Search - Suzanne Vega :: Days of Open Hand

The subconscious set to music

J. Thomas | Ohio | 08/28/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is an extremely deep and sophisticated work by Suzanne Vega. Virtually all of the songs, however, seem to relate to one thing in particular: the subconscious (dreams, fantasies, fears, a desire to feel, and memory). The abstract and unreal passages led me to reach this conclusion, along with the fact that the opening track, which sets the tone, is "Tired of Sleeping." I have come to love Days... because of understanding it this way. I believe that Salvador Dali would have absolutely loved it.



My personal favorites are "Tired of Sleeping," "Big Space," "Rusted Pipe," "Predictions," and, especially, "Pilgrimage," all of which deal with abstract emotional and psychological journeys. "Predictions" seems to support the expression that "History repeats itself" by beginning: "Let's tell the future, Let's see how it's been done..." I love the universal perspective of this. Mike Visceglia's base-playing on "Pilgrimage" is other-worldly and mysterious. It seems like the soundtrack for an archaeological documentary on National Geographic or the History International channel--a program where they are uncovering ancient secrets. Vega is unapologetically inscrutable on this follow-up to her huge hit record Solitude Standing."

I'm surprised how much it's grown on me

Jessica E. Bowen | Marlborough, MA USA | 10/07/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I'm a big SV fan; I own all her albums and look forward to new ones. I have to say, that when I first listened to this album, I was a little dissappointed - especially compared to her first two. But, now with the innovation of iPod shuffle, I listen to her more. Some of the tracks on this album, especially Tired of Sleeping and Those WHole Girls, have really become my favorites. I was surprised when I looked back and they were from this album. I recently listened to the whole thing and it's much better than I rememberd it years ago. I guess I've grown musically, just now as fast as SV. She's ahead of my time!"

Incredible

J. Thomas | 07/16/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I think one of the reasons this album was overlooked was because there are no obvious singles. In fact, Suzanne herself said her record company was having a difficult time coming up with a single when it was released. However, taken as a whole, the album is simply magnificent. It's actually a better album listening to it from start to finish than listening to individual songs. There's not a bad song on the CD, although the poppy Book of Dreams is not stellar. Suzanne said that she wrote Book of Dreams to be a single, which is really never a good idea in my opinion. Men in a War is also not her greatest either, but if fits within the context of the album. My favorites would probably be Rusted Pipe and Pilgrimmage. I used to see this CD purely as transitional; she needed to make this CD after Solitude Standing in order to make 99.9F, which has long been my favorite. However, I now realize this is a great work in and of itself. It took me several years to come to like it, but I now consider it one of her great albums."