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Suzanne Vega - The Speakeasy, Nyc April 17, 1985

Track listing:
  1. Intro 1:49
  2. Tom's Diner 3:13
  3. Small Blue Thing 4:03
  4. Some Journey 5:19
  5. Cracking 3:16
  6. The Queen And The Soldier 5:15
  7. Song Intro 0:43
  8. Knight Moves 4:35
  9. Freeze Tag 2:40
  10. Song Intro 3:08
  11. Marlene On The Wall 4:26
  12. Undertow 4:13
  13. Straight Lines 4:05
  14. Song Intro 1:32
  15. Neighborhood Girls 4:24
  16. Gypsy (Encore) 4:04

Notes


SUZANNE VEGA APRIL 17, 1985 NYC SOLO-FM*THE WEEK OF HER FIRST ALBUM RELEASE (Reseed)

I got this from Dime April 2007, upped by ixman68. Thank you very much.

From my download:
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SUZANNE VEGA APRIL 17, 1985 NYC SOLO-FM*THE WEEK OF HER FIRST ALBUM RELEASE
Suzanne Vega
The Speakeasy
New York, NY
April 17, 1985

Recording: FM > C (Unknown Generation) > C (Maxell XLII)
Transfer: Harman Kardon DC5300 > Edirol UA-5 > PEAK (AIFF 44.1/16) > Xact > FLAC Level 8
Transferred by Brian Miksis (brian.miksis@verizon.net) on April 27, 2007

01 Intro
02 Tom's Diner
03 Small Blue Thing
04 Some Journey
05 Cracking
06 The Queen And The Soldier
07 Song Intro
08 Knight Moves
09 Freeze Tag
10 Song Intro
11 Marlene On The Wall
12 Undertow
13 Straight Lines
14 Song Intro
15 Neighborhood Girls
16 Gypsy (Encore)

I received this cassette in trade sometime in 1988. I cannot confirm the date since I didn't record it, and have not seen it listed in any SV archive, yet here it is. The certainly were many other dates at this club at this time, so I have no reason to doubt it. Also, she talks about having her debut album cover on stage for the first time and this date would have been during the week of it's release.

This tape was the cornerstone of my entire collection in the early days, and as such saw alot of play time. I think the fidelity has held up though, with good tone and minimal tape noise. There are two or three pops that sound like FM artifact to me, but don't affect the recording in my opinion. There is a tape flip after Freeze Tag, but nothing appears to be lost except for applause and a bit of the introduction to Marlene.

What makes this performance special and unique is that she is playing alone which she did until the release of the album. I have seen very few tapes circulate of this time, and I find it an intimate glimpse of a great young songwriter just beginning. I hope you enjoy my favorite SV performance of all time.

From the comments: (I add some of these as they are interesting history)
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Thank you in advance for this!! I worked at Disc-O-Mat in Times Square during this time, and at that point there was already such a buzz about Suzanne Vega, that whenever some of us tried to go see her at one of the local venues, they were always packed, and we could never get in! This sounds like exactly what I was hoping to hear, all those years ago!!

Nice to see some early era Vega. And in FM quality!!

Thanks - i almost forgot about S V, but this has reminded me that her first album was once played non - stop on my cheapo walkman whilst on holiday in 1985 or 6