About Suzanne Vega
Folk-rock singer/songwriter Suzanne Vega was born in 1959 in Santa Monica, California. She said, “I knew I wanted to be a folk singer from the time I was 16.” CS While attending Barnard College, she started performing at small venues in Greenwich Village. After she graduated in 1982, she “devoted herself to the local folk arena.” CS In 1984 she landed a recording contract with A&M Records after being turned down by them twice. CS
The next year she released her self-titled debut album “centered on meditative acoustic guitar.” TM She “wowed the critics with her literate, unguarded songwriting and naked delivery, compared by many to her earliest influences Leonard Cohen, Paul Simon, and Joni Mitchell.” CS It sold half a million copies in the U.S. and UK.
The Second Album
Vega struggled to follow-up the surprise success of her debut. She ended up “reaching back to songs she had written over the previous decade and putting together an eclectic sophomore effort Solitude Standing.” CS The album launched her into the mainstream. The album reached #11 in the United States and achieved five million in sales worldwide. “While continuing a focus on Vega’s acoustic guitar, the music of her second album is more strongly pop-oriented and features fuller arrangements.” WK
Its Impact
The album emerged at a time when vulnerability was out, replaced by dazzling guitar solos [and] punishing bass grooves.” CS “Hair metal, corporate rock, and slick pop rule the airwaves and hip-hop and alternative rock were threatening on the horizon.” CS
Solitude Standing marked “Vega as a harbinger of change in the American music scene.” CS It became “a bedrock album that created a market for independent women in a male-dominated music industry.” CS Record companies “infiltrated every coffee house in Greenwich Village and beyond in search of soulful, introspective songwriters with pent-up emotions ready to be spilled onto vinyl.” CS Within two years, “a host of female songbirds – including Tracy Chapman, Shawn Colvin, Edie Brickell, the Indigo Girls, and Sinéad O’Connor – released albums on major labels.” CS
They were part of a first wave that would lead to success for early ‘90s artists including Tori Amos, Sheryl Crow, and Alanis Morissette. “Within a decade dozens of female acts (ranging from acoustic singer-songwriters to women-led and all-female bands) crowded the airwaves and concert halls, enough o spawn a successful women-oriented touring festival in 1997 called Lilith Fair.” CS
As Vega said, “Acoustic music had gone from the public scene…but not from people’s lives. People will always plat it because all you need is a guitar.” CS London Guardian said, “Suzanne Vega fills the current bill in much the same way as Joni Mitchell…did in pervious times.” CS
“Luka”
The album owed the brunt of its initial success to Luka, a top-five hit that told a “disquieting story of a city kid’s attempt to deal with a volatile (and seemingly violent) home situation. Vega focuses not on the details of the kid’s plight but on his awkwardness.” TM She revealed years later that it was inspired by her own abusive experiences with her stepfather. WK
The song “sparked nationwide discussion about the domestic abuse of children. One reason it touched a nerve is its undeniable catchiness. Vega goes for exuberant refrains cushioned by cooing background vocals – if there ever was an effective counterbalance to a bleak and disturbing scene, this runaway musical optimism is it.” TM
“Tom’s Diner”
The album spawned another surprise hit three years later when the British producers known as DNA remixed her a cappella version of Tom’s Diner from Solitude Standing with a dance beat from Soul II Soul’s “Keep on Movin’.” They sent it to clubs without her permission but instead of suing for copyright infringement, A&M arranged to release the remix after consulting with Vega, who liked the interpretation. It “infected listeners with its hypnotic groove and innocent charm.” CS It became a club hit and gave Vega another top-five hit in 1990.
Other Songs
“’Luka’ is but one highlight of the entrancing Solitude Standing.” TM The album “presents Vega using color and shades and shadowy orchestrations. The album ranges from pure pop to almost ambient meditations, and every track resonates differently.” TM
“The title tune alternates between a steady rock pulse and ethereal free-falling passages that seem borne from a daydream. Calypso is a gorgeously liquid homage to undersea explorers, while Ironbound/Fancy Poultry floats effortlessly between 3/4 and 4/4 time to sketch a Newark street scene.” TM
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