Songs in Red and Gray
2001 studio album by Suzanne Vega
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Songs in Red and Gray is the sixth studio album by American singer-songwriter Suzanne Vega. It was released on September 25, 2001, by A&M Records.
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| Songs in Red and Gray | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | September 25, 2001 | |||
| Recorded | November 2000 â May 2001 | |||
| Studio | Chung King, Sear Sound, Shelter Island Sound, Looking Glass Studio (New York) | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 45:31 | |||
| Label | A&M | |||
| Producer | Rupert Hine | |||
| Suzanne Vega chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 81/100[3] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [2] |
| The A.V. Club | (favorable)[4] |
| Blender | [3] |
| Robert Christgau |  [5] |
| E! Online | B+[3] |
| Entertainment Weekly | B+[6] |
| Mojo |  [3] |
| Q | [3] |
| Rolling Stone | (favorable)[7] |
Music and lyrics
On Songs in Red and Gray, Vega returns to her signature acoustic folk-pop sound, shedding the experiments she had done in the 1990s with her husband, record producer Mitchell Froom.[2] New producer Rupert Hine shows some traces of his past work with '80s new wave bands by employing electronic beats,[4] but mostly allows Vega's voice and guitar to dominate in a manner reminiscent of her debut album and its 1987 follow-up, Solitude Standing.[2][4]
Most of the songs, like "Widow's Walk" and "If I Were a Weapon", deal with the dissolution of Vega's marriage with Froom.[2][4][8] Her "calm, hushed, clear singing"[2] belies the album's "mood of heartbroken defiance".[4] The lyrics are "the most personally revealing songs she has written" in her career.[8]
Track listing
All tracks are written by Suzanne Vega except "St. Clare" written by Jack Hardy.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Penitent" | 4:16 |
| 2. | "Widow's Walk" | 3:33 |
| 3. | "(I'll Never Be) Your Maggie May" | 3:47 |
| 4. | "It Makes Me Wonder" | 4:00 |
| 5. | "Soap and Water" | 3:03 |
| 6. | "Songs in Red and Gray" | 4:18 |
| 7. | "Last Year's Troubles" | 3:35 |
| 8. | "Priscilla" | 4:14 |
| 9. | "If I Were a Weapon" | 2:45 |
| 10. | "Harbor Song" | 4:18 |
| 11. | "Machine Ballerina" | 2:57 |
| 12. | "Solitaire" | 2:10 |
| 13. | "St. Clare" | 2:30 |
| Total length: | 45:31 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 14. | "Golden" | 3:53 |
| Total length: | 49:24 | |
Personnel
- Suzanne Vega â vocals, acoustic guitar
- Gerry Leonard â electric and acoustic guitars, dulcimer, mandolin, zither
- Rupert Hine â keyboards, bass guitar, percussion, drum programming
- Mike Visceglia â bass guitar
- Nik Pugh â drum programming, synth lead
- Jay Bellerose â drums
- Matt Johnson â drums
- Doug Yowell â drums, percussion
- Pamela Sue Man â backing vocals, harmony vocals
- Elizabeth Taubman â harmony vocals
- Stephen W Tayler â recording and mixing engineer
Charts
| Chart (2001) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (ARIA)[9] | 187 |
| French Albums (SNEP)[10] | 36 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[11] | 53 |
| Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[12] | 34 |
| Polish Albums (ZPAV)[13] | 31 |
| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[14] | 47 |
| UK Albums (Official Charts Company)[15] | 100 |
| US Billboard 200[16] | 178 |