Suzanne Vega clearly likes her new album, Tales from the Realm of the Queen of Pentacles. Either that or she’s got this promotional lark down to a fine art. Tonight we were treated to seven of its ten tracks, which is not something you might expect of someone who began their recording career in 1985 and has since released seven other albums and a fair few hit singles
Placing a black top-hat on her head to complement her bohemian head mistress attire, Suzanne kicked things off with debut single “Marlene on the Wall” and the wonderfully rich “Caramel”, from 1996’s Nine Objects of Desire . Then it was straight into the new stuff, with new single “Fool’s Complaint”, “Crack in the Wall” and the biblical imagery of “Jacob and the Angel”. Unfortunately, as the album was only released today, Suzanne didn’t quite get the rapturous response that she was hoping for. The audience of forty- and fifty-somethings were certainly appreciative and respectful though, if a little subdued.
There were moments when the heft that a band can provide did feel like it was missing
That said, they weren’t a great deal more animated during the sizeable servings from Miss Vega’s first couple of albums, Suzanne Vega (1985) and Solitude Standing (1987), even if the applause at least suggested that people were having a good time. Song after song from this period of her career reminded you of just how ubiquitous Suzanne seemed to be on mid-1980s radio. “Small Blue Thing”, “Solitude Standing”, “Left of Centre” and, of course, “Luka” are quite an impressive track-listing by anyone’s reckoning.
The closing song was the evergreen “Tom’s Diner”. This was not sung in the accapella style in which it first appeared on Solitude Standing, but more like the famous DNA club-remix of 1990. That wasn’t the last surprise either. After a quick breather, Suzanne and her guitarist, Jerry Leonard, returned to treat the audience to a version of Lou Reed’s “Walk on the Wild Side”, which had plenty swaying in their seats. After “Horizon”, another tune from Tales from the Realm..., Suzanne then returned to “Cracking” from her debut album, after an audience request, before finishing off with 1999’s “Rosemary” to much applause.
Vega made herself known to the world in 1985, strumming an acoustic guitar to accompany her singing. Since then, she has incorporated full backing bands and various bits of technology to present her songs. Tonight, for the most part, Suzanne sang and played her acoustic guitar while Jerry Leonard made noises not dissimilar to those that can be found on Dire Straits’ Brothers in Arms album. While this wasn’t unpleasant, there were moments when the heft that a band can provide did feel like it was missing.
