Suzanne Vega Album: “Days of Open Hand”

When 'Days Of Open Hand' was first released I bought it and loved it. After not hearing it for over 10 years, I recently bought a new copy and listened with fresh ears and I can now understand the mixed reviews I've seen of this album. It's certainly worth buying for anyone who likes S.Vega's sound but judging it against the genius-level standard set by her other albums, Days Of Open Hand feels a little bland. There are some very good songs, my favorite being 'Rusted Pipe', but overall the album seems to lack the inspiration I'm accustomed to in S.Vega's records. If you're looking to buy your first S.Vega album, this isn't the one. Go with 'Solitude Standing' or 'Nine Objects Of Desire'. If you're already a fan but don't own 'Days Of Open Hand', you should certainly buy it.

You never hear a living soul talking about this album; at least I don't. That's why I'm glad the few [people] prove that I'm not the only one who thinks there's something special about this album.

Days Of Open Hand is enormously overlooked. Why? Did it get bad reviews? Were people 'scared off' because this album just needs some more listening to than Solitude Standing? I will definately be the last to say that this album is accessible; when I first heard it I didn't care for it at all and forgot about it. Though, luckily, there are always moments you try out the albums you forgot about again. I listened to it over and over; and now it's my favorite Vega album.

The album is not brilliant from beginning to end. It's especially the opening song Tired Of Sleeping that I'm having trouble with; it's not bad, but a bit too poppy too really fit the rest of the album. Book Of Dreams has the same problem.

The rest is gorgous though. All the songs are highly poetic and never pretend to be 'deep', though they are. The more I hear certain songs, the more they grow on me and the more I get addicted. Rusted Pipe is too beautiful for words; some people here say that it's one of the weaker songs on the album. They really must be deaf to ignore it's brilliance. Institution Green, Big Space and Pilgrimage... they're all songs that need some more listening to than your average Suzanne Vega song, but you will be rewarded with an album full of downright gems.

Days Of The Open Hand is musically the weakest Suzanne Vega album. It's biggest problem is that it's songs don't display a certain atmosphere , don't seem to represent a specific life period of the singer. Her debut had that New York autumn melancholy , Solitude Standing was a strong tracklist of magic folk melodies , 99.9F revealed the funky side of the artist while Nine Objects Of Desire was more jazzy and dark . Days Of The Open Hand now is recognazible Vega music but withought a certain mood in the sound . It has it's good moments and it's bad moments. Something's wrong with pop songs like Tired Of Sleeping and Rusted Pipe . Although the lyrics are as challenging as always the music part lacks the ability to charm. Yet it's highlights are something more than exceptional . Lo-fi ballad Room Off The Street touches perfection while Big Space unfolds an underground determination on the refrain which is strangely affecting. The song which stands out though is probably Fifty Fifty Chances which talks about a girl who , after a failed suicide attemp is recovering at a hospital bed. The backround violins create a sense of cold horrow while Vega describes the girl's situation with her tender , inexpressible vocals ( "Her little heart / it beats so fast / her body trembles / with the effort to last " ) . Yet one hauntig issue remains : "She is going home / tomorrow at ten / the question is / will she do it again ?... "

Disturbing, cryptic, mystical, haunting. This is indeed Suzanne Vega's darkest recording, and all of her recordings are dark in some way. Nonetheless, when compared with her previous two releases, this CD seemed a drastic departure into a world of dreams, fear, mystery, perhaps even insanity. I'm shaking my head at the reviews describing the nightmarish "Tired of Sleeping" as a pop song or lullaby - no. Ms. Vega experimented with atmospheric sounds here in a way that captivated me and perhaps anticipated her next CD with its more dramatic experiments with industrial sounds. My sense is that this is her most emotionally courageous material; that it is almost a stream of subconsciousness. It speaks in the language of dreams instead of the poetry of the waking. I am another of those for whom this is their least favorite Suzanne Vega CD, but I am also among those who find it challenging and hauntingly beautiful. In the end, I am more comfortable with more familiar feelings about divorce on "Songs in Red and Gray" or with the ever-so-cool music on 99.9Fº. If you are more open to being uncomfortable, even disturbed, you may find this a truly remarkable work.

"Days of.." captures Suzanne at her most difficult and sophisticated. This album, however, wasn't much of a commercial success, due to the fact that the mainstream audience Suzanne had gained with "Luka" was taken aback by the dry, anti-poppish character of many songs. Unfortunately, "Days.." doesn't even feature Suzanne's 1990 surprise hit "Tom's diner", a #1 chart burner in Germany and many other countries. The disc's three singles, "Tired of sleeping", "Men in a war", and "Book of dreams" are quite enjoyable, though, but the heart of this album undoubtedly lies in its second half. Lyrically, 'intellectual' puts it mildly, and the music doesn't bear any resemblance to pop hooks. The songwriting is only accessible to a relatively small circle of listener, but to the credit of Suzanne and her band, they manage to pull out several effective fusions of spare acoustic guitar licks with ghostly keyboards, as "Big space", "Predictions," and "Pilgrimage" prove. "Room off the street" even sounds a bit funny and playful. Not an immediately rewarding album (AMG rates it with 2 stars only), but it grows on you and I recently rediscovered it for myself.