
A calypso tempo begins, making this song very reminscient of a long ago song back in the 1940s. One of the best of her songs, it totally belongs on this compilation album, if not just because of the background music. The instrumentals are good and her voice is wonderful through-out the entire melody line. This song get's major props for being in one of my all-time favorite movies: Truth About Cats and Dogs. I love that movie!! And the scene from it where this song comes from is just perfect. Yippee, I'm in my happy place now.
5)99.5 F
First off, I just love the originality of the title. It's just great. This one New York's Music Award Best Rock Album in 1992. And it's a fantastic neo-groove rock song. I love it. She sings more than she speaks, which makes her sound much better. This song gets mixed reviews from a lot of people because it seems a bit odd and experimental. But dude, this is Suzanne Vega, the Queen of odd and experimental music.
6) Tired of Sleeping
The song begins with an Irish-laced theme of violins and strings with a soft drum beat in the background before settling into a slow tempo ballad. Her lyrics are mysterious and perplexing. The song gets a so-so from me. I love the parts with the violins, it sets off her voice nicely. But the other slower parts, do not give her justice.
7) Small Blue Thing
From Suzanne's second album. This song definately is a good one, it showcases her talent and her vocal ability. She has a tendency to under-rate her singing ability and speaks a lot of her songs. But she sings this one and it is a great folk, neo-jazz song that many could appreciate. Her usual dark voice has a bright tone to it.
8) Blood Makes Noise
Suzanne tried to venture into a trip-hop world of techno-funk...and it didn't work. She basically is rapping the song and it's terrible. I'm sorry. This is a polarizing song, either you like it or you despise it. I despise it. Her voice is not strong enough to sing or even speak over all the instruments and the bass in the background. All we hear is her mumbling words. It's very bad.
9) Left of Center
This is the Suzanne Vega I like, with an added rock guitar riff. Like "Luka" with less 80s synthesizer and more guitar. It's a great song and it definately fits her personality as a singer and songwriter. Plus, she sings and her voice is beautiful. And it comes from the great movie, Pretty in Pink
10) (I'll Never Be) Your Maggie May
This was released in 2001, and even though it is approximately 15 years since her debut...this song kind of has the same charm of the "old" Suzanne, but with a weathered tone that only age can bring and a bit of bitterness. Her voice is breathy and beautiful as she sings her way throughout the less folk and more easy listening back-ground music. For the first time, listeners get to hear her vocal range as she allows her voice to travel into her head register and we hear a beautiful soprano sound come out of this alto woman.
11) In Liverpool
This song has a definite "indie" feel to it before going into a folk guitar riff. Not the best. It is from her 99.5 F album, which was an experimental album where she sang in all different genres. This song just seems to float, but not fly.
12) Gypsy
This is a fine folk song performed by Suzanne. Not outstanding, but fine. To me, a little boring and I didn't hear the spark that I've heard in her earlier work, but her voice itself sounds pure and melodic, so that's a plus.
13) Book of Dreams
Holy Cow...Could this be a dance song? It definately sounds like a dance tempo to me, in fact my foot is tapping to the melody. The only thing is, her voice doesn't fit the music. She is trying to sound pop, and she isn't a pop musician. It just doesn't fit, like a 2 pronged plug going into a 3 plug outlet.
14) No Cheap Thrill
I like the syncopated rhythm of this song, it fits with her voice. She talks the song through, which is the biggest negative. I don't think this is the best of Suzanne. The music is the best, but her voice itself, and how she sings this song is not. It's like at first she talks it, then she tries to sing-speak and then she sings and then she warbles it. I don't think she even knew how she wanted to perform the song. Too confusing, too many dissonant reactions for me.
15) Calypso
A great narrative tale about Calypso, the nymph from Greek mythology. I love mythology of all kinds, so this song is right up my alley. I love how her mind works and she takes this relatively unknown character and gives him a voice. It's terrific, you can hear the ocean in the background if you listen carefully.
16) World Before Columbus
Another song from her 2001 album. An alright song. Again, her voice has aged and its more edgy than ever. I don't know, it just doesn't work for me. At points, in order to get some of the notes, she reaches and nearly yells the notes, which accounts for her harshness in her voice.
17) Solitude Standing
Another great storytelling song, these are Suzanne's pride and joy because they do her the best justice. Even though her phrasing is a little cut-off, like in Tom's Diner, it is still a decent song. It has folk roots with a rock background.
18) Penitent
One of her better "newer" songs, it showcases her nice soprano head voice along with her alto chest voice. Very reminscent of her early songs in the mid 80s, but with a touch of freshness. A little new-agey, but it's nice to hear her sing a song that sounds clear and not muddied as other songs from her 2001.
19) Rosemary
Another of her newer songs. It tries to recapture her story-telling vibe of earlier songs, but it falls flat. She has grown past that stage of her singing, and it is time for her step to the next level. But this song sounds like a bad cover song.
20) The Queen and the Soldier
No, this is not a Grimms Fairy Tale turned musical. This is a live song, so you get to hear the voices and cheers of the obnoxious drunken crowd. But what is important here is Suzanne's tone and it is excellent. It is very hard for a lot of singers to song as good live as they do in the studio. But Suzanne is in a class above many....she sounds better live than she does in an album. It was from her second album, and maybe that is why it sounds so good. It is her classic epic story-telling, but it is her voice that blows me away. Acoustic and beautiful, she is truely an exceptional talent when put in the right medium.
21) Woman on the Tier
This song, if you didn't know, is from the movie Dead Man Walking. Just like Blood Makes Noise...she is talking/rapping but in a whispering tone. Personally I don't care for it. It works when it is in the movie, but on its own merits it falls short.
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Truthfully, not the best compilation. Two-thirds of the song belonged, but the other third just weren't on par and there were some other great songs that should have been in their place instead.
One thing I like is that you get a good cross-section of Suzanne Vega's music. Some of it is classic folk, others more indie-rock, and then some techno trip, and then some regular rock songs. Definately eclectic and the story-telling songs are worth buying the CD for....you just have to put up with the annoying filler songs.
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