European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 21, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Keeping the Folk spirit alive and Well Singer songwriter Suzanne Vega has released a new album a Days of open hand. A by Hillel Italie associated press Suzanne Vega has a new Black jacket jeans without holes and adjoining lofts that look As big As Greenwich Village. A Small Reward for being credited with keeping the sound of Small clubs and coffeehouses alive during the age of greed for cracking the top 10 at a time when female Folk singers were As Welcome on the radio As liberals were in the White House thanks to one sunday afternoon six years ago when Vega dashed off a Catchy song called Luka women and guitars acoustic or electric Are everywhere Tracy Chapman Michelle shocked Edie Brickell Marti Jones but the one who made it first admits she needed some time off before rejoining the movement that commercial Success and grammy nominations posed mysteries too perplexing even for this enigmatic Singer songwriter Quot i stopped writing i stopped listening to music. I did t want to hear anything Quot explained Vega seated at a Long wooden table in a Manhattan loft that overlooks the Hudson River Quot i did t want to listen to the radio. I was really tired i was really wondering what. Had happened wondering what it  the Days of prowling Manhattan in torn clothes Are Over no More lugging her guitar to clubs that turn her away dressed neatly in jacket and jeans and a White Turtleneck she seems a bit amused that Young performers Are tagged the Quot new Quot Suzanne Vega the Way she was called the Quot now Quot Joni Mitchell or the Quot new Quot Bob Dylan she also admits that for her new album Days of open hand she was looking for a Quot new Quot Suzanne Vega herself Quot i Felt like i had written my songs that i had done in my Early 20s and suddenly they were All finished and now what am i going to do Quot t Hough she concedes that tired of sleeping with its lament Quot of mom i wonder when i la be waking Quot was about getting started again Vega insists that once she began writing the songs poured out. Touring caused delays and Vega admits that Long periods of time too Long were spent on the arrangements like the one for big space. The song started with Vega strumming a guitar in a hotel room a Quot fast nervous feel Quot she recalled. She gave the demo to her band which tried several arrangements fast and slow. Eventually she went Back to the feeling of the original recording it took a year to finish the song. Quot i get that feeling of thinking too much Quot Vega admitted Quot that Little voice in there that s thinking is also editing and commenting and making sarcastic comments at some Point you have to say a Well Cut it out Quot growing up in Manhattan Vega s thoughts were of stardom modelling acting singing dancing. As a kid she loved entertaining putting on puppet shows. As a teen Ager she attended the High school of performing arts. Anything she said to get the attention of adults. Quot there were things that happened in my life that seemed to me to be different than what i could see happening to other people Quot she said. Quot some of that is people told me i was smart. Since i was seven years old people said she s so smart she can read Huckleberry finn you just have this idea of yourself As being gifted that you have this ability. As a kid i read a lot of books. I Felt sometimes the things that happened in my life were like things i read in  her Story turned from rags to riches in 1987 when Luka became a no. 3 single and pushed worldwide sales of the album Solitude standing to Over 3 million. Luka about an abused child was based on a boy i to lived in Vega s building. She did t know anything about the child just that his name was Luka. Her imagination filled in the rest winning a Battle Over the Little voice that urged her to give up the song entirely. Quot i thought to myself i think in be really nailed something  then i said to myself i done to think anyone will know what it s about then i said to myself if they do know what it s about i Don t know if they la like it but i decided to myself that that was just the Way it was going to  the Success of Luka gave Vega the attention of adults everywhere and kids too. She recalled receiving thousands of letters from victims of child abuse. Gram officials nominated her three times for record of they song of the year and Best pop vocalist. A she did no twin any grammy and the acclaim la eventually died Down but that s probably Good new Vega reasons. She needs the time to herself cherishing the Freedom of the character who just sip Coffee and observes in her song Toms diner. Even t spacious loft must be entered through a door Markei  and the thought of being Quot legitimate frightened i she worried people would compare her to barbra Streisand instead of Early influences such As Dylan r Leonard Cohen. What matters Are traditions Folk traditions a a Singer a guitar and a Story to Tell. Alst an audience however Small to listen. A when i started out in 1976,1 was sort of arrogant had All these songs and i did no to care that Folk music was t popular anymore. I always believed that this music really did t have anything to do with the trend i still believe that Folk music is at the Root of All music Quot if a song is Good its Good it does t matter if it s Only on the acoustic  Suzanne Vega performs in the following locations. Germany Stuttgart Liede Halle May 21.  Oxford Apollo May 27 London Dominion m. 28-30 and june 1-2various a teenage mutant ninja turtles they slice they Dice they order out for pizza. But do teenage mutant ninja turtles sing no thank goodness and that s the major musical pleasure with teenage mutant ninja turtles the sound track from this year s preteen a at q Mott favorite film despite when i o no i some High Quality dance tunes  Hammer s this is what we do and i Tek 3 s spin that wheel which brings in techno tronic s a kid k to pump up the Jam a most of the music Here is the sort of thing that would be greatly improved by a fight scene. In All an interesting souvenir but a forgettable album. A . Considine Baltimore Sun Jane child a Jane child at first glance its tempting to take Jane child for a female Prince. After All she not Only wrote and produced All the songs on Jane child but played nearly All the instruments. Prince however rounded off his virtuosity with an unusual look a distinctive musical approach and an immediately recognizable sound the nose ringed child however has yet to proceed beyond the Quot unusual look Quot stage. Though her Best work a the single Don t Wanna fall in love a shows not Only an engaging melodic sense but an impressive command of the studio that seems less a demonstration of Genius than a creative Fluke As the rest of the album is noteworthy Only for its mundane Ness. A .c.London quire boys a a bit of what you fancy As anyone who has Ever tuned into a classic Rock radio station can attest there a something in canal enduring about the blues based growl of late 60s English Rock. Whether it s the whiskey cured growl c Rod Stewart vocal or the ragged rhythms of a Keith Richards guitar part there s a certain magic to Hosi sounds a magic that younger acts like the London quire boys would desperately love to duplicate but bit of what you fancy is not a particularly re Markab simulation a it seems More the work of a better tha average bar band. Though Singer Spike offers a reasonable facsimile of Stewart s vocals he lacks in fire that made his mentors mannerisms matter likewise though the band seems to know every Stor and faces lick on record they re without a clue the comes to understanding the chemistry that made in licks work. Stick with the originals for now. A we at s record a review Page 16 a a a the stars and stripes monday May 21, 1990