Suzanne Vega - Solitude Standing

The songs on Solitude Standing, Suzanne Vega's second album, had years listed beside them on the lyric sheet, so you could see that some of them dated back to 1978. But that bold admission heralded the album's triumph -- its diversity was what made it so good. Partially, that was because the old songs were the equal of anything on the first album -- tunes like the a cappella slice-of-life "Tom's Diner" and the warmly romantic "Gypsy" simply wouldn't have fit thematically on the debut. On Solitude Standing, however, they became part of an album of story songs set in a variety of musical contexts; many had band arrangements, and in fact, members of Vega's touring band often were credited as co-writers. Additionally, Vega had developed more as a singer without losing the focused intonation that had made her debut -- one of many compelling elements which helped make "Luka," a character song about domestic abuse, a fluke hit. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide

Name Credits Anton Sanko Synthesizer, Guitar (Classical) Arthur Zarate Assistant Engineer Dan Nash Assistant Engineer Frank Christian Guitar (Electric) Geoff Keehn Assistant Engineer George Cowan Assistant Engineer Jeff Lippay Assistant Engineer Jeffrey Gold Art Direction, Design Joe Martin Assistant Engineer John Gordon Guitar Lenny Kaye Producer Marc DeSisto Assistant Engineer Marc Shulman Guitar (Electric) Mark McKenna Assistant Engineer Matthew Vega Photography Melanie Nissen Art Direction, Design Michael Visceglia Synthesizer, Guitar (Bass) Mitch Easter Mixing, Producer, Guitar (Rhythm) Paula Bullwinkel Photography Richard Croft Photography Rod O'Brien Engineer Ronald K. Fierstein Executive Producer Shawn Colvin Vocals (Background) Shelly Yakus Mixing Steve Addabbo Producer, Engineer, Guitar Steve Ferrera Drums, Percussion Sue Evans Drums, Percussion Suzanne Vega Guitar (Acoustic), Vocals