99.9 F°

Suzanne Vega

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 8, 1992)
• Original Release Date: September 8, 1992
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: A&M
• ASIN: B000002G0O
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #117,967 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Import pressing of her 1992 album that is out-of-print domestically. Suzanne Vega makes it clear from the cover inwards that she's up to something different on 99.9 F. Her fiery red and yellow photo-manipulated hair and bandaged finger stand in stark contrast to the orderly mysticism conveyed on the front of her previous release, DAYS OF OPEN HAND. Producer MitchellFroom surrounds her strong songs with surprises in instrumentation, arrangement, and mix. The set opens smartly with a couple of selections that stand in stark contrast to the more traditional folk bearing of her previous output. By the third song, "In Liverpool", things break open to reveal a lushand popish heart. The title song is a dazzling groove of fuzzy and staccato guitar chords cast over layered percussion and her lilting vocal. An array of superb players, includingdrummer Jerry Marotta, guitarists David Hidalgo and RichardThompson, and bass player Bruce Thomas accompany her. While it represented a bit of an unexpected turn at the time of its release in 1992, 99.9 F is one of Vega's finest albums. Universal. --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My favorite Vega album, March 27, 2002

By	Craig Clarke (New England) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

I'll just start off by saying that I am not a Suzanne Vega "fan." I find folk music generally offputting because of its innate pretention (and that's going to get me a few unhelpful ratings right there).

I must have simply been waiting for something like this to come along. The songs are terrific, the beats contagious, and the music way ahead of its time.

Perhaps this inspired Tori Amos to go electronic on From the Choirgirl Hotel (my favorite Tori album). Perhaps the producer is due the credit. Perhaps I just came in at the right time and the songs hit a chord with me. All I know is I never get tired of listening to these tunes, I've featured this album on at least two of my Listmania!'s, and I can't really get into anything else by her (except for Nine Objects of Desire, which represents a bit of a departure from this format).

The lack of length of the songs has given some pause, but I believe they are the better for it. In fact, my favorite, "When Heroes Go Down," clocks in at just under two minutes.

I would recommend this for anyone looking for introspective tunes with a good electronic feel, especially fans of Tori's Choirgirl album.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Rock In This Pocket., March 22, 2000

By	Jason Stein (Chula Vista, CA United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

I have all five of Vega's cds and I think she was her most daring with 1992's 99.9F. She blended alternative electronic sounds into her music creating a kind of Nine Inch Nails/Vega sound. I like all of her work, but I think this is a classic cd along with 1996's Nine Objects of Desire. She really hit her stride here. Songs like "Rock In This Pocket", "Blood Makes Noise", "99.9F", "In Liverpool", "If You Were In My Movie" and "As Girls Go" make this a classic. This is a must have for any rock collector.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Electronic, engaging, excellent, December 22, 2003

By A Customer

This is the most musically interesting of Suzanne Vega's recordings, and was my personal favorite from its release until "Songs in Red and Gray" a decade later. The debate below about the industrial or techno effects reminds me of the 40-year-old complaints about Dylan going electric. We started paying attention to him when he plugged in and performed "Like A Rolling Stone", and while I snatched up all her earlier work, much of Vega's most interesting music is here, is electric, and is engaging in large part because of its sound. Every one of Vega's CD's sounds different musically, and thus the notion that this isn't the "typical" Suzanne Vega seems silly to me. The one criticism I've read here with which I agree is that the CD is not perfectly cohesive; the simpler acoustic songs sometimes can sound out of place, however lovely. Perhaps it's just that they aren't always the best compositions here.

There are plusses and minuses to using electronic instruments and sounds. Listening a decade later, I find some of this music sounds dated, which will never happen with an acoustic guitar and a lovely voice, as on Ms. Vega's first CD. Still, it's the electronica that draws me in here, along with lyrics that focus as much on warm blood as her first collection focused on frozen water. Perhaps that's why she chose to use such pulsing electronic beats. I honestly don't know what's on her "best of" CD, but I couldn't imagine one without "Fat Man & Dancing Girl", "99.9Fº", "Blood Makes Noise", "If You Were In My Movie", "Rock in This Pocket", or "Bad Wisdom". I.e., I think more than half this CD is essential Suzanne Vega. I can't say that about any of her other five brilliant recordings.

The lyrics here are just as interesting as the music, as one would expect, and though Ms. Vega's cool detached observations can be found as readily here as elsewhere, there was perhaps more warmth and humanity here than in previous recordings. I experienced this CD as Suzanne Vega coming down to earth and having a bit of fun along with her poetry and her musings about disturbing subjects and bad men. If you aren't a folk purist and you are a Suzanne Vega fan, I can't imagine this not being a favorite. If you're new to her work, this is a better place to start than most.