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Solitude Standing

 
Album Review: Solitude Standing

  • Artist: Suzanne Vega
  • Rating: StarStarStarStarHalf Star
  • Release Date: 1987 04
  • Total Time: 44:20
  • Type: Lyrics are included with the album
  • Genre: Rock

Review

The songs on Solitude Standing, Suzanne Vega's second album, had years listed beside them on the lyric sheet, so you could see that some of them dated back to 1978. But that bold admission heralded the album's triumph -- its diversity was what made it so good. Partially, that was because the old songs were the equal of anything on the first album -- tunes like the a cappella slice-of-life "Tom's Diner" and the warmly romantic "Gypsy" simply wouldn't have fit thematically on the debut. On Solitude Standing, however, they became part of an album of story songs set in a variety of musical contexts; many had band arrangements, and in fact, members of Vega's touring band often were credited as co-writers. Additionally, Vega had developed more as a singer without losing the focused intonation that had made her debut -- one of many compelling elements which helped make "Luka," a character song about domestic abuse, a fluke hit. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track TitleComposersPerformersTime
Tom's Diner (Lyrics) Suzanne Vega Suzanne Vega (2:09)
Luka (Lyrics) Suzanne Vega Suzanne Vega (3:52)
Ironbound/Fancy Poultry Suzanne Vega (6:19)
In the Eye (Lyrics) Marc Shulman, Suzanne Vega Suzanne Vega (4:16)
Night Vision (Lyrics) Anton Sanko, Suzanne Vega Suzanne Vega (2:47)
Solitude Standing (Lyrics) Michael Visceglia, Anton Sanko, Steve Ferrera, Marc Shulman, Suzanne Vega Suzanne Vega (4:49)
Calypso (Lyrics) Suzanne Vega Suzanne Vega (4:14)
Language (Lyrics) Michael Visceglia, Suzanne Vega Suzanne Vega (3:57)
Gypsy (Lyrics) Suzanne Vega Suzanne Vega (4:04)
Wooden Horse (Casper Hauser's Song) Anton Sanko, Suzanne Vega, Marc Shulman, Michael Visceglia, Steve Ferrera Suzanne Vega (5:13)
Tom's Diner (Reprise) Suzanne Vega Suzanne Vega (2:40)

Credits

Jeffrey Gold (Art Direction), Marc Shulman (Guitar (Electric)), Steve Addabbo (Producer), Mitch Easter (Guitar (Rhythm)), Melanie Nissen (Design), Dan Nash (Assistant Engineer), Lenny Kaye (Producer), Shawn Colvin (Vocals (Background)), Steve Addabbo (Engineer), Ronald K. Fierstein (Executive Producer), Melanie Nissen (Art Direction), Jeffrey Gold (Design), Paula Bullwinkel (Photography), John Gordon (Guitar), Arthur Zarate (Assistant Engineer), Matthew Vega (Photography), Richard Croft (Photography), Suzanne Vega (Guitar (Acoustic)), Rod O'Brien (Engineer), Geoff Keehn (Assistant Engineer), Michael Visceglia (Guitar (Bass)), Anton Sanko (Synthesizer), Steve Ferrera (Drums), Sue Evans (Percussion), Marc DeSisto (Assistant Engineer), Shelly Yakus (Mixing), Joe Martin (Assistant Engineer), Michael Visceglia (Synthesizer), Sue Evans (Drums), Frank Christian (Guitar (Electric)), Steve Addabbo (Guitar), Jeff Lippay (Assistant Engineer), Mitch Easter (Producer), Suzanne Vega (Vocals), Steve Ferrera (Percussion), George Cowan (Assistant Engineer), Mark McKenna (Assistant Engineer), Mitch Easter (Mixing), Anton Sanko (Guitar (Classical))
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Wikipedia: Solitude Standing
Top
Solitude Standing
Studio album by Suzanne Vega
Released April 1, 1987
Recorded 1986-1987
Bearsville Studios, Woodstock, NY, RPM Sound Studios, NYC
Genre Rock
Length 44:20
Label A&M
Producer Steve Addabbo, Lenny Kaye
Professional reviews
Suzanne Vega chronology
Suzanne Vega
(1985)
Solitude Standing
(1987)
Days of Open Hand
(1990)

Solitude Standing is Suzanne Vega's platinum second album, released in 1987 (see 1987 in music). It is the most popular and critically-acclaimed of her career. As can be seen by the CD insert, many of the songs had been written prior to 1987 (see track listing for dates).

Contents

Song notes

"Tom's Diner" is a two-part song, with vocal as track 1, and instrumental as track 11. *"Night Vision" was inspired by the poem "Juan Gris" by Paul Éluard. [1] "Calypso" is based on The Odyssey, namely the part in which Calypso is forced to let Odysseus go.

Track listing

All songs written by Suzanne Vega in 1986–87 except as noted. [1]

  1. "Tom's Diner" – 2:09 (written 1981)
  2. "Luka" – 3:52 (written 1984)
  3. "Ironbound/Fancy Poultry" (Vega, Anton Sanko) – 6:19
  4. "In the Eye" (Vega, Marc Shulman) – 4:16
  5. "Night Vision" (Vega, Sanko) – 2:47
  6. "Solitude Standing" (Vega, Visceglia, Sanko, Shulman, Stephen Ferrera) – 4:49
  7. "Calypso" – 4:14 (written 1978)
  8. "Language" (Vega, Visceglia) – 3:57
  9. "Gypsy" – 4:04 (written 1978) Produced by Steve Addabbo, Lenny Kaye and Mitch Easter
  10. "Wooden Horse (Caspar Hauser’s Song)" (Vega, Visceglia, Sanko, Shulman, Ferrera) – 5:13
  11. "Tom's Diner (Reprise)" – 2:40

Track listing note: On the original LP album release, side one was composed of tracks 1-5; side two, of tracks 6-11. [1]

Personnel

Additional personnel

Technical personnel

  • Steve Addabbo – producer, recording engineer
  • Lenny Kaye – producer
  • Mitch Easter – producer on 9
  • Rod O'Brien – recording engineer
  • Shelly Yakus – mixing engineer

Charts

Album

Year Chart Peak
Position
1987 Billboard 200 11 [2]
1987 New Zealand albums chart 1
1987 UK Albums Chart 2 [3]
1987 Australia albums chart 7
1987 West Germany albums chart 6

Singles

Year Song Chart Peak
Position
1987 "Luka" Billboard Adult Contemporary Tracks 3 [4]
1987 "Luka" Billboard Hot Latin Tracks 48 [4]
1987 "Luka" Billboard Hot 100 3 [4]
1987 "Solitude Standing" Billboard Hot 100 94 [4]
1987 "Luka" UK Singles Chart 23 [3]
1987 "Luka" Sweden singles chart 2
1987 "Luka" Ireland singles chart 11
1987 "Tom's Diner" Ireland singles chart 26
1987 "Luka" New Zealand singles chart 8
1987 "Solitude Standing" New Zealand singles chart 45

In addition, a 1992 version of "Tom's Diner" (DNA featuring Suzanne Vega) made #1 in Germany, Switzerland and Austria, #2 in the UK and Ireland, #5 in the USA and #8 in New Zealand.

Certifications

Organization Level Date
BPIUK Gold May 5, 1987 [5]
BPI – UK Platinum June 9, 1987 [5]
RIAAU.S. Gold July 15, 1987 [6]
CRIACanada Gold August 13, 1987 [7]
CRIA – Canada Platinum September 16, 1987 [7]
RIAA – USA Platinum October 22, 1997 [6]

Notes

External links


 
 

 

Copyrights:

Album Review. Copyright © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC. Content provided by All Music Guide ®, a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Solitude Standing" Read more