Close-Up, Vol. 2 - People and Places (Deluxe Edition)

Editors’ Notes

The Close-Up series allows Suzanne Vega to revisit her catalog and record her songs the way she hears them today. This mostly means stripping down the songs that were once electronically over-enhanced, like the timeless and gorgeous “In Liverpool,” and rebalancing the subtle beauty of her classic “Luka,” allowing the pathos of the song to soak in without excessive rock intrusion. “Tom’s Diner” is given a cool laid-back interpretation where an organ and some acoustic bass carry the backing tracks. “Zephyr & I” keeps up a folk-rock pace. “New York Is a Woman” adds sweet orchestration to her subtle observations. “Calypso” shows off how her voice has lost none of its flight over the years. “The Man Who Played God” is a new tune she wrote with Danger Mouse and the late Mark Linkous of Sparklehorse, proving Vega still looks to the future. It’s just that she’d like to set a few things from her past straight while doing so.