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	Songs of Mass Destruction Annie Lennox Arista $18.98 Retrospective: The Best of Suzanne Vega Suzanne Vega Interscope Records $13.98 Time on Earth Crowded House Ato Records / Red $15.98 Courage Paula Cole Decca $14.98 Shine Joni Mitchell HEAR MUSIC $18.98 Drastic Fantastic KT Tunstall Virgin Records Us $18.98

Beauty & Crime by Blue Note Records List Price: $17.98 Price: $12.97 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. You Save: $5.01 (27%)

Suzanne Vega Photos

With a career spanning more than two decades, Suzanne Vega has long stressed quality over quantity. It's no surprise, therefore, that her first release in six years is more than worth the wait. Her eye for detail, laconic vocal cool, and thematic focus on New York City continue to distinguish her artistry, but the sonic sheen applied by British producer/multi-instrumentalist Jimmy Hogarth sparks a musical renewal. Crisp guitar riffing recalls the streetwise work of fellow New York chronicler Lou Reed, while chamber strings, electronic atmospherics, and multitracked background vocals lift the results well beyond the folk realm. Vega writes from a perspective of memory and maturity, recalling the New York of old on "Zephyr & I" and "Ludlow Street," showing the musical sophistication of bittersweet seduction on "New York Is a Woman," applying a musical Brazilian wax to "Pornographer's Dream," and contemplating her life as a wife on "Bound" and as a mother on the lullaby "As You Are Now." The results are richly satisfying throughout. --Don McLeese

Customer Reviews:
Bold, Beautiful and Her Best	Customer Rating: 5 out of 5
Modern day folk at its best...she creates stories with her poetry in a minimal amount of words. Another singer-songwriter that I put in this camp is Arrica Rose especially in her new release, La La Lost.
Way To Bring It On Suzanne	Customer Rating: 5 out of 5
I love this album and I'm so glad I ended up buying it, you see but I had no intenion of actually buying until I heard the thing somewhere else. I've always liked Suzanne but felt she was fairly hit or miss. "Luka" is excellant as is most of the album that it came from, "Left Of Center" from Pretty In Pink is one of my all time favorite songs ever and the brilliant rendition of DNA on "Tom's Diner" sticks with you long after you've heard it but her kind of wimpy pouty vocals wear a little thin I think on a full album. But then in 1994 came the album 99.9 (it's 99.9 Farenheit degrees but I can't find the frickin' degree symblol?) and I fell in love with it. Instead of acoustic guitars and her voice, she amped up the music with thumping pumps of electronic jambles and I loved every single song on the album. After that I once again lost interest but as Beauty & Crime was coming out, I read a review and interview with her, comparing the album to 99.9 and the fact that this was a record years in the making, since 9/11 in fact and being a New York poetess Vega had a few things to talk about, including her brother's death and her love/affection for the Big Apple. All very pondering yet full of music and fun little backing vocals, the album is great from start to finish. Again, there aren't any songs I dislike, some are obviously better than others but it's a really good album through out and I highly suggest you check it out. Best cuts: "New York Is A Woman", "Zephyr & Me", "Bound"
She sings wonderful stories.	Customer Rating: 5 out of 5
Suzanne is a storyteller. She writes through her music and tells her stories through song. The music and musicians are terrific. There is insight, emotion and nuance all put to a modern mix of jazz, folk and rock. These are soundtracks for a life lived in New York and as textured as the City itself.
Listen!	Customer Rating: 4 out of 5
Hands down, one of the best album's of 2007, and one of Vega's best ever. "Frank & Ava" got a bit of air play, but even better are tracks like "Bound" and "New York Is a Woman." Though short (the album runs a little less than 35 minutes), this one is definitely worth owning.
Suzanne Offers Some of Her Best Work to Date	Customer Rating: 4 out of 5
Thematically, this is the most consistent album Suzanne has presented to date. I think "New York is a Woman" and "Pornographer's Dream" rank up there with the best songs she has ever written. "Edith Wharton's Figurines" and "Anniversary" are also good too and Suzanne covers a lot of intellectual and emotional territory over the course of the album. There is a lot here and I think it is especially lovely how "Anniversary" ties the whole album together at the end: "make time for all your possibilities, they live on every street." For me, the album is worth buying just for "New York is a Woman" and "Pornographer's Dream." To me these songs represent Suzanne performing at her lyrical and musical peak and I was surprised and delighted to find such great songs on this album because let's face it, it's been awhile. That being said, absent these two songs it would be a much weaker album as many of the other songs lyrically and musically lean further in the direction of pop than Suzanne typically goes. In one respect this is good because it means the album offers "something for everyone" both folk and pop fans alike. However, this is what holds me back from giving the album a full five star rating. For Suzanne Vega fans, hands down it's worth buying. For first time listeners, I'd direct them to earlier albums Suzanne Vega and/or Solitude Standing so they can appreciate this later album in the context of her prior work, then come back and enjoy!

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