Songs in Red and Gray

Songs in Red and Gray
Studio album by Suzanne Vega
Released	September 25, 2001
Recorded	November 2000 – May 2001 at Looking Glass Studio
Genre	Folk rock, pop rock
Length	45:31
Label	A&M
Producer	Rupert Hine
Suzanne Vega chronology
Nine Objects of Desire (1996) Songs in Red and Gray (2001) Beauty & Crime (2007)

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	(81/100) [1]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
The A.V. Club	(favorable) [3]
Blender	[1]
E! Online	B+ [1]
Entertainment Weekly	B+ [4]
Mojo	[1]
Q	[1]
Robert Christgau	[5]
Rolling Stone	(favorable) [6]

Songs in Red and Gray is the sixth studio album release by New York-based singer/songwriter and musician Suzanne Vega. The album was Vega's final album for A&M Records (with whom she had been since 1983) and also marks the divorce from her husband and producer Mitchell Froom. Lyrically, most of the songs deal with the ending of the marriage, notably "Widow's Walk", "If I Were a Weapon" and "Soap and Water" ("slip me loose of this wedding band").

Track listing

All tracks composed by Suzanne Vega; except where indicated

1. "Penitent" – 4:16
2. "Widow's Walk" – 3:33
3. "(I'll Never Be) Your Maggie May" – 3:47
4. "It Makes Me Wonder" – 4:00
5. "Soap and Water" – 3:03
6. "Songs in Red and Gray" – 4:18
7. "Last Year's Troubles" – 3:35
8. "Priscilla" – 4:14
9. "If I Were a Weapon" – 2:45
10. "Harbor Song" – 4:18
11. "Machine Ballerina" – 2:57
12. "Solitaire" – 2:10
13. "St. Clare" – 2:30 (Jack Hardy)
14. "Golden" - 3:53 (available in the Japanese release only)

Personnel

• Suzanne Vega – lead vocal, acoustic guitar, harmony vocals, distorted acoustic guitar
• Rupert Hine – drum programming, bass, piano, strings, keyboards, percussion, woodwinds, orchestral percussion
• Nick Hugh – drum programming, synth lead
• Gerry Leonard – electric guitars, acoustic guitars, mandolins, zither, dulcimer
• Elizabeth Taubman – harmony vocals
• Matt Johnson – drums
• Mike Visceglia – bass
• Jay Bellerose – drums
• Doug Yowell – drums, percussion
• Pamela Sue Man – backing vocals, harmony vocals

Charts

Chart (2001)	Peak position
French Albums (SNEP)[7]	36
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[8]	53
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[9]	34
Polish Albums (ZPAV)[10]	31
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[11]	47
UK Albums (Official Charts Company)[12]	100
US Billboard 200[13]	178

References

1. Critic reviews from Metacritic
2. AllMusic review
3. The A.V. Club review
4. Entertainment Weekly review at the Wayback Machine (archived August 21, 2008)
5. Robert Christgau Consumer Guide
6. Rolling Stone review at the Wayback Machine (archived August 10, 2007)
7. "Lescharts.com – Suzanne Vega – Songs in Red and Gray". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 8, 2014.
8. "Officialcharts.de – Suzanne Vega – Songs in Red and Gray". GfK Entertainment. Retrieved June 8, 2014.
9. "Norwegiancharts.com – Suzanne Vega – Songs in Red and Gray". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 8, 2014.
10. "Oficjalna lista sprzedaży :: OLIS - Official Retail Sales Chart". OLiS. Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved June 8, 2014.
11. "Swisscharts.com – Suzanne Vega – Songs in Red and Gray". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 8, 2014.
12. "Official Charts > Suzanne Vega (albums tab)". The Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 30, 2015.
13. "Suzanne Vega – Chart history" Billboard 200 for Suzanne Vega. Retrieved June 8, 2014.

External links

• Songs in Red and Gray at Metacritic