Beauty And Crime - Suzanne Vega Album Review

Suzanne Vega

Album Review

Making her debut on EMI Records, this is Suzanne Vega's seventh studio album since hitting the big-time with global hits Luka and Tom's Diner from album Solitude Standing in 1987.

This excellent album comes hot on the heels of her compilation Retrospective: The Best Of Suzanne Vega.

Known for her eclectic approach to folk and her highly literate lyrics, which may be the result of majoring in English Literature at Barnard College, the Santa Monica born songstress delivers an album full of folkie orchestrations and a blend of electronic beats. It was split recorded between New York, her home town, and London.

A stab-start is always a good way of getting a reviewer's attention, and that's exactly what Vega does with the drum roll intro on Zephyr & I, a story that recounts a conversation with seminal graffiti artist ( Zephyr) while strolling down West End Avenue. As an introduction to the CD, this has all the hallmarks of a great radio-friendly single: catchy hooks, sweet melodies and a steady foot-tapping beat.

Further in, the use of a electronic beats, and acoustic guitar layers, Unbound is another hot contender for a single, whereas its precursor is a heavenly string drenched beauty that glides to a steady beat, with Police like twists that drops into piano and strings aplenty, rising once more to a glorious crescendo. New York is a tale about the metropolis being the 'hard luck lady' whose beauty still shines through. A jazzy Bossa Nova inflected Pornographer's Dream has more than a touch of Astrid Gilberto's vocals, a real 60s touch indeed. There's no doubt that Vega's best work comes in the form of a simpler compositions and more stripped formats: As You Are Now, a dedication to her husband is typical, though swirling and emotive strings add to its charm. Ending a wonderful album, its simplicity once again, as the acoustic guitar leads sweet backup harmonies on a gorgeous ballad.

Plenty of beauty. Thankfully, no crimes committed here.

Elly Roberts