In pop-music circles, Suzanne Vega is known almost entirely for two
songs from the late 1980s: the child-abuse ballad "Luka" and a song that
launched literally dozens of dance remixes, "Tom's Diner." But Vega has
been making vital, inventive music the entire time — much of it
folk-based, though her sound has taken many smart detours along the way —
and is about to put out her first album of original material in seven
years, Tales From the Realm of the Queen of Pentacles. Performed with her brilliant guitarist and
producer, Gerry Leonard — Vega splits the difference evenly between old
and new — aided greatly by Leonard, who's
worked extensively with David Bowie and lends these songs an
extraordinary amount of color and texture. Vega's songwriting gifts
haven't waned at any point in her long career, and the new songs here —
taken from a concept album about the way our world and the spiritual
realm intersect — sound as sharp as anything she's done. It only makes
sense that, nearly 30 years after her debut, she still examines new
realms with grace, empathy and an explorer's spirit. --STEPHEN THOMPSON
Set List: 01. Marlene On The Wall 02. Caramel 03. Fool's Complaint 04. Crack In The Wall 05. Jacob And The Angel 06. Left Of Center 07. Small Blue Thing 08. The Queen & The Soldier 09. Song Of The Stoic 10. Laying On Of Hands 11. I Never Wear White 12. Don't Uncork What You Can't Contain 13. Luka 14. Tom's Diner 15. Horizon (There Is A Road) 16. Rosemary (Remember Me) 17. You Come From Far Away
