05-05-2025, 08:47
SUZANNE VEGA ~ Flying with Angels
![[Image: 250px-Flying_with_Angels.jpg]](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/40/Flying_with_Angels.jpg/250px-Flying_with_Angels.jpg)
I have listened to this album twice. Of the ten tracks, I liked five of them – both times. She still sounds good and continues to make social commentary in her own inimitable way. This is her first album in 11 years, and her output has not been prolific so I looked forward to a new release.
There are a few surprises here, a little foray into Motown – not territory into which one expects Ms Vega to venture. I’m on the fence as far as that one goes although there’s a certain indefinable appeal about the song and it’s elegantly done. She does teeter on the brink of spoken word in style generally, always has, which is fine, then here she delivers a rap-based track which you can keep as far as I’m concerned – a tribute to Lucinda Williams which I suppose may be fitting considering one can’t exactly fit Ms Williams into a neat little box! The third is a punk oriented offering on the state of NYC! I don’t like rap (with one or two rare exceptions), and was not sold on the NYC lament, “Rats” however, it’s impossible not to acknowledge Vega’s superior lyrical ability and impeccable delivery. On the whole, I have been pleased to find something new and thought-provoking to try out, especially given the dearth of new material likely to pique my interest.
Suzanne Vega (IG) herself says "Each song on the album takes place in an atmosphere of struggle. Struggle to survive, to speak, to dominate, to win, to escape, to help someone else, or just live." … “My new song Speakers’ Corner is out now, with a new music video by talented animator Michael Arthur (@inklines). A Speakers' Corner is an area where free speech, open air public speaking, debate, and discussion are allowed. I guess we better use it now before we find it gone!”
She is ably abetted by guitarist and producer Gerry Leonard who has quite the pedigree in the biz including having worked with Bowie, Laurie Anderson and Rufus Wainwright to name a few.
There’s no bettering Solitude Standing, in my view, and that said, I think there are a couple of gems on this one. The title track …
“Last Train from Mariupol”
I have listened to this album twice. Of the ten tracks, I liked five of them – both times. She still sounds good and continues to make social commentary in her own inimitable way. This is her first album in 11 years, and her output has not been prolific so I looked forward to a new release.
There are a few surprises here, a little foray into Motown – not territory into which one expects Ms Vega to venture. I’m on the fence as far as that one goes although there’s a certain indefinable appeal about the song and it’s elegantly done. She does teeter on the brink of spoken word in style generally, always has, which is fine, then here she delivers a rap-based track which you can keep as far as I’m concerned – a tribute to Lucinda Williams which I suppose may be fitting considering one can’t exactly fit Ms Williams into a neat little box! The third is a punk oriented offering on the state of NYC! I don’t like rap (with one or two rare exceptions), and was not sold on the NYC lament, “Rats” however, it’s impossible not to acknowledge Vega’s superior lyrical ability and impeccable delivery. On the whole, I have been pleased to find something new and thought-provoking to try out, especially given the dearth of new material likely to pique my interest.
Suzanne Vega (IG) herself says "Each song on the album takes place in an atmosphere of struggle. Struggle to survive, to speak, to dominate, to win, to escape, to help someone else, or just live." … “My new song Speakers’ Corner is out now, with a new music video by talented animator Michael Arthur (@inklines). A Speakers' Corner is an area where free speech, open air public speaking, debate, and discussion are allowed. I guess we better use it now before we find it gone!”
She is ably abetted by guitarist and producer Gerry Leonard who has quite the pedigree in the biz including having worked with Bowie, Laurie Anderson and Rufus Wainwright to name a few.
There’s no bettering Solitude Standing, in my view, and that said, I think there are a couple of gems on this one. The title track …
“Last Train from Mariupol”
"The surest sign that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe is that it has never tried to contact us." ~ Bill Watterson
