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Subj: 'Greatest hits' suggestions
Date: 95-07-25 15:20:52 EDT
From: rwalters@lafayette.unocal.com (Rob Walters)
To: undertow@law.lawlib.emory.edu
Good to be back on-line and to re-join the list. Excellent thread going w/ 'The Queen and the Soldier' comments.
Suzanne has said she wants to release a 'greatest hits' type album, "just the tried and true" or words to that effect. Many issues to think about here:
1) what would a casual fan, who maybe knows of her only from 'Luka' or an occasional MTV video, etc., want to get when buying such a collection
2) what would *we*, the 'diehard' Suzanne fans, want to see?
3) what kinds of liner notes, special packaging, etc. would be cool to have?
4) how about the sound quality? Would A&M spend the $$ to re-master some of the earlier recordings (stuff from 'Solitude Standing' would benefit,
especially, IMHO)
Having raised the questions, I'll put forth what *I'd* want. Selection-wise, I'd want all the singles, of course, plus maybe a bonus track or two (OK, this would be an exception to the 'tried and true' script) - here's a start:
Marlene on the Wall
Small Blue Thing
Knight Moves
Left of Center
Tom's Diner
Luka
Solitude Standing
Gypsy
Tired of Sleeping
Men in a War
Book of Dreams
99.9F o
Blood Makes Noise
When Heroes Go Down
That's 14 tracks already; how about 1 or 2 more - maybe a cover tune like 'Cassidy' from the 'Deadicated' CD, or a live version. Probably no room for excellent non-hit tracks like 'Ironbound/Fancy Poultry' or 'Big Space'.
On the liner notes, naturally I'd want a little more than track listing and album. How about the year it was written (a la the notes for 'Solitude Standing'), and a brief sentence or two by Suzanne that says something about the context in which it was written, etc. Doesn't have to reveal what she thinks of the song or what it's about. I'm going for something like the comments by Neil Young on the 'Decade' compilation (handwritten, in his case).
For the packaging, how about some sort of collage - different pictures or images encompassing the past ten years. I really like the 'Days of Open Hand' designs, myself. The graphic artists could go wild on this one...
Oh, yeah - the title. Well, I'm sure Suzanne won't settle for something lame like 'The Best of SV' or 'SV's Greatest Hits' - at least I hope not! My favorite title for such a compilation is 'Kate Bush - The Whole Story'. Now we know it's *not* the whole story, but it's an inventive title anyway.
That's about it. With the above material it's nearly impossible to go wrong, except if A&M skimps on the liner notes and packaging. That would be a big mistake; Suzanne and her work deserve the best!
-Rob
rwalters@lafayette.unocal.com
Subj: Re: Greatest Hits
Date: 95-07-25 18:39:25 EDT
From: relph@presto.ig.com (John Relph)
To: undertow@law.lawlib.emory.edu
Here's my list of songs for Suzanne Vega's Greatest Hits (to date) album:
Marlene on the Wall
The Queen and the Soldier
Left of Center
Gypsy (single version)
Luka
Solitude Standing
Tired of Sleeping
Book of Dreams
In Liverpool
Blood Makes Noise
When Heroes Go Down
D.N.A. featuring Suzanne Vega: Tom's Diner (remix)
That's the minimum. Anything else is a bonus.
-- John
Subj: Re: 'Greatest hits' suggestions
Date: 95-07-25 19:53:40 EDT
From: WChapwomyn@aol.com
To: Undertow@law.lawlib.emory.edu
Only a few changes from Rob's list:
I agree with all choices except take out Knight Moves and add The Queen and the Soldier instead
Also up for consideration:
Cracking
Tom's Diner (Acappella only)
In Liverpool
I don't think A & M should remaster them at all. I guess this is the tried and true fan coming out in me but, I think for those of us who have listened to Suzanne over the years, to hear the songs the way they were originally recorded would bring back a lot of memories. Sometimes when I listen to the first album, I can feel almost exactly what it was like the summer I locked myself in my room and listened to Suzanne Vega. I'd want the greatest hits album to take me through each SV memory going from one to the next--I feel as if that could only happen if they were in the original form. That's just me though.
Wendy!
Subj: Re: 'Greatest hits' suggestions
Date: 95-07-25 20:50:45 EDT
From: jderouen@crl.com (Joe DeRouen)
To: WChapwomyn@aol.com
CC: Undertow@law.lawlib.emory.edu
On Tue, 25 Jul 1995 WChapwomyn@aol.com wrote:
> I don't think A & M should remaster them at all. I guess this is the tried
> and true fan coming out in me but, I think for those of us who have
listened
> to Suzanne over the years, to hear the songs the way they were originally
> recorded would bring back a lot of memories. Sometimes when I listen to
the
> first album, I can feel almost exactly what it was like the summer I locked
> myself in my room and listened to Suzanne Vega. I'd want the greatest hits
> album to take me through each SV memory going from one to the next--I feel
as
> if that could only happen if they were in the original form. That's just
me
> though.
So why not just listen to the original rather than by the mythical "best of" album? I wouldn't mind if they were remastered - just so we could have a little something different - since I already own the originals.
Any of the songs suggested would go well on a "best of" album, excepting that awful DNA "Tom's Diner" remix. I hated that. Destroyed a truly wonderful little song.
Joe
jderouen@crl.com
Subj: Re: Greatest Hits
Date: 95-07-25 21:36:08 EDT
From: Jeremy513@aol.com
To: undertow@law.lawlib.emory.edu
Allow me to chime in with a couple of suggestions not covered yet, first of which is "Neighborhood Girls." I suspect this is one of SV's personal favorites; she's played it at every concert I've seen (ok, just three) and every radio concert I've heard (ok, just two). But it's still a cool little strange little song; I like in particular how we get launched into this really compelling but weird tangent and then it all wraps up with 'hmm, gee, that wasn't the girl I was talking about after all' (well, words to that effect).
Another is "Night Vision," which lord knows was no kind of hit, but it's such a brilliant, concise piece with a mind-opening lyrical conceit.
And, finally, how can we forget the much-discussed "As Girls Go," which actually was, I think, something of a (minor) radio hit...at least, it got some play on the local alternative station here.. (And am I the only one who hears an Elvis Costello allusion/homage inside that song: that bright, sharp point at which she sings, in layered harmony, "more girl than girls are"?)
Jeremy
Subj: No, not another greatest hits!
Date: 95-07-25 22:08:28 EDT
From: ghatten@wyoming.com (ginger hatten)
To: Undertow@law.lawlib.emory.edu
Hi all,
I'm not crazy over the idea of a "Greatest Hits" compilation. One thing that I love about Suzanne's albums is that they flow so evenly. Rarely do I skip a song on her albums. I'd much rather see her do a live album with her choice of songs than a "Greatest Hits".
Did anyone tape the VH-1 A-Z segment with Suzanne's videos? If so, I'd love to trade for a copy. I have a decent collection of Suzanne on audio as well as a few other bands. I also have a lot of video to trade, but little as far as Suzanne goes.
Subj: Re: 'Greatest hits' suggestions
Date: 95-07-25 22:26:34 EDT
From: woj@terrapin.rutgers.edu (geek the boy)
To: undertow@law.lawlib.emory.edu
tbuckley@mail.utexas.edu (Tom Buckley) sez:
>I'm troubled by this whole idea of a "greatest hits" collection and even
>more troubled by Suzanne's comment that she only wants "the tried and
>true"--if indeed she made such a comment.
although suzanne did, in fact, make this comment, i'm troubled by the greatest hits album concept as well. i guess i'm just not a greatest hits album kind of listener. if i really want a greatest hits type of cllection, i'll make a tape of the songs from the albums. to date, i've made exactly zero such tapes (though i have made two or three samplers for people to expose them to an artist or band). frankly, i view greatest hits albums as commercial ploys, regardless of whether the motivation is sales at the cash register or not.
woj
Subj: Re: Greatest Hits
Date: 95-07-26 03:18:10 EDT
From: bobking@gate.net (Robert King)
To: Jeremy513@aol.com
CC: undertow@law.lawlib.emory.edu
On Tue, 25 Jul 1995 Jeremy513@aol.com wrote:
> (And am I the only one who
> hears an Elvis Costello allusion/homage inside that song: that bright,
sharp
> point at which she sings, in layered harmony, "more girl than girls are"?)
>
I don't know enough about Elvis Costello to answer that, but I wouldn't be surprised. Suzanne covered EC's song "Beyond Belief" during the Days of Open Hand tour.
Some people here have expressed some displeasure over the idea of a "Best Of" collection (strictly speaking, you could fit a "Suzanne Vega's Greatest Hits" album on a 7-inch -- no knock at Suzanne, but as has been noted here she's really not a singles artist). I'm sure that's because such albums often turn out to be cheesy sales ploys, but they really don't have to be. Done well, a collection can be valuable in giving a non-fan a picture of what an artist is about, how he/she has developed over the years, etc. I happen to like Kate Bush's _The Whole Story_ collection better than either of the actual albums by her that I own (_The Sensual World_ and _The Red Shoes_). I've been tempted (pun not intended) to buy Squeeze's singles collection because there are a bunch of songs on it I like, but I'm not enthralled enough with the band in general to want to go delving into their albums.
And face it, someone who knows Suzanne only because of songs like "Luka" isn't really going to be amenable to running out and buying up her back catalog right now. But they might if they get the Best Of album and discover that she's done a lot of great songs they've never heard before. Also, some people only seem to buy new albums (even if the songs are old), as if anything else is passe.
That said, you really lose something when you just hit the highlights of a band's career (Beatles compilations tend not to include songs like "I'm Only Sleeping" and "Savoy Truffle"). But basically, this Best Of project isn't really aimed at fanatics like us.
Is everybody here aware that she's also planning a second collection made up solely of 13 early, previously unreleased songs? That's the one I'm looking forward to.
I think Suzanne really deserves to be commended, by the way, for saying she wants to include only the "tried and true" songs on the Best Of album. The alternative is all too typical -- call something Best Of or Greatest Hits but include one or two unreleased/remixed tracks so that diehard fans will have to buy it too. That's what Springsteen did by re-forming the E Street Band for a couple of songs; that's what IRS did when it included three odd tracks on its _Eponymous_ anthology of R.E.M. songs (and, incidentally, when it re-released the early R.E.M. albums as $30 imports with new bonus tracks). It's what almost everybody does and it basically rips off the fans. Suzanne is showing a lot of consideration by giving people a choice of what they want -- either the best of the past or a glimpse at her unseen side.
It's also interesting that she seems to intend to release all this stuff so soon after _Love Hotel_ comes out; I would think the label would be worried that she'd be competing with herself. Then again, it's odd how Suzanne prevails over corporate decision-makers when so many other musicians are unwilling or unable to. (I'm thinking especially of the way she convinced the label's lawyers not to sue DNA -- something that U2, the biggest band on earth, claimed they were unable to do with respect to Negativland. But that's another issue.)
-- Bob
Subj: Re: Greatest Hits
Date: 95-07-26 16:08:07 EDT
From: WChapwomyn@aol.com
To: Undertow@law.lawlib.emory.edu
Bob,
As always, when you speak you have wisdom to impart. Well said!
I agree with you that it is good of Suzanne to release a tried and true album as well as songs unreleased from the early days.
I had said something about not remastering the originals in order to bring back memories for those of us who have been listening to SV for years. Joe said that it would be pointless to buy an album made in such a way and that I should just listen to the originals. But, I think there are two benefits to this idea.
1. As you said Bob--bring in the "Luka" fans and have them realize that Suzanne is more than just Luka.
2. It would be great to have one cd that I can put on and depending on what song comes up--the memories for me change--several different summers of listening are involved--my life was different during each summer that I listened to Suzanne's music--it would be very sensory for me to move from one place to the next all compiled on one cd. Sure, I can put the old cd's on and hit random and take my chances--but I don't have a multi-cd changer (that's my cop out for the day). The tried and true in their original forms works for me. The only variation I would make on this is not a remastering but an acoustic version. Suzanne and her guitar singing the singles--I love the acoustic version she does of Luka (Grammys 1988 and VH-1 Folk Music Show featuring Suzanne Vega).
Wendy!
Subj: Re: 'Greatest hits'
Date: 95-07-26 17:50:46 EDT
From: rwalters@lafayette.unocal.com (Rob Walters)
To: undertow@law.lawlib.emory.edu
Well, we've certainly gotten some discussion going here. Let me clarify a few things.
Tom Buckley wrote:
>...Suzanne is *not* a singles
>artist, so by "tried and true," she can't mean commercially successful, I
>wouldn't think. Perhaps she means those songs that are most requested by
>fans? Regardless, if she's intent on a "best of" collection, I'd argue
>that it should be just that--representative of her impressive abilities as
>a singer-songwriter ...
Well, when I made my list, I just went through the discography and picked out all the singles that were released (except 'In Liverpool' - my mistake; add that one too!). For the uninitiated, I can't think of a much better representation of her abilities than these songs! Maybe she'll include some others like 'Neighborhood Girls', which someone else suggested.
Bob King wrote:
>And face it, someone who knows Suzanne only because of songs like "Luka"
>isn't really going to be amenable to running out and buying up her back
>catalog right now. But they might if they get the Best Of album and
>discover that she's done a lot of great songs they've never heard before.
Yes; this is precisely the purpose of such a collection. For those of us that already have everything that she's released, it's hard to look at it from the other point of view! And yes, of course I'm looking forward to the 13 early songs collection, and the new album, more than the 'hits'.
Wendy! wrote:
>2. It would be great to have one cd that I can put on and depending on what
>song comes up--the memories for me change--several different summers of
>listening are involved...
>...The only variation I would make on this is not a remastering
>but an acoustic version...
Yup, again. Even though I have a multi-CD changer, I don't put all her albums on together and hit 'shuffle' - hmmmm... maybe I should! But it would be nice to have a bit of everything on 1 disc. I wouldn't mind an acoustic version or versions either - that would make all of us run out and buy it just to have them! But, have you tried listening to the Solitude Standing CD on headphones? Way too trebly and way too much hiss...
Interesting thoughts; maybe Suzanne will drop in with her thoughts on why she wants to do this project, and why the release will be so close to the new album. Or maybe she won't...either way, we've put our 2 cents in, for whatever it's worth. :)
-Rob
rwalters@lafayette.unocal.com
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