Mama's a head full of bees
4 Out of 5 Stars
There has always been a sense of cool about Suzanne Vega's best work, from the battered child of "Luka" to the way her iciness made the remixed version of "Tom's Diner" so deliciously ironic. With her husband and producer Mitchell Froom, she also made one of the best albums of that period, the jazzy "Nine Objects of Desire."
However, Vega and Froom divorced and, for the first time since the Nine Inch Nails inspired "99.9 degrees," Vega lets the emotions crack though. "Songs In Red and Grey" is an emotional tear-down of her relationship, and her most personal album by a long margin. But then, this is Suzanne Vega we're talking about here. When she sings about the pain of of separation, it's not like she's entering Primal Scream therapy. Instead, it is the words that cut deepest.
"Daddy's a dark riddle,
Mama's a handful of thorns,
You are my little kite,
caught up again
in the household storms."
I can't recall a sadder depiction of divorce in a song than that set of lyrics in "Soap and Water," and Vega nails it completely. The song of an affair in the title track also gets under your skin in the same way. Fortunately, Vega does lighten up on the caustic "If I Were A Weapon" and the amusing "Last Year's Troubles." Despite the pain she had to go through to make this album, her listeners reap the benefit of this excellent and emotive album.
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