Close-Up Vol. 1, Love Songs

Suzanne Vega | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 15, 2010)
• Original Release Date: 2010
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Razor & Tie
• ASIN: B003DC8806
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #22,223 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

2010 release from the acclaimed singer/songwriter. On Close Up, Vol. 1: Love Songs, Suzanne is reinterpreting a majority of her catalog in an intimate and personal manner. Include a stripped down versions of her influential hit song 'Marlene On the Wall', the Bossa Nova favorite 'Caramel' and many more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Honest, raw, gutsy and real, March 10, 2010

By 

Jerry D. Weller - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Close-Up Vol. 1: Love Songs (Audio CD)

In the era of omnipresent auto-tune along comes an artist who has the courage to put her voice out there virtually unprocessed sometimes backed by nothing but her guitar. As a result you will not hear pitch perfect vocals here. Sometimes the deep emotions Suzanne is feeling as she sings cause her voice to waver or quake.

So why does this effort rate 5 stars? Stripping away the studio trappings means you will experience a deep emotional connection to every word Suzanne sings. The words remain pristine and poetic and in these stripped down arrangements they shine like diamonds. Many of the old songs are rephrased, sang in new ways by a more mature artist. Songs such as "Harbor Song" reveal their true emotional power in whole new ways when the external trappings have been stripped away.

Finally, Suzanne Vega is a true singer/songwriter. You won't find six different people claiming credit on every song she sings as is the case with so many other "singer/songwriters" who have never written a single song by themselves and won't sing anything somebody else writes unless they get a piece of the songwriting credits and the royalties. Suzanne is the real deal! This album is worth your time and money.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful Songs, October 12, 2010

By 

Daniel G. Lebryk (Chicago) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Suzanne Vega Close-Up, Vol 1, Love Songs (MP3 Download)

On October 12, 2010, Suzanne Vega released Volume 2 of the Close-Up CD's (Close-Up 2: People & Places - select the Deluxe MP3 download version). Volume 2 is the much stronger CD.

This is an amazing, wonderful album. Suzanne Vega has gone back to the studio, removed all the production from the recordings, and stripped her songs to the most important elements. There's no overpowering perfection and extra instruments on these recordings. You can hear Suzanne breathe into the microphone, and you can hear her fingers glide over the guitar strings; you feel as if Suzanne Vega is in your living room performing. These are not unplugged versions of her songs, they are songs performed in the singer song writer tradition, using just the right number of instruments to convey the emotion of the song. On some songs there are backing instruments, on others it is just Suzanne, her voice and acoustic guitar.

If I had only listened to this album by itself, I would declare it fabulous. However, now that Volume 2 has been released, there is a new bar. Volume 1 sounds a bit flatter, with less emotion. These are love songs, they are tender. But they have less range; I feel a bit less emotion with Volume 1. There's more of a Bossa Nova and old time jazz singer flavor running through these songs. The flavor is not unpleasant, just not nearly as powerful and moving as the songs on Volume 2. The Volume 1 songs sound a bit more like the original recordings with similar tone and tempo (Volume 2 mixes things up a lot).

I still love this album. Taken as a whole, with Volumes 1 and 2 playing on shuffle, Suzanne Vega's music cannot be beaten. Her voice has matured and improved so much in the past few years. She sings and plays with a confidence that is wonderful. These discs are something new and wonderful. Even though I am very familiar with the original recordings, these songs sit beautifully in my Suzanne Vega collection.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Honest, raw, gutsy and real, March 10, 2010

By 

Jerry D. Weller - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Suzanne Vega Close-Up, Vol 1, Love Songs (MP3 Download)

In the era of omnipresent auto-tune along comes an artist who has the courage to put her voice out there virtually unprocessed sometimes backed by nothing but her guitar. As a result you will not hear pitch perfect vocals here. Sometimes the deep emotions Suzanne is feeling as she sings cause her voice to waver or quake.

So why does this effort rate 5 stars? Stripping away the studio trappings means you will experience a deep emotional connection to every word Suzanne sings. The words remain pristine and poetic and in these stripped down arrangements they shine like diamonds. Many of the old songs are rephrased, sang in new ways by a more mature artist. Songs such as "Harbor Song" reveal their true emotional power in whole new ways when the external trappings have been stripped away.

Finally, Suzanne Vega is a true singer-songwriter. You won't find six different people claiming credit on every song she sings as is the case with so many other "singer-songwriters" who have never written a single song by themselves and won't sing anything somebody else writes unless they get a piece of the songwriting credits and the royalties. Suzanne is the real deal! This album is worth your time and money.