The new Suzanne Vega album Beauty & Crime is mainly a portrait of New York. She reminisces about a conversation with graffiti artist in Zephyr & I (reusing the riff of Vicious from fellow New Yorker Lou Reed) and takes a walk down Ludlow Street. Vega depicts the city as an out-of-luck ladywho refuse to give in New York Is A Woman. Vega may sings in a whisper at some points, but her lyrics bite. She has assembled a wide variety of musicians to back her up on her seventh studio album, including Lee Ranaldo (Sonic Youth) on guitar and Tony Shahanan (Patti Smith) on bass.
Suzanne Vega has delivered once again. No matter who is backing her up - her albums will sound like vintage Vega. She doesn't change much over the years, but sticks to her art - being one hell of a singer/songwriter. You can download the single Frank & Ava at iTunes. And incidentally - did you know that her most famous song Tom's Diner was used by Karlheinz Brandenburg, the big cheese in the team that created the MP3 format? She told the story when she performed it live at a Second Life concert.
Beauty & Crime is released on the Blue Note label. Release date: July 17.
Tracks:
- Zephyr & I
- Ludlow Street
- New York Is A Woman
- Pornographer's Dream
- Frank & Ava
- Edith Wharton's Figurines
- Bound
- Unbound
- As You Are Now
- Angel's Doorway
- Anniversary
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