(As noted in my first Essentials entry, this is an occasional series in which I spotlight albums that, in my estimation, everyone should experience at least once.)
Released on April 1st, 1987, Suzanne Vega’s second album, Solitude Standing, is a near-perfect gem that time has yet to – and will likely never – tarnish. Its poetic power is matched by mesmerizing melodies with perfect arrangements.
The opener, “Tom’s Diner,” is one highlight.
The first time I heard the song wasn’t on the album, however, but via a Fast Folk LP a year or two earlier while deejaying the Folk Show on WPSU. It’s a different recording, but still a cappella, and still a richly detailed portrait of an everyday occurrence – catching coffee inside a diner before heading to work. “There’s a woman/on the outside/looking inside/does she see me?/No she does not/really see me/cause she sees her own refection.” It captures humanity at its essence.
The song became an unlikely hit a few years later after two British deejays added a Soul II Soul beat to an unauthorized remix that Vega’s record company then embraced and officially released.
The remix isn’t on the original album, however. Instead, the LP continues in the vein of the original “Tom’s Diner,” featuring a succession of vivid pictures of life internal and external. One of the most memorable is “Luka,” which reached No. 3 on the pop charts – a true surprise given its subject matter. She based it, she’s said, on a real little boy she knew, though she doubts he was abused. (And here’s some trivia: Shawn Colvin provides backing vocals on the song.)
The title tune is another brilliant turn, with Vega’s poetic lyrics equaled by the deft backing of her band, who – as with many of the album’s other songs – are credited as co-writers. (Side note: I never knew there was a video for the song until this morning. It’s quite cool.)
Along with Tracy Chapman’s stellar debut and 10,000 Maniacs’ In My Tribe, the album helped spur the folk/folk-rock/singer-songwriter resurgence of the late ‘80s and early ’90s.
“Night Vision” is another favorite:
The track listing:
The Old Grey Cat 
Thanks for writing about this album. I remember buying it on the day of its release and being utterly, utterly captivated by “Luka” when I put side one on the turntable that afternoon. I do like her debut disk more, but a friend put both albums on a tape for me; that cassette had to be the one I listened to in the car most often through the rest of 87 and well into 88. Was very fortunate to see her on tour in July 87.
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One of my favorite albums even after all these decades. I still smash the replay button on Spotify as I did on cassette back in the day. Suzanne Vega writes and sings poetry.
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