''Solitude Standing'' is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter Suzanne Vega, released on April 1, 1987, by

A&M Records A&M Records was an American record label founded as an independent company by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss in 1962. Due to the success of the discography A&M released, the label garnered interest and was acquired by PolyGram in 1989 and began distr ...

. It is the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed album of Vega's, being certified Platinum in the US and reaching number 11 on the ''Billboard'' 200.

25th anniversary

In 2012, to mark the 25th anniversary of the album's release, Vega played four celebratory concerts in which the album was performed in its entirety. The first was in

Copley Square Copley Square , named for painter John Singleton Copley, is a public square in Boston's Back Bay neighborhood, bounded by Boylston Street, Clarendon Street, St. James Avenue, and Dartmouth Street. Prior to 1883 it was known as Art Square due to it ...

, Boston on July 28; the second and third were at

City Winery City Winery is a winery, restaurant, music venue and private event location in Hudson Square, New York City. Other locations include Atlanta, Chicago, Nashville, Boston, Washington D.C., and Philadelphia. Satellite locations are sited in Chicago ...

Hudson Square Hudson Square is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded approximately by Clarkson Street to the north, Canal Street to the south, Varick Street to the east, and the Hudson River to the west. To the north of the neig ...

, New York City on October 9 (7pm and 10pm shows); and the fourth at London's

Barbican Theatre The Barbican Centre is a performing arts centre in the Barbican Estate of the City of London and the largest of its kind in Europe. The centre hosts classical and contemporary music concerts, theatre performances, film screenings and art exhib ...

on October 16. A limited-edition two-CD set, titled '' Solitude Standing: Live at the Barbican'', was produced by Concert Live and made available for purchase instantly after the final show, as well as online.

Song notes

Tom's Diner "Tom's Diner" is a song written in 1982 by American singer and songwriter Suzanne Vega. It was first released as a track on the January 1984 issue of '' Fast Folk Musical Magazine''. Originally featured on her second studio album, '' Solitude S ...

" was included twice on the album with its a cappella vocal as the first track and its instrumental version as the last track. *"Night Vision" was inspired by the poem "Juan Gris" by

Paul Éluard Paul Éluard (), born Eugène Émile Paul Grindel (; 14 December 1895 – 18 November 1952), was a French poet and one of the founders of the Surrealist movement. In 1916, he chose the name Paul Éluard, a matronymic borrowed from his maternal ...

.Suzanne Vega. ''Solitude Standing'' (A&M Records, 1987). *"Calypso" is based on the ''

Odyssey The ''Odyssey'' (; grc, Ὀδύσσεια, Odýsseia, ) is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Iliad'', th ...

'', namely the part in which Calypso is forced to let Odysseus go. *"Gypsy" is mentioned in the book ''

The Perks of Being a Wallflower ''The Perks of Being a Wallflower'' is a coming-of-age epistolary novel by American writer Stephen Chbosky, which was first published on February 1, 1999, by Pocket Books. Set in the early 1990s, the novel follows Charlie, an introverted and obs ...

'' by

Stephen Chbosky Stephen Chbosky (; born January 25, 1970) is an American screenwriter, film producer, film director, novelist, television writer, and television producer. He is best-known for writing the bestselling coming-of-age novel ''The Perks of Being a Wal ...

, in which the main character Charlie includes it on one of his mixtapes. * Vega once stated she wrote "Gypsy" when she was only 18 years old (which would be 1977) which means the song was written 10 years before it was first released. * Tom’s Diner was the song used to test prototype Mp3 compression software.

Track listing

Personnel

* Suzanne Vega – vocals, acoustic guitar * Marc Shulman – electric guitars *

Anton Sanko Anton Sanko is a composer, orchestrator and producer born in New York City. He has been writing music for films since 1991. He scored '' Ouija'' for Blumhouse/ Universal, '' Jessabelle'' for Blumhouse/Lionsgate, and ''Visions'', also for Blumhous ...

– synthesizers, classical guitar on 5 * Michael Visceglia – bass guitar, additional synthesizer on 11 * Stephen Ferrera – drums, percussion Additional personnel *

Shawn Colvin Shawn Colvin (born Shawna Lee Colvin, January 10, 1956) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. While Colvin has been a solo recording artist for decades, she is best known for her 1998 Grammy Award-winning song " Sunny Came Home". Early ...

– backing vocals on 2 *

Mitch Easter Mitchell Blake Easter (born November 15, 1954) is a musician, songwriter, and record producer. Frequently associated with the jangle pop style of guitar music, he is known as producer of R.E.M.'s early albums from 1981 through 1984, and as fron ...

– rhythm guitar on 9 *

Steve Addabbo Steve Addabbo is a record producer, songwriter and audio engineer who helped launch the careers of Suzanne Vega and Shawn Colvin. He had a vital hand in Vega's hit single, " Luka" and Colvin's album '' Steady On''. Career He has produced and/or ...

– guitar on 9 * Frank Christian – electric guitar on 9 * Jon Gordon – guitar solo on 2 *

Sue Evans Sue Evans (born July 7, 1951) is an American jazz, pop, classical, and studio percussionist and drummer. Career She was born in New York, New York, United States. Evans played piano, violin and clarinet as a young child before switching to drums ...

– percussion on 7, drums on 9 Production * Steve Addabbo – producer, engineer * Lenny Kaye – producer * Mitch Easter – producer on 9 * Ronald K. Fierstein – executive producer * Rod O'Brien – engineer *

Shelly Yakus Sheldon Gershon "Shelly" Yakus (born November 1945) is an American music engineer and mixer. Formerly chief engineer and vice president of A&M Records, he was nominated for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1999. Yakus is referenced ...

– mixing * Jeffrey Gold – art direction * Melanie Nissen – art direction, design * Paula Bullwinkel – cover photography

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications and sales

!scope="row", Worldwide , , 5,000,000 , -

References

Bibliography

* {{Authority control 1987 albums A&M Records albums Albums produced by Lenny Kaye Albums produced by Steve Addabbo Albums recorded at A&M Studios Suzanne Vega albums