Solitude Standing

Solitude Standing is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter Suzanne Vega. Released in 1987, it is the most popular and critically acclaimed of her career. Many songs were written prior to 1987.

Solitude Standing
Studio album by
Suzanne Vega
ReleasedApril 1, 1987 (1987-04-01)
Recorded1986–87
StudioBearsville Studios, Woodstock, New York
RPM Sound Studios, New York City; Carnegie Hill Studios; A&M Studios, Hollywood; Celestial Sound Studios, New York City
Genre
Length44:20
LabelA&M
ProducerSteve Addabbo
Lenny Kaye
Suzanne Vega chronology
Suzanne Vega
(1985)		 Solitude Standing
(1987)		 Days of Open Hand
(1990)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Los Angeles Times[2]
Orlando Sentinel[3]
The Philadelphia Inquirer[4]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[5]
The Village VoiceC+[6]

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, Boston on July 28; the second and third were at City Winery in Hudson Square, New York City on October 9 (7pm and 10pm shows); and the fourth at London's Barbican Theatre on October 16.

A limited edition 2-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" 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.[7]
  • "Calypso" is based on the Odyssey, namely the part in which Calypso is forced to let Odysseus go.[8]
  • "Gypsy" is mentioned in the book The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky, 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 (what would be 1977) which means the song was written 10 years before it was first released.[9]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Suzanne Vega except where noted.

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Tom's Diner" 2:09
2."Luka" 3:52
3."Ironbound/Fancy Poultry"Vega, Anton Sanko6:19
4."In the Eye"Vega, Marc Shulman4:16
5."Night Vision"Vega, Sanko2:47
6."Solitude Standing"Vega, Sanko, Shulman, Michael Visceglia, Stephen Ferrera4:49
7."Calypso" 4:14
8."Language"Vega, Visceglia3:57
9."Gypsy" 4:04
10."Wooden Horse (Caspar Hauser's Song)"Vega, Visceglia, Sanko, Shulman, Ferrera5:13
11."Tom's Diner (Reprise)" 2:40

Personnel
  • Suzanne Vega – vocals, acoustic guitar
  • Marc Shulman – electric guitars
  • Anton Sanko – synthesizers, classical guitar on 5
  • Michael Visceglia – bass guitar, additional synthesizer on 11
  • Stephen Ferrera – drums, percussion

Additional personnel

Production

  • Steve Addabbo – producer, engineer
  • Lenny Kaye – producer
  • Mitch Easter – producer on 9
  • Ronald K. Fierstein – executive producer
  • Rod O'Brien – engineer
  • Shelly Yakus – mixing
  • Jeffrey Gold – art direction
  • Melanie Nissen – art direction, design
  • Paula Bullwinkel – cover photography

Charts
Chart (1987) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[10] 7
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[11] 3
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[12] 14
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[13] 6
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[14] 1
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[15] 2
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[16] 1
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[17] 8
UK Albums (OCC)[18] 2
US Billboard 200[19] 11

Singles
Year Single Chart Peak
Position
1986 "Gypsy" UK Singles Chart 77[20]
1987 "Luka" Billboard Adult Contemporary Tracks 3[21]
Billboard Hot 100 3[21]
Billboard Hot Latin Tracks 48[21]
Billboard Mainstream Rock 15[21]
Ireland singles chart 11
New Zealand singles chart 8
Sweden singles chart 2
UK Singles Chart 23[22]
"Tom's Diner" Ireland singles chart 26
UK Singles Chart 58[23]
"Solitude Standing" Billboard Hot 100 94[21]
Billboard Mainstream Rock 43[21]
New Zealand singles chart 45
UK Singles Chart 79[24]

In addition, a 1990 version of "Tom's Diner" (DNA featuring Suzanne Vega) reached No. 1 in Germany, Switzerland and Austria, No. 2 in the United Kingdom and Ireland, No. 5 in the United States and No. 8 in New Zealand.

Certifications and sales
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[25] Gold 25,000^
Brazil — 50,000[26]
Canada (Music Canada)[27] Platinum 100,000^
France (SNEP)[28] 2× Gold 200,000*
Germany (BVMI)[29] Gold 250,000^
Hong Kong (IFPI Hong Kong)[30] Gold 10,000*
Norway (IFPI Norway)[31] Gold 50,000*
New Zealand (RMNZ)[32] Platinum 15,000^
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[33] Gold 50,000^
Sweden (GLF)[34] Gold 50,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[35] Platinum 300,000^
United States (RIAA)[36] Platinum 1,000,000^
Summaries
Worldwide N/A 5,000,000 [37]

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone

References
  1. Ruhlmann, William. "Solitude Standing – Suzanne Vega". AllMusic. Retrieved April 14, 2006.
  2. Willman, Chris (May 3, 1987). "Zen Over Zip In Vega's 'Solitude'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 5, 2017.
  3. Duffy, Thom (May 24, 1987). "Suzanne Vega". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved May 5, 2017.
  4. Tucker, Ken (May 10, 1987). "Suzanne Vega's coming of age". The Philadelphia Inquirer.
  5. Evans, Paul; Berger, Arion (2004). "Suzanne Vega". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 845–46. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  6. Christgau, Robert (July 28, 1987). "Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved November 20, 2011.
  7. Suzanne Vega. Solitude Standing (A&M Records, 1987).
  8. "Suzanne Vega - Calypso". Paste Magazine. 22 July 2017. Retrieved 21 August 2018.
  9. Weinreich, Regina (22 February 2017). "Suzanne Vega at the Café Carlyle: Lover, Beloved". HuffPost. Retrieved 21 August 2018.
  10. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 329. ISBN 0-646-11917-6. N.B. The Kent Report chart was licensed by ARIA between mid 1983 and June 19, 1988.
  11. "Austriancharts.at – Suzanne Vega – Solitude Standing" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 8, 2014.
  12. "Dutchcharts.nl – Suzanne Vega – Solitude Standing" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 8, 2014.
  13. "Officialcharts.de – Suzanne Vega – Solitude Standing". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved June 8, 2014.
  14. "Charts.nz – Suzanne Vega – Solitude Standing". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 8, 2014.
  15. "Norwegiancharts.com – Suzanne Vega – Solitude Standing". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 8, 2014.
  16. "Swedishcharts.com – Suzanne Vega – Solitude Standing". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 8, 2014.
  17. "Swisscharts.com – Suzanne Vega – Solitude Standing". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 8, 2014.
  18. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 8, 2014.
  19. "Suzanne Vega Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved June 8, 2014.
  20. officialcharts.com
  21. Solitude Standing – Suzanne Vega > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles at AllMusic. Retrieved 11 May 2008.
  22. "UK Top 40 Hit Database". Retrieved 2008-05-11.
  23. officialcharts.com
  24. officialcharts.com
  25. "Standing Success" (PDF). Music & Media. May 7, 1988. p. 9. Retrieved June 25, 2019.
  26. Souza, Tarik de (January 6, 1988). "Um bom ano para o disco". Jornal do Brasil. p. 36. Retrieved November 18, 2020.
  27. "Canadian album certifications – Suzanne Vega – Solitude Standing". Music Canada. Retrieved 11 June 2019.
  28. "Les Certifications depuis 1973: Albums". Infodisc.fr. Retrieved June 11, 2019. (select "Suzanne Vega" from drop-down list)
  29. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Suzanne Vega; 'Solitude Standing')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved June 11, 2019.
  30. "IFPIHK Gold Disc Award − 1988". IFPI Hong Kong. Retrieved June 11, 2019.
  31. "Gold & Platinum Awards 1987" (PDF). Music & Media. December 26, 1987. p. 44. Retrieved July 7, 2019.
  32. "New Zealand album certifications – Suzanne Vega – Solitude Standing". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved June 11, 2019.
  33. Sólo Éxitos 1959–2002 Año A Año: Certificados 1979–1990 (in Spanish). Iberautor Promociones Culturales. 2005. ISBN 8480486392.
  34. "Guld- och Platinacertifikat − År 1987−1998" (PDF) (in Swedish). IFPI Sweden. Retrieved June 11, 2019.
  35. "British album certifications – Suzanne Vega – Solitude Standing". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved June 11, 2019. Select albums in the Format field. Select Platinum in the Certification field. Type Solitude Standing in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  36. "American album certifications – Suzanne Vega – Solitude Standing". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved June 11, 2019. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH. 
  37. Meter, Jonathan van (July 9, 2007). "Lady of the Canyons". NY Mag. Retrieved August 17, 2018.
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