Search - Suzanne Vega :: The Best of Suzanne Vega: Tried and True

Highly Recommendable!

Morten Vindberg | Denmark | 06/09/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This was the first compilation of Suzanne Vega`s best songs released in 1998; featuring songs from her first 5 albums, two new recordings and the rare "Left of Center" from the soundtrack "Pretty in Pink".It`s always a matter of taste which songs are actually the best; in my opinion this album does the job pretty well.From her debut album "Marlene on the Wall", "A Small Blue Thing" and "The Queen and the Soldier" (her great song about power, loyalty and honesty) are obvious choices. I would not have minded "Cracking" being there too, but these 3 songs represent that album perfectly.From "Solitude Standing" it`s the same; the best songs are there, but a few more would not have harmed the collection.I have always considered her third album "Days of Open Hand" her weakest; it seems the compiler of this album feels the same since he`s only selected "Book of Dreams" from the album. "Tired of Sleeping" would also have been a good choice.On "99,9 F" Vega experiments with new sounds and rhythms. When the album was originally released, I was not so sure if I liked her direction; now it`s my favourite and the title track, "Blood Makes Noise", "In Liverpool" and "When Heroes Go Down" are all great tracks.The slightly "jazzy" "Nine Objects of Desire" is represented by "World Before Columbus", "Caramel" and "No Cheap Thrill". It`s a good album, where most song could have deserved selection. My favourite "Headshot" is not here, but then I have the original album already.Both new songs "Book and a Cover" and "Rosemary" are good which was fine for me, since I had already bought her original albums.This CD is highly recommendable, and if you want more of the same, you can seek out the 2 CD "Retrospective" or simply buy her original albums - they are all worth it."

Excellent ... though I do have some complaints.

Kasper Michelsen | Copenhagen, Denmark. | 08/15/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"First of all ... this is an extraordinary collection of songs, and if you have liked just a few of Suzanne Vega's songs, you should by this record ... it's more than worth it.My complaints are as always the song selection. Yes, I know Tom's Dinner was a hit in that crappy remix version, but the original A Capella version is just much better. And include the groovy instrumental version ... love that one. Also, I sorely miss the song 'Solitude Standing' - this was actually released as a single, and was always one of my favorites from that album, and I can't for the life of me see why it wasn't included.Other songs could have been left out. Caramel is ok, though I don't like it that much. Worse however is the utterly boring Book Of Dreams, that I think is only anoying. The new song Book & A Cover is also pretty uninspiring.Finally I'm not content with the song arrangement. The stunning The Queen And The Soldier deserved to have closed the album - I love Rosemary, but it's not really an album closer. The Queen And The Soldier is about the ultimate album closer, so that's a bit frustrating.All that being said, this reopened my eyes to the fantastic Solitude Standing album (which I grew up with, since my parents loved it) and offered me a bunch of for me hither to unknown gems like '99.9 F', 'Blood Makes Noise', 'Left Of Center', 'In Liverpool', 'World Before Columbus' and not least 'The Queen And The Soldier' - so I can only recommend it."