Suzanne Vega - 99.9 FA°

Import pressing of her 1992 album that is out-of-print domestically. Suzanne Vega makes it clear from the cover inwards that she's up to something different on 99.9 F. Her fiery red and yellow photo-manipulated hair and bandaged finger stand in stark contrast to the orderly mysticism conveyed on the front of her previous release, DAYS OF OPEN HAND. Producer MitchellFroom surrounds her strong songs with surprises in instrumentation, arrangement, and mix. The set opens smartly with a couple of selections that stand in stark contrast to the more traditional folk bearing of her previous output. By the third song, "In Liverpool", things break open to reveal a lushand popish heart. The title song is a dazzling groove of fuzzy and staccato guitar chords cast over layered percussion and her lilting vocal. An array of superb players, includingdrummer Jerry Marotta, guitarists David Hidalgo and RichardThompson, and bass player Bruce Thomas accompany her. While it represented a bit of an unexpected turn at the time of its release in 1992, 99.9 F is one of Vega's finest albums. Universal. Album Description

Different and exciting...

What makes Suzanne Vega such an interesting artist is that she's not just one of the best rock poets out there but she's prepared to push things to the edge. Usually, it's in her subject matter which deals with unusual, occasionally disquieting issues - prostitution, child abuse, death, divorce, even lesbianism - delivered, very cleverly, via strong often ecstatic melodies and driving, tightly metered lyrics that make the impact of what she's actually singing about so hauntingly effective.

But on 1992's "99.9F" she and her husband, Mitchell Froom, took things one step further - adding challenging and, for the time, highly adventurous arrangements to her essentially folk-rock melodies. And it worked... with the hard, often harshly "industrial", multi-layered rhythms adding to the impact of her songs and perfectly complementing her almost deadpan approach to them. Different, exciting, at times (as on the exquisite "In Liverpool") quite beautiful, and, with only a couple of exceptions, very effective it's not only stood the test of time but begs the question why she hasn't worked with more similarly adventurous producers to take things even further.

Not that there's anything wrong with her sparse, equally intriguing but musically "safer" output since then - both "Nine Objects of Desire" & "Songs in Red & Gray" are superb albums - but, as 99.9F showed, her highly distinctive, almost detached delivery coupled with the sheer power of her compositions are ideally suited to a more innovative & adventurous approach... time for a collaboration with one of the new generation of perceptive electronica/dance master mixers?
October 10, 2006

musical poetry in motion

Love this cd... have had it for years... always a joy to listen to. To the few who criticize Suzanne's departure from her earlier folk styling, her venturing toward lyrics which are more mood/image evoking rather than narrative are missing one of her finest talents... ie., as a word smith and poet. My favs on this disk are the very songs that are more abstract. I also think the band did a great job with these songs. April 19, 2006

Another Vega CD Easy On the Ear

Nothing remarkable but several nice tracks. If you like Vega you will like this CD. January 4, 2006

Vega's Mechanical World!

Suzanne Vega's fourth album "99.9F" was produced by her husband Mitchell Froom, and his completely different approach to recording brought new life into her music. After the releatively pale album "Days of Open Hand" new inspiration was needed; and Vega really do sound inspired on this album. Many tracks feature odd mechanical sounds and noises, and there is an overall greater variety in style and moods than on her previous albums.

The odd sounds on tracks like "Rock in This Pocket", "Blood Makes Noise" and the title track may at first seem a little weird, but especially "Blood Makes Noise" and "99.9F" have become some of my all-time favourites; though different, these are still very melodic songs.

More traditional Vega songs are the catchy "In Liverpool" and the up-beat "When Heroes Go Down"; both highlights and both were chosen for singles.

There are also a handful of quieter tunes, and among those "Bad Wisdom" stand out. November 17, 2005

A whispering ghost in the machine that haunts but may not move

Having rhapsodized about Vega's "Nine Objects of Desire," it's interesting to go back and listen to this precursor. As several people have noted, this was where Vega moved away from folk into a more industrial sound, with an emphasis on machinery and a harsh, metallic background/underscore. The creative friction results from this inhuman setting interesecting with all-too-organic lyrics that contain numerous references to blood, illness, and the frailty/fragility of the human body, especially in regards to AIDS. ("Blood Makes Noise" "99.9 F" "Bad Wisdom") Vega's brisk intelligence and quick wit give numerous tracks a special urgency, and the bizarro-carnival melodies of others fascinate even if the lyrics are on the cryptic side ("Fat Man and Dancing Girl" "As A Child"). And one song is so peculiar lyrically ("As Girls Go"), the only logical reaction to it seems to be to shrug. If you love "9 Objects," consider this an intriguing if somewhat chilly example of an artist stretching to expand beyond her comfortable "folkie" boundaries, towards becoming something truly breathtaking. August 25, 2005

More reviews at Amazon.com ...