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10:15 pm
October 19, 2010
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The Usual Suspect
| | Quebec City, Canada | |
| Member | posts 47 |
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Hi ! I'm new to the board, and I would like to discuss this album with you.
Although "Days of Open Hand" is not my own personal favourite Suzanne Vega album, I am a bit puzzled to see that it seems to be the one that got away. Suzanne rarely ever seems to perform any songs from that album. I think it suffered from a certain "overproduction", but there are some great songs in there : "Tired of sleeping", "Institution Green", "Men in a war", "Rusted Pipe", "Fifty-Fifty Chance" and especially "Room Off The Street" (which I was so glad to see as a bonus track for Volume 2). Does anyone know why Suzanne seems so uninterested in the songs from that album ?
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10:54 pm
October 19, 2010
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islandflyer
| | Friday Harbor, WA | |
| Member | posts 379 |
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Welcome aboard, Usual Suspect (sorry, couldn't help it).
I've been wondering that myself for months, and I suspect there must be a story there somewhere. Personally, I just love this album, and did so from the time I first discovered it (only a year ago).
There are some great songs here for sure. Suzanne said earlier in the year that some of those songs were too hard to "make work" in the current minimalist format, but I have trouble with that explanation, since, as you say, she stopped performing anything but "Room Off the Street" and "Tired of Sleeping" many years ago.
I've thought that "Men in a War", as a counterpoint to Luka is more relevant in today's world than it was in 1989, with the prevalence of PTSD, among other things, as a result of all the wars and terrorism today. I'd like to hear more discussion about that, since after all Suzanne excels at covering topics people would rather not hear about, and in a way that makes it satisfying to listen to.
Pilgrimage is another favorite of mine, and is really timeless. As far as the overproduction; that's a listener preference, and I think it is just right. Among other things, I love the long, slow fade-outs in Institution Green and some of the other songs. It's so moody and melancholy, and even hypnotic. (you've heard the dog barking, right?)
Altogether, IMHO, a great album, and sadly overlooked and ignored.
Ed
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"looking for your fingerprints, I find them in coincidence, and make my faith to grow"
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9:23 pm
October 20, 2010
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The Usual Suspect
| | Quebec City, Canada | |
| Member | posts 47 |
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Hey Ed, thanks for welcoming me aboard !
Interesting comments… I do agree that there is an hypnotic edge to many of those songs. That certainly applies to songs such as "Pilgrimage", "Predictions", "Those Whole Girls", "Institution Green". It's certainly a fitting description of the album's tone.
I do agree think that "Days of Open Hand" is an underrated album. I think it might have something to do with the fact that the album didn't have the same impact that "Solitude Standing" had – no hits, good (but not great) reviews, a rather disappointing chart position (# 50), weaker sales… In other words, it had strong artistic merits, but it really didn't "sell" as well. So many great albums came out in 1990, but were washed away by the changes in what people were listening to. "Days of Open Hand" is a very "mental" album, not loaded with pop hooks, featuring complex arrangements and compositions that required some attention from the listener… In other words, not your typical 1990 album. Do you think that the album's lack of (commercial) success left a bitter taste in Suzanne's mouth ?
What I meant by "overproduced" is that the songs are much more production-based than her previous albums. Lots of keyboards, intricate arrangements… It's not necessarily a bad thing, but to me it took away some of the things I loved about Suzanne's music (her acoustic-based sound, and her more melodic songwriting). But as you said, that IS a question of listener preference.
As for "Men in a War", I have never really felt that this song was actually related to soldiers. I always took it as a metaphor about loss – you've lost something precious, it's gone… and yet you can still feel it as much as you did before. You can say that about losing someone, obviously, whether you're actually grieving their death or being washed up in heartbreak because they broke-up with you. The image of a soldier "still feeling a lost limb" is certainly a powerful one, and amputation is certainly a likely source of PTSD – so you may be right ! It's so nice to read a different interpretation from mine.
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11:56 pm
October 21, 2010
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islandflyer
| | Friday Harbor, WA | |
| Member | posts 379 |
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Hey, Usual Suspect
There was an interview on CBS Good Morning last spring where Suzanne told Charles Kuralt (I think that's who it was) that halfway through the Open Hand tour the venues suddenly stopped being sold out; sometimes only a third or half full. So I suspect that did affect her more than she may let on.
Of course, part of the result of that experience was to send her on an adventure to explore completely new avenues, and 99.9 F. was the result. The more I listen to the songs on that one, the more I appreciate how really versatile she is as an artist, and how sure and true her vision is. For me, it has taken a long time to understand some of these songs, and to some extent, Mitchell's clanging and banging was an impediment to that. I've really come to love this one, though, and I think I understand why those who place this album at the top of her stack do so.
Men in a War seems to have a lot on interpretations beside PTSD; loss of innocence or dignity from rape, etc. Maybe this theme was just too intense at this period, even though it worked with Luka a couple of years earlier.
And while I've been waiting for Nimbit to get around to delivering my Vol 2 CD (along with the errant T-shirt) I checked out the Smithsonian Folkways site and found some wonderful live, acoustic only versions of several of her early songs, including a beautiful solo of Wooden Horse that will be interesting to compare with what you have already heard.
http://www.folkways.si.edu/sea…..7phrase%27
You can buy individual songs just like on iTunes for $.99.
Check it out.
Ed
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"looking for your fingerprints, I find them in coincidence, and make my faith to grow"
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11:41 pm
October 22, 2010
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The Usual Suspect
| | Quebec City, Canada | |
| Member | posts 47 |
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Ed,
You know, the first time I saw Suzanne in concert was on the "Days of Open Hand" tour, July 1990, in Quebec City, Canada (my hometown). It was a great gig – she played all the right songs that I hoped to hear ("Ironbound", "Gypsy", etc), her band was in fine form. But it WAS a rather small audience – a little more than half full. And I hate to say this, but we were such a boring audience. This was actually on her birthday, and nobody in the audience did anything to acknowledge this – and we all knew, because some idiot radio host had told us so a few minutes before she walked on the stage. You could tell that most people were not that familiar with the new album – which got no airplay over here – and that they probably were not that familiar with her entire body of work either. It was a midsize outdoor venue, which really was not the best setting for Suzanne's music in my opinion. So although I did enjoy myself and vividly remember the concert, I had the feeling that it must have been less than thrilling for Suzanne. As a matter of fact, it took her a long time to return. But I saw her again in concert the next time she came to Quebec City… which was last March ! lol ! And I guess Suzanne and Quebec City are friends again, because she said on her blog that we had been "one of the best audiences ever". That made me proud – and it was a FANTASTIC show. She even came back once the lights were up, after the concert was over, because people kept calling her back - and we got one more song (none other than "Calypso") ! How cool is that ? That's only the second time I've seen an artist do this in concert… Suzanne is someone special, I'll tell you that.
Anyway, I do agree that the lukewarm reception to "Days of Open Hand" probably led her to explore new territory with "99.9 F" – although to be honest, one could hardly have accused her of being artistically complacent with "Days of Open Hand", which was not a mere rerun of her first two albums. I did have a hard time with the "99.9 F" album, as a matter of fact. To me, it was taking Suzanne away from what I loved the most about her, which was the acoustic-based stuff. I could hear the bright spots in there, but they were mostly the songs that were more in tune with her first albums ("Blood sings", "When heroes go down", "Song of sand", "In Liverpool"). I admired the inventiveness of the album, but the production made it sound like… I don't know what, but not a Suzanne Vega album ! lol ! It did grow on me eventually. But to be honest, it took the new recordings of songs from "99.9 F" to REALLY make me appreciate that album. Her renditions of "Fat man and dancing girl" and "Rock in this pocket" are AWESOME; and "Song of sand", the title track and "In Liverpool" are just as eloquent as they ever were, but they gain a whole new edge (especially "In Liverpool"). I still wouldn't say I place it on the top of my list ("Solitude Standing" will hold that spot forever, even though it may not be the most original pick for a fan…); but I have gained a new appreciation for those songs through the "Close-Up" volumes released so far.
Let's hope Suzanne is made aware of this thread and decides to cover a few more songs from "Days of Open Hand" on vols. 3 & 4. Quite a few songs could fit on volume 3 – "Institution Green", "Fifty-Fifty Chance", "Tired of Sleeping", "Men in a War", "Rusted Pipe"…
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8:45 am
October 23, 2010
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Yuval
| | Tel Aviv, Israel | |
| Member | posts 426 |
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(Better late than never…)
Hello Louis-Francois, and welcome to Undertow!
First of all, it's always a pleasant surprise to meet another old fan, especially one who eloquently conveys his views and interpretations
Regarding DoOH, the album was co-produced and co-written by Suzanne and her then boyfriend and keyboard player Anton Sanko. Suzanne has said in the past that the effort of production took its toll on her, mentally and physically, and therefore she holds a slight grudge with this album, especially when it didn't meet expectations. Every fan would agree the album contains some of Suzanne's best lyrics, and that some of the songs could've been hits, but sadly that didn't happen. As you said, 1990 was a difficult year to release such an album, and maybe it all turned out for the best… I really love Suzanne's work with Mitchell Froom, especially NOoD.
Yuval =8-)
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10:56 pm
October 26, 2010
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islandflyer
| | Friday Harbor, WA | |
| Member | posts 379 |
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Hi Louis-Francois,
That must have been awesome to see Suzanne back then, and then again 20 years later. So it sounds like the disapperaing audience was already happening then. I was wondering if that was just in North America, or if the shows in Europe were like that too. That concert in the former East Berlin in November 1990 was more than sold out, Brian Rose reported on his website some time ago. There are a number of nice videos on YouTube taken at that concert, and the audience was really enthusiastic. Was she wearing that yellow outfit she seemed to favor when you saw her then? A little bit of arcane trivia, I know.
The performance of Solitude Standing at that show is almost psycheldelic with the cool light show.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v…..VrsAisqc0Q
Ed
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"looking for your fingerprints, I find them in coincidence, and make my faith to grow"
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7:25 pm
October 27, 2010
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The Usual Suspect
| | Quebec City, Canada | |
| Member | posts 47 |
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Thanks for the info, Yuval. Being a canadian Suzanne Vega fan is tough – she's never done a lot of press around here, so all these cool interviews wen right past me. It does make sense that DoOH left a slightly bitter taste in her mouth if she nearly exhausted herself producing it… only to see it fall on the side of the road.
And Ed, yes, it was awesome to witness the gap between 1990 and 2010. I'll be honest, I don't remember the outfit she wore in 1990.  I'm really terrible at this ! As for her performance of "Solitude Standing" in 1990, my memories it was performed in a rather straightforward manner, much like the way it sounded on the album – and I do not remember what the visual effects were. Sorry ! But the set list was great.
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