Details
Track Listing
1. Rock in This Pocket, The (Song of David)
2. Blood Makes Noise
3. In Liverpool
4. 99.9 F
5. Blood Sings
6. Fat Man and Dancing Girl
7. If You Were in My Movie
8. As a Child
9. Bad Wisdom
10. When Heroes Go Down
11. As Girls Go
12. Song of Sand
Album Notes
Personnel: Suzanne Vega (vocals, acoustic guitar); Richard Pleasance, Tchad Blake (electric guitar); Richard Thompson, David Hidalgo (guitar); Marc Shulman (bazouki); Sid Page, Joel Derouin (violin); Maria Newman (viola); Larry Corbett (cello); Greg Smith (baritone saxophone); Mitchell Froom (keyboards); Michael Visceglia, Bruce Thomas, Jerry Scheff (bass, acoustic bass); Jerry Marotta (drums, percussion).
Recorded at Dreamland Studios, Bearsville, New York; Sunset Sound Factory, Los Angeles, California; The Magic Shop, New York, New York.
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 Mitchell Froom 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 lush and 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, including drummer Jerry Marotta, guitarists David Hidalgo and Richard Thompson, 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.
Industry Reviews
Included in Q's list of the 50 best albums of 1992.
Q (01/01/1993)
Ranked #4 in Entertainment Weekly's list of the top 10 albums of 1992 - ...wonderfully inspired...
Entertainment Weekly (01/07/1993)
3.5 Stars - Good Plus - ...Sonically venturesome and marked by rare poetic depth, 99.9 F is yet another deeply rewarding chapter in Vega's artistic saga...
Rolling Stone (10/01/1992)
...a smart, tasty pop album, as impressive for its lean but muscular production as for its stylistic boldness...
Musician (10/01/1992)
...a radical departure....full of activity....There's a plainness to her expression that lends itself to being decorated...
New York Times (09/16/1992)
4 Stars - Excellent - ...she has re-emerged from her shell with a more sprightly collection that balances surreal imagery and serious thoughts with an understated but persistent sense of fun...
Q (10/01/1992)
...restores tension to her music....her most consistent batch [of songs] since her debut....noisy--and very stimulating... - Rating: A
Entertainment Weekly (09/18/1992)
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