Suzanne Vega: Talking Album Debut Blues

She was a strange child, she liked her salsa mild; but it seems to me that she would look quite profound in designer jeans, quite profound indeed. Suzanne Vega’s debut sounds like an elderly woman tinkering with some demo tunes on analog 4-track tape, and all this despite the fact that her period is late; meaning that she could easily go from gay to straight. Word up now, exactly? Well, her sounds are delicate and powerful as if she is sort of perpetually examining the absolute darkness of the human condition with a smile on her face.

The album opens with a brilliant little number, and a tune that is still among one of her best today; I am referring to “Cracking.” She’s like Lou Reed on helium on this particular number, the lyrics are conservative in that she only uses words that serve a worthwhile purpose in terms of the song’s overall structure. I find her voice to be very inviting, and it is one that has rarely changed over the decades. She was already an established troubadour by the time of this self-titled release in 1985, a fully formed Folk Goddess, if you will. There are a few troubling and sketchy songs that don’t quite gel in terms of lyrical prowess and the production in general is very much typical ‘80’s cheese, but the best work does shine through regardless.

Some of the numbers have a bit of attitude and even an element of Jazz at times as well. “Marlene on The Wall” makes me blush because it discusses sexual situations, and sex is just dirty and wrong! Regardless, this material knocks Tears for Fears out of the water, no question. The keyboard touches sound almost eerie as they are matched up with Suzanne’s acoustic work, but it does seem to work at times. Ms. Vega is a natural storyteller and everything seems to have a detached emotional quality about it, as if this is the general concept for the record. Some of the material is a bit of a blur, but it is a nice blur and basically, that perfect rainy day record to this day. While I would not suggest anyone to start with this record, I will say that at the very least it is a good start.

This live performance clip contains a great version of the aforementioned Cracking: