Solitude Standing - Album Reviews

Suzanne Vega's first disc, Suzanne Vega, showed great promise for her future as a folk-rocker. Solitude Standing fulfills that promise and then some, with a stronger, more self-assured sound, and a tone and texture that beautifully suit the artist and the times.

Vega's lyrics are still the kind to leave marketing executives wondering what they've gotten into: "Luka" speaks through the eyes of an abused child; "Ironbound/Fancy Poultry" eerily compares inner-city children to the "breasts and thighs and hearts" sold near their school; "Calypso" takes its character and inspiration from Homer's Odyssey.

But thankfully, Vega's new band helps to pull these songs out of the "artsy" coolness of her first release. Each member pitches in on songwriting chores, and the group together adds musical dimension and depth to Vega's multi- dimensional lyrics. Guitarist Marc Shulman especially shines throughout the disc on his solos (most notably in "Luka") and in his rock-solid backing ("Solitude Standing," and "In the Eye").

Despite the heavy backbeat that drives some of the songs, "solemn" is still the operative word for Suzanne Vega and Solitude Standing. Vega paints a picture of inner city life, where people are trapped ("bound up in iron and wire and fate"), defiant ("If you were to kill me now...I would still look you in the eye"), or resigned to their confinement. But this is not the cliched, desolate cityscape of a bitter, black-clothed folk artist. There is still a delicate beauty in Vega's world - in the impressionistic "Night Vision," and in the quiet acceptance of "Gypsy" - that adds a very personal perspective to her music.

Sound quality is very good but not ideal. Producers Steve Addabbo and Lenny Kaye decided to record and mix this release on analog equipment, and it shows slightly in the sharp-edged sound and the (very minimal) tape hiss. Also, Vega's breathy, close-miked voice may be disturbing if you listen on headphones (especially in the a cappella disc opener, "Tom's Diner"). When she sings "I will burn myself into your memory," she isn't kidding. But the overall sound serves the music well: the drums pack a punch; the guitars and keyboards sigh and mingle beautifully with Vega's voice.

Final kudos go to the liner notes. The package here looks like someone actually cared. You get complete lyrics, full recording credits, and each song is dated with the year in which it was written.

In Solitude Standing, Suzanne Vega has created another tough act to follow, but one that promises even more for the future. Best of all, it breathes new life into a commodity that seemed to be fading in commercial music - intelligence.

(The review also appears in the "Suzanne Vega" Album Review section.

Suzanne Vega
Suzanne Vega
Producers : Lenny Kaye and Steve Addabbo
Engineer: Steve Addabbo
A&M SP6-5072
Released: 1985
Total Disc Time: 35:26
Source - LP

Performance: 10
Sound Quality: 9

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

Solitude Standing
Suzanne Vega
Producers : Lenny Kaye, Steve Addabbo & Mitch Easter
Engineers: Steve Addabbo and Rod O'Brien
A&M CD 5136
Released: 1987
Total Disc Time: 44:25
Source - Compact Disc

Performance: 9
Sound Quality: 9
SPARS Code: AAD

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)

Suzanne Vega's strengths lie in her ability to write subtle, catchy lyrics and music while packing the wallop of a mule kick along with them. At first listen Vega's tunes sound pleasant, enjoyable and catchy. And unless you listen closely you'll never notice that these bright, bouncy tunes have a complexity that matches their bounciness. She writes of Death and Freedom in 'Undertow' from her 1985 debut LP, of child abuse in 'Luka' from her recently released album "Solitude Standing", of heartbreak in 'Cracking' also from her 1985 record, and a 17 year old boy who was shut away in a basement since infancy in 'Wooden Horse (Caspar Hauser's Song)' from "Solitude Standing."

And her lyrics have a quality of jumping out at you, especially after listening to her songs more than once. Lyrics are provided with both her 1985 self-titled release and 1987's "Solitude Standing." And it's a good thing that lyric sheets are included because Vega's writing demands to be read as well as heard. Her voiced images are reinforced by the written word; her music emphasises her voice and your reading. In 'Undertow' she writes "I would leave only bones and teeth/We could see what was underneath/And you would be free then, free then" equating death and freedom in the same breath. In 'Cracking' "It's a one time thing/It just happens/a lot/Walk with me/And we will see/what we have got" and "My heart is broken/It is worn out at the knees/Hearing muffled/Seeing blind/Soon it will hit the Deep Freeze" Vega paints an image of pain and despair, yet there's also acceptance since "It just happens/a lot." In 'Luka' "If you hear something late at night/Some kind of trouble, some kind of fight/ Just don't ask me what it was" and "They only hit until you cry/And after that you don't ask why/You just don't argue anymore" are hard hitting lyrics, but you can easily gloss right over them because the beat is as infectious as the lyrics are poignant.

Vega has smarts and she has style. She has a slightly off-center view of the world that has provided us with two wonderful albums full of poetry to read AND listen to. Rolling Stone Magazine called her music 'Uneasy Listening'. In two words or less, nothing describes her music better. Her music is haunting, relaxing, shocking, subtle, blunt, melodic, hard hitting and pleasant all at the same time. Listening to and reading Suzanne Vega can shake up the old brain cells. She get it very well.

Both her 1985 LP and the CD of "Solitude Standing" have excellent sound and production. Her debut album is a little more sparse, it is mostly an acoustic album, with instrumentation than "Solitude Standing." "Solitude" has a much more noticable drum mix and the CD is virtually flawless.

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