Songs in Red and Gray
Songs in Red and Gray | ||||
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Studio album by Suzanne Vega | ||||
Released | September 25, 2001 (2001-09-25) | |||
Recorded | November 2000 – May 2001 | |||
Studio | Chung King, Sear Sound, Shelter Island Sound, Looking Glass Studio (New York) | |||
Genre |
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Length | 45:31 | |||
Label | A&M | |||
Producer | Rupert Hine | |||
Suzanne Vega chronology | ||||
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Aggregate scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Metacritic | 81/100[3] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Blender | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
E! Online | B+[3] |
Entertainment Weekly | B+[4] |
Mojo | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Q | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Robert Christgau | ![]() |
Songs in Red and Gray is the sixth studio album by American singer-songwriter Suzanne Vega. It was released on September 25, 2001 by A&M Records.
Music and lyrics
On Songs in Red and Gray, Vega returns to her signature acoustic folk-pop sound, shedding the experiments she had done in the 1990s with her husband, record producer Mitchell Froom.[2] New producer Rupert Hine shows some traces of his past work with '80s new wave bands by employing electronic beats,[6] but mostly allows Vega's voice and guitar to dominate in a manner reminiscent of her debut album and its 1987 follow-up, Solitude Standing.[2][6]
Most of the songs, like "Widow's Walk" and "If I Were a Weapon", deal with the dissolution of Vega's marriage with Froom.[2][6][7] Her "calm, hushed, clear singing"[2] belies the album's "mood of heartbroken defiance".[6] The lyrics are "the most personally revealing songs she has written" in her career.[7]
Track listing
All tracks are written by Suzanne Vega except "St. Clare" written by Jack Hardy
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Penitent" | 4:16 |
2. | "Widow's Walk" | 3:33 |
3. | "(I'll Never Be) Your Maggie May" | 3:47 |
4. | "It Makes Me Wonder" | 4:00 |
5. | "Soap and Water" | 3:03 |
6. | "Songs in Red and Gray" | 4:18 |
7. | "Last Year's Troubles" | 3:35 |
8. | "Priscilla" | 4:14 |
9. | "If I Were a Weapon" | 2:45 |
10. | "Harbor Song" | 4:18 |
11. | "Machine Ballerina" | 2:57 |
12. | "Solitaire" | 2:10 |
13. | "St. Clare" | 2:30 |
Total length: | 45:31 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
14. | "Golden" | 3:53 |
Total length: | 49:24 |
Personnel
- Suzanne Vega – vocals, acoustic guitar
- Gerry Leonard – electric and acoustic guitars, dulcimer, mandolin, zither
- Rupert Hine – keyboards, bass guitar, percussion, drum programming
- Mike Visceglia – bass guitar
- Nik Pugh – drum programming, synth lead
- Jay Bellerose – drums
- Matt Johnson – drums
- Doug Yowell – drums, percussion
- Pamela Sue Man – backing vocals, harmony vocals
- Elizabeth Taubman – harmony vocals
- Stephen W Tayler – recording and mixing engineer
Charts
Chart (2001) | Peak position |
---|---|
Australian Albums (ARIA)[8] | 187 |
French Albums (SNEP)[9] | 36 |
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[10] | 53 |
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[11] | 34 |
Polish Albums (ZPAV)[12] | 31 |
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[13] | 47 |
UK Albums (Official Charts Company)[14] | 100 |
US Billboard 200[15] | 178 |
References
- ^ "Classic Album Review: Suzanne Vega: Songs in Red and Gray". Tinnitist. Retrieved 5 November 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f Songs in Red and Gray at AllMusic
- ^ a b c d e "Songs In Red And Gray by Suzanne Vega". AllMusic. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
- ^ "Entertainment Weekly review". Archived from the original on August 21, 2008. Retrieved 2008-08-21.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ "Robert Christgau: CG: suzanne vega". Retrieved 3 June 2016.
- ^ a b c d Phipps, Keith (25 September 2001). "Suzanne Vega: Songs In Red And Gray". Avclub.com. The A.V. Club. Retrieved 28 June 2016.
- ^ a b Katz, Larry (September 23, 2001). "Revelations – Suzanne Vega's personal turmoil fuels intimate 'Red and Gray'". The Boston Herald. Boston, MA. Archived from the original on September 11, 2016. Retrieved June 28, 2016 – via HighBeam Research.
- ^ "Response from ARIA re: ARIA chart history for Suzanne Vega, received October 31, 2017". Imgur.com. Retrieved October 31, 2017. N.B. The High Point number in the NAT column represents the release's peak on the national chart. This history only contains data from the commencement of the ARIA-produced chart in mid-1988.
- ^ "Lescharts.com – Suzanne Vega – Songs in Red and Gray". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 8, 2014.
- ^ "Officialcharts.de – Suzanne Vega – Songs in Red and Gray". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved June 8, 2014.
- ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Suzanne Vega – Songs in Red and Gray". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 8, 2014.
- ^ "Oficjalna lista sprzedaży :: OLiS - Official Retail Sales Chart". OLiS. Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved June 8, 2014.
- ^ "Swisscharts.com – Suzanne Vega – Songs in Red and Gray". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 8, 2014.
- ^ "Official Charts > Suzanne Vega (albums tab)". The Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 30, 2015.
- ^ "Suzanne Vega Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved June 8, 2014.
External links
- Songs in Red and Gray at Metacritic
- v
- t
- e
- Suzanne Vega
- Solitude Standing
- Days of Open Hand
- 99.9F°
- Nine Objects of Desire
- Songs in Red and Gray
- Beauty & Crime
- Tales from the Realm of the Queen of Pentacles
- Lover, Beloved: Songs from an Evening with Carson McCullers
- Live in London 1986
- Live at the Stephen Talkhouse
- Solitude Standing: Live at the Barbican
- Live at the Speakeasy
- An Evening of New York Songs and Stories
- Tried & True
- Retrospective
- "Marlene on the Wall"
- "Left of Center"
- "Luka"
- "Tom's Diner"
- "Solitude Standing"
- "Blood Makes Noise"
- "Caramel"
- "No Cheap Thrill"
- "Book & a Cover"