Review Revue: Suzanne Vega - s/t

Welcome to Review Revue, where every Thursday I dig through the KEXP stacks to share DJ reviews and comments written on the covers of LPs (and occasionally CDs) in the ’80s and ’90s, when the station was called KCMU, the DJs were volunteers, and people shared their opinions on little white labels instead of the internet.

As with the Violent Femmes, for people my age it’s hard to remember or imagine a time when Suzanne Vega was not a known quantity. And it’s true, once she’d started making music that era was quite short-lived (as you’ll see below, here on her first album – which ended up going platinum – she was already “kinda a big deal in NYC.” But again, it’s fascinating to see the unvarnished first impressions of inveterate music snobs on someone who would end up having such a long, successful, influential career. A career which still appears to be going strong, by the way; the one-woman play her most recent album is based on premieres next week at the Alley Theatre in Houston!

“She’s kinda a big deal in NYC. Sort of a cross between Lou Reed, Rickie Lee Jones, and maybe Laurie Anderson.”

“Mellow.”

“Oh yeah, she’s no relation to Alan Vega.” [Watch this space for an Alan Vega post, one of these weeks.]

“Ya like that Tracey Thorn sound, y’all like Ms. Vega.”

“I’ll agree w/the Rickie Lee Jones part of the above analogy but Laurie Anderson? No way Jose. Oh by the way; this is nice.”

“Kinda cool, eh?”

“A little wimpy and mainstream, but . . . very very pretty.”

“Fresh.”

“‘Neighborhood Girls'”

“Sounds like L. Anderson.”

“Sounds better!!”

“At Backstage July 23rd.”

“What a pleasant record THIS IS.”