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Subj: Re: 99.9F is great! & a tour request
Date: 96-08-08 01:15:36 EDT
From: bobking@gate.net (If you don't leave, I can't start)
Sender: owner-undertow@law.emory.edu
To: ABADOW@golem.umcs.lublin.pl (Anna Badowska)
CC: undertow@serv4.law.emory.edu

"Anna Badowska" enthuses about 99.9F and asks:

> Now I`m thinking about "Suzanne Vega" album and "Days Of..."
> which am I to buy first?

I'm sure Wendy will disagree, but I would get "Suzanne Vega" first because it's absolutely flawless. It's also got so many of the songs that we yammer about all the time here: Neighborhood Girls, Queen and the Soldier, Cracking -- not to mention Undertow, which provided our list name.

I've actually been spending a lot of time lately listening to "SV" and "99.9F", which I both love to pieces in different ways. I hate to say that "Suzanne Vega" is her best album, because it sounds like I'm saying she's gone downhill since then, which is far, far, far from the truth -- but I do think it's her best, if only because perfection is such a rare thing. It's not musically as adventurous as "99.9," but the songwriting is unsurpassed.

"Days" is probably her most ambitious album of the first four and well worth getting, but some of us find it a bit too labored and lacking in spontaneity. Others, like Wendy, think it's Suzanne's masterpiece.

The best solution: buy them all! And have fun.

Good luck.

-- Bob

P.S. I've listened to the "Birth-day" and "Caramel" clips but otherwise am trying to keep my ears fresh for the album's debut; for the same reason I've avoided reading the lyrics. But I'm really envious of you who've managed to see her live.

Does anyone have any idea of where the tour of "major cities" is going to hit? I hate making requests, but here's one -- please, please include Florida (Tampa Bay if possible). So many musicians don't like coming here because it's a long peninsula to nowhere and you have to turn around. But you have lots of fans down here who have been dying to see you for years, and will no doubt be packing the rafters at whatever venue you appear if I personally have to corral them inside with a cattle prod. That's a promise.

Or at least give us lots of notice so I have time to buy plane tickets.

Thanks.

Subj: Re: 99.9F is great! & a tour request
Date: 96-08-10 07:45:36 EDT
From: Hugo.Westerlund@ipm.ki.se (Hugo Westerlund)
Sender: owner-undertow@law.emory.edu
To: undertow@serv4.law.emory.edu (Undertow)

At 23:59 7.8.96 +0000, Bob wrote:
>I've actually been spending a lot of time lately listening to "SV"
>and "99.9F", which I both love to pieces in different ways. I hate
>to say that "Suzanne Vega" is her best album, because it sounds like
>I'm saying she's gone downhill since then, which is far, far, far
>from the truth -- but I do think it's her best, if only because
>perfection is such a rare thing. It's not musically as adventurous as
>"99.9," but the songwriting is unsurpassed.

I agree that "Suzanne Vega" is in a sense Suzanne's best album. And the reason for that, I think, is quite simple: She had 15 years of songwriting to draw from, and could choose only the very best songs. With the exception of a few songs on "Solitude Standing", most of her later songs were written for a particular album, which necessarily means that these albums contain some sonngs that may not be as "tried and true" (in Suzanne's own words) as others.

The remarkable thing about "Suzanne Vega" is that it's such a homogenous album despite being a "compilation" -- the songs build on each other, complement each other. "Suzanne Vega" is, all in all, an excellent introduction to the fascinating world of Suzanne Vega.

But "Suzanne Vega" is of course not the whole picture -- each album is essential, and which one you like most is, I guess, a matter of taste.

By the way, I've listened quite a lot to the soundclips, and I really think this album could be one of Suzanne's very best. World before Columbus is just stunning. I can't get it out of my head -- and I'm happy for that...

Later,
/Hugo

P.S. I agree with Wendy! -- buy them all!!!

Subj: First two albums (was Re: 99.9F is great!)
Date: 96-08-10 16:52:03 EDT
From: rwalters@lafayette.unocal.com (Rob Walters)
Sender: owner-undertow@law.emory.edu
To: undertow@serv4.law.emory.edu, Hugo.Westerlund@ipm.ki.se

Hello everyone,

Hugo wrote:

>I agree that "Suzanne Vega" is in a sense Suzanne's best album. And the
>reason for that, I think, is quite simple: She had 15 years of songwriting
>to draw from, and could choose only the very best songs. With the exception
>of a few songs on "Solitude Standing", most of her later songs were written
>for a particular album, which necessarily means that these albums contain
>some sonngs that may not be as "tried and true" (in Suzanne's own words) as
>others.

I can't pick a 'best' album myself, since it depends on the mood I'm in, but I will argue that they (SV and her producers) left off some of the 'very best songs' for her debut album. Some that weren't included on the debut, but theoretically could have been, include Gypsy (written in 1978), Calypso (also '78, I think), Luka (1982?) and maybe Ironbound (don't have the CD in front of me now). They must have 'saved' these songs, for one reason or another, for the 2nd album, since the 1st album only goes ~36 min. But at least Gypsy and Luka are among the best she's ever written, don't you agree?

All I'm saying is that including these would have made her debut even more awesome than it already is. I love both albums, of course! Gypsy really should have made it onto the debut, IMHO. It fits the mood of the 1st album better, plus you'll recall that when they recorded it for Solitude Standing, they even used some of the studio musicians who played on the 1985 sessions (percussion by Sue Evans, for instance).

There are also some other good 'early' songs that didn't make it onto either album, i.e. 'Black Widow Station,' 'The Silver Lady,' 'The Marching Dream,' etc. Anyone know if the plan to release these in an Early Songs compilation is still on?? OK, Suzanne, we know your feelings on 'The Rent Song,' so you can leave that one off if you want! ;)

-Rob

Subj: Re: First two albums (was Re: 99.9F is great!)
Date: 96-08-10 17:38:09 EDT
From: Hugo.Westerlund@ipm.ki.se (Hugo Westerlund)
Sender: owner-undertow@law.emory.edu
To: undertow@serv4.law.emory.edu (Undertow)

At 15:45 10.8.96 -0500, Rob wrote:
>I can't pick a 'best' album myself, since it depends on the mood I'm in, but
>I will argue that they (SV and her producers) left off some of the 'very
>best songs' for her debut album. Some that weren't included on the debut,
>but theoretically could have been, include Gypsy (written in 1978), Calypso
>(also '78, I think), Luka (1982?) and maybe Ironbound (don't have the CD in
>front of me now). They must have 'saved' these songs, for one reason or
>another, for the 2nd album, since the 1st album only goes ~36 min. But at
>least Gypsy and Luka are among the best she's ever written, don't you agree?

I think Suzanne was afraid Gypsy would be a bit quaint, she wanted a sharper edge to the album. Cracking was kind of turning point for Suzanne, and I guess she wanted more of that and less older stuff, like Gypsy. But I agree with you about Gypsy -- to me it's one of the most beautiful songs ever written.

Luka was written before the debut album, but it hadn't found it final for yet (I've heard early live versions of it). So it was probably wise to keep it until the second album.

The song I really think should have been on the first album is The Marching Dream. It's such a marvellous song! What a pity it's so hard to find. (It was released on an issue of Fast Folk -- see the discography).

Later,
/Hugo

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