Warm Strangers

Vienna Teng, Vienna Teng | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 24, 2004)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Virt Records
• ASIN: B0000ZMHBU
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (59 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #66,459 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

It's not unusual to see someone leave her high tech job these days to seek out new adventures. But how many of them wind up performing on the "Late Show with David Letterman" less than six months later?
By the time San Francisco-based singer/songwriter/pianist Vienna Teng, 26, quit her full-time software engineering job at Cisco Systems in 2002, she had signed with independent label Virt Records and was preparing for her full-length CD release, "Waking Hour." She was soon opening for such artists as Shawn Colvin and Joan Osborne. With her graceful melodies and evocative lyrics, Vienna has garnered critical acclaim and a rapidly growing legion of fans throughout the world.
Vienna has returned with her sophomore release, "Warm Strangers," a diverse collection of lush, melodic songs, incorporating Vienna's classical background and folk sensibilities within a contemporary pop framework. Whereas "Waking Hour," written during the high school and college years, was mostly autobiographical, "Warm Stranger"s marks Vienna's bold leap into fiction. Orchestral and acoustic landscapes, using everything from string quartets to slide guitars, provide an inviting sonic backdrop for her short stories of love, death, struggle and hope.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

58 of 61 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Is it possible to wear out a CD?, April 16, 2004

By 

Rosalind Davis (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Warm Strangers (Audio CD)

I certainly hope not, because I've been playing this CD over and over ever since I got my greedy little hands on it.

I first heard Vienna Teng's music on a friend's copy of the independent release of her first album, Waking Hour, and I became a fan with "Between" and "The Tower," with their graceful lyrics and catchy tunes, and the absolutely gorgeous "Lullaby for a Stormy Night," which is sweet and charming and never fails to make me get a little teary in that way very personal songs do. I had the rerelease of Waking Hour pre-ordered for over a month, and it was completely worth the wait.

Warm Strangers even outdoes Waking Hour. Lots of people will compare Vienna to Tori Amos, Sarah McLaughlan, and Norah Jones, who are all artists I like but I don't think that the comparisons are completely warranted. First off, Vienna has the ability to write lyrics that are both deeply layered, complex, and moving as well simply musical, but I feel like many other artists tend to choose either the sound of the words or the meaning of the words, without really combining them with as much grace as she does.

Second, one of my favorite things is that all of Vienna's music is very personal, so when you listen to her you feel like she's sitting across a little table from you and leaning in and telling you a story. This effect is heightened when you see her live, since she always has a story to go along with the song. That feeling of intimacy is something that I think the vast majority of artists can't create so completely as she does, and it's part of what makes her so listenable. In this way, she is very much like Norah Jones, who I think has a lot of that same ability to make music seem like a one-on-one conversation between the singer and the audience, but their styles are dramatically different.

Finally, Vienna Teng's music is not easy to just pigeonhole and move on. You have to listen to the lyrics, listen to the music, and think about what the contrasts and agreements between the music and words mean about the song itself. A great example of this is Shasta, which has really kind of heavy lyrics and is about something serious, but is sung with a lightness and written with a lot of humor and fun.

This CD is incredible; there isn't a track I'd even consider mediocre on it. My favorites are are Harbor, which I find personally very meaningful, as well as being just a great song, Shasta, Hope on Fire, and the absolutely lovely Green Island Serenade, which is sung in Chinese, but the lyrics in Pinyin, as well as a translation, are available on her website: [...]

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Vienna Teng Takes You On A Gorgeous and Magical Journey..., August 21, 2005

By 

Rocky "Raquel" (Iowa, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Warm Strangers (Audio CD)

Warm Strangers is amazing I must say. I came across Vienna Teng online and I was always curious of her. She sounded like she had a very memorable and lovely voice and her piano skills seemed great. Finally I bought the c.d. after hearing Harbor for probably the twentieth time on Amazon's sample. Harbor is the song that propelled me the deepest to buy this c.d. and it is indeed the most strongest and favored song on here for me. Yet there are so many other songs on here that capture me as well now that I have listened to the full c.d. a few times over.
The one thing I must say I love about this c.d. is its lyrics. Some of the songs on here are so strong because of the lyrics, and how Vienna sings them makes them instant favorites. Vienna has background sound on here that is wonderful and suited well for the moods of each song so well. The piano is lovely with Vienna. She is another woman behind the piano, but with her own voice and her own words, and she deserves to be recognized.
I say she is a lot better than Alicia Keys, the only young woman really being favored in the media for her piano skills. Open your eyes people and listen to Vienna Teng! This is the woman you should be hearing! She is among the many young talented female artists that should be recognized but just aren't. Charlotte Martin, Keri Noble, and of course Vanessa Carlton are some of the women that are not recognized for their true talent and Vienna Teng is right next to them. That upsets me, especially while hearing Vienna sing those lovely high notes like on Mission Street. Vienna and a lot other unrecognized female talent could seriously kick a lot of these constantly favored women of the media out off their high horses if just given the chance. Yet the media only wants women who strip and talk about having the perfect boyfriend. That's is a downright shame, for they have no idea how wonderful it is to hear something so different, so magical, and so emotional as Vienna's voice like on My Medea. They're missing out, and they have no idea how much.

Anyway, you fellow readers understand me. Because you think of the exact same thing when you hear such talent as Vienna's. I really enjoy this c.d. I am eager to hear more from her. I believe she holds much talent. I have become a strong fan of hers. And the more I hear her the more I stray from the radio. Thanks Vienna for that.

1) Feather Moon- Love this song. I believe it is an excellent beginning to such a c.d. as this one. It is a slow, haunting song and I enjoy it. 5/5

2) Harbor- This song was the whole reason I bought the c.d. in the first place. I could not get this song out of my head. It is amazingly catchy and beautiful. It is quicker than the first song with a great piano melody. The best song on here to me. 10/5

3) Hope On Fire- I love this song's lyrics. They ring all too true. It is faster, and it makes your heart pound with the heat of her lyrics. Excellent. 5/5

4) Shine- Now she tones it down a bit with this song. Again the lyrics you can instantly attach yourself to, but alas after the first three songs, this song kind of lacks. I love the piano on this though. 4/5

5) Mission Street- Wow this song is great, especially in the chorus. Very beautiful. The background music blends well with the lyrics of the song. 5/5

6) My Medea- This has to be my next favorite next to Harbor. This song is just so powerful and amazingly well written. This story makes me sad because I know the legend of Medea and like all Greek tales it was such a tragedy. Vienna sings it well though, making it so emotional and wonderful to hear over and over. Great job Vienna. If people had ears this would be her second single after Harbor. 10/5

7) Shasta- You know this song is so upbeat but when you read the lyrics you don't think it should match well with what she is saying. Yet somehow it goes well. I like an upbeat sound after the sad tale of Medea. The piano is nice on this song. 3.5/5

8) Homecoming- A lot of people like this song, but I must say I am not one of them. This is one of the songs I have a problem with. It's not a terrible song, it actually has a nice melody but the song I felt was too long. The melody can only last so long before it got to be boring and so I only find myself hearing the song for like three minutes and then skipping most of the time. The melody just gets boring after awhile. 3/5

9) Anna Rose- She makes a strong comeback for me on this song. How beautiful this song is, how beautiful Vienna's voice is on this song, I just love it. I would have liked for this song to be on the radio as well. 5/5

10) Passage- Wow this song is just haunting as well as powerful. Vienna sings by herself and she sings about dying in a car crash. This song kind of reminds me of Vanessa Carlton's song the Wreckage, where she is singing about death in a car wreckage as well. Yet both songs are entirely different and are spoken of differently and just interesting to hear. I like it for its spooky atmosphere. 4/5

11) The Atheist Christmas Carol- I love, I love, I love this song! Another slow song, and very beautiful. Not as dark as Passage, and now she is back with her piano. This song is just delicate and yet emotional. I love the chorus the most. 5/5

Hidden Track- This song is called the Green Island Serenade I believe, this is what I have read on other reviews on here so I assume that's right. It is spoken in a language I do not know, but on this site a reviewer did translate for us. Just look around for it. Overall it is a nice melody, but nothing special to me. Just a nice, slow, and soft song to hear and relax to. Nothing too exciting though, it certainly doesn't match up to Harbor or My Medea. The piano though is so beautiful on it though that it deserves an extra star. 4/5

So overall I believe I give this c.d. a good 4.5 out of 5 stars. It is a great c.d. with great songs, there is not one song on here I hate, but indeed there are one or two songs on here that pale in comparison to all the other brilliant ones. With Warm Strangers she has taken me on a gorgeous and magical journey that only I regret I had not travelled on sooner.

PS- If you love Warm Strangers, check out these others:
Harmonium- Vanessa Carlton
Fearless- Keri Noble
On Your Shore- Charlotte Martin
This Fire- Paula Cole
Ophelia- Natalie Merchant
Under the Iron Sea- Keane
All For Believing EP- Missy Higgins
Safe in A Crazy World- Corrinne May

26 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Green Island Serenade, March 7, 2004

By 

Yeou Hsiang Cheng (Taipei, Taiwan) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Warm Strangers (Audio CD)

The hidden song, Green Island Serenade, is a very famous Chinese song in Taiwan. Green Island is a beautiful island in Taiwan.

Green Island Serenade

The Green Island is like a boat
floating in the moon night.
Oh girl, you have been floating in my heart too.
Let the sound of my song follow the breeze
blowing open the curtain of your window.
Let my passion follow the flowing water
pouring out my heart for you endlessly.
The long shadows of the palm trees
cannot hide my love.
The bright and beautiful moonlight
lights up my heart all the more.
The night of Green Island has been so calm.
Oh girl, why are you still in silence?