Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Nine objects of Desire; 12 songs of perfection, January 20, 1999
By A Customer
Having been a longtime casual Suzanne Vega listener who never liked her enough to actually purchase an album (though "Solitude Standing" and "99.9F" have seared themselves in my brain through listening to them on others' stereos), this album caught me completely off-guard. It is so smart, so wise, so sensual--God, is it sensual--that you may find yourself constantly wanting to replay certain tracks; did she really turn that phrase so cleverly? ("Caramel" "No Cheap Thrill" and "My Favorite Plum" rank high in that respect.) What are those mysterious instruments she has backing her up? ("Lolita" and "The World Before Columbus" spring to mind.) How is she using her voice--never a powerful or especially dramatic one till now--in such enigmatic ways, with so many sly nuances? ("Stockings" "Headshots") Each song is a gem when listened to on its own, but the cumulative effect of the entire album is to feel as if one is sinking deeper and deeper into a mystery--Vega is Everywoman and none you've ever known before, and every door she opens leads to another, smaller door in the labyrinth. This is unquestionably one of the best albums by a female singer-songwriter in the 1990's, ranking up there with the best of Sheryl Crow, Sam Phillips, Liz Phair, Fiona Apple, Alanis Morrissette, Madonna, et all. Vega, cooler than any of them, bewitches so dextrously because she does not seek our approval; she is already queen of her own dominion, and we have the rare privilege of being allowed a fleeting, enigmatic glimpse into it before she quietly and firmly locks the gate and pockets the key, smiling inscrutably to herself. Go, be seduced.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
See If You Can Identify The Nine Objects, December 3, 2003
Being a child of the new generation, I kinda swallowed all of Suzanne Vega's recordings into one full year of listening (even her latest stuff); each record being so richly layered and unique, I took my time with each and it was not easy to decide, but this record, 1996's Nine Objects Of Desire was most definitely my favorite.For one, it's different; it's a jazz-tingled, blues sprinkled, funky instrumentalist love affair with seduction in general. Each song is a short anecdote to passion; and this passion can be as exquisite, yet simple as a plum (My Favorite Plum), as supple as caramel during the envisioning of an intimate evening (Caramel), or a masculine figure to sweep her off her feet (Thin Man - a personal favorite due to its sheer exuberance); some of these songs denote so much sentiment that it makes you wonder how privileged Suzanne Vega was to feel these fundamentally rare emotions, or at least render such a rich retelling of them. Nonetheless, the topper of the concept of the entire album is that they are really desires; she marvels in the sensations, but there is this prevailing emotion of yearning, which is how life is, for the most part. The near 40 minutes that the album lasts will be like a breather, a snippet of the perfect erotic fantasy, the perfect evening, the perfect love affair, the perfect vocal savoring, even the perfect honeymoon. The album really scratched an itch in me. Highlights: Lolita, No Cheap Thrill, Casual Match, Caramel, Birthday, The World Before Columbus, and Thin Man.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Softer and More Refined Vega!, July 24, 2005
This was Suzanne Vega's second album produced by Mitchell Froom. There is a great variation in moods and styles and Froom obviously has a great skill of giving Vega's songs inventive arrangements without ruining them with over-production.
This album is a natural follow-up the very experimental album "99.9 F" which had a lot of odd sounds and rhythms. You find quite a lot of the same things here, but the overall impression is that of a softer and more refined album.
What make Suzanne Vega's albums so good is the songs and her soft voice; what makes her albums great is the perfectionism in which the songs are arranged and produced. Both elements are present on this album, which may very well turn out to be her most satisfying and enduring.
A handful of these songs would have fitted nicely into "99.9 F"; "Birthday", "Stockings", "Casual Match", "No Cheap Thrill" and "Lolita" . Among them my favourites are "Stockings", with great sensual lyrics, "No Cheap Thrill" and the almost heavy "Birthday".
On other tracks a more refined touch is apparent. "Caramel" is a latin-inspired great tune with a tasteful hornarrangement. "My favourite Plum" is another memorable song with a beautiful string arrangement. "World Before Columbus" are "Honeymoon Suite" two acoustic songs with Vega playing the guitar. I particularly like the thought-provoking lyrics of "Honeymoon Suite".
"Headshots" is another favourite.
Least appealing are the jazzy track "Tombstone" and the riff-based "Casual Match" and "Lolita"
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