Days of Open Hand
| Days of Open Hand | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | April 10, 1990 | |||
| Recorded | 1990 | |||
| Studio | Skyline Studios, RPM Studios | |||
| Genre | Folk rock, pop | |||
| Length | 45:51 | |||
| Label | A&M | |||
| Producer | Anton Sanko, Suzanne Vega | |||
| Suzanne Vega chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [1] |
| Entertainment Weekly | B−[2] |
| Q | [3] |
| Robert Christgau | B−[4] |
| Rolling Stone | [5] |
Days of Open Hand is the third studio album by American singer-songwriter Suzanne Vega, released in April 1990 by A&M Records. Anton Sanko and Vega produced the album. It won the Grammy Award for Best Recording Package in 1991.
By her third album, Days of Open Hand, released in 1990, she felt trapped by industry expectation.
“We worked for a whole year on that album. In the end I wasn’t really happy with it and there was this palpable sense of disappointment that we’d only sold a million copies. Now that seems really ridiculous. It felt like a crime that we didn’t sell three million!”[6]
Track listing
All tracks are written by Suzanne Vega except where noted
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Tired of Sleeping" | 4:22 | |
| 2. | "Men in a War" | 4:47 | |
| 3. | "Rusted Pipe" | Vega, Sanko | 4:16 |
| 4. | "Book of Dreams" | Vega, Sanko | 3:22 |
| 5. | "Institution Green" | Vega, Sanko | 6:15 |
| 6. | "Those Whole Girls (Run in Grace)" | 3:09 | |
| 7. | "Room off the Street" | Vega, Sanko | 3:00 |
| 8. | "Big Space" | Vega, Sanko | 3:46 |
| 9. | "Predictions" | 4:59 | |
| 10. | "Fifty-Fifty Chance" | 2:36 | |
| 11. | "Pilgrimage" | Vega, Sanko | 5:10 |
Personnel
- Suzanne Vega – vocals, guitar, keyboards
- Anton Sanko – guitar, keyboards, tiple, programming
- Shawn Colvin – background vocals
- Marc Shulman – E-bow, electric guitar, tiple
- Michael Visceglia – five-string bass, fretless bass
- Erik Sanko – fretless bass
- Percy Jones – fretless bass
- John Linnell – accordion
- Richard Horowitz – ney
- Hearn Gadbois – dumbek
- Michael Blair – drums, marimba, percussion
- Glen Velez – drums
- Frank Vilardi – drums, percussion
- Philip Glass – string arrangements[7]
Production
- Bob Ludwig – mastering
- Hugh Padgham – mixing
- Pat McCarthy – engineer
- Pat Dillett – assistant engineer
- Geoff Keehn – engineer
- Jeff Lippay – assistant engineer
- Jon Goldberger – assistant engineer
- Kurt Munkasci – string engineer[7]
Charts
| Chart (1990) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[8] | 74 |
| Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[9] | 9 |
| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[10] | 29 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[11] | 16 |
| New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[12] | 24 |
| Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[13] | 16 |
| Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[14] | 19 |
| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[15] | 19 |
| UK Albums (OCC)[16] | 7 |
| US Billboard 200[17] | 50 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| France (SNEP)[19] | none | 105,400[18] |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[20] | Gold | 100,000^ |
| Summaries | ||
| Worldwide | — | 1,000,000[6]
|
|
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
Singles
| Year | Single | Chart | Peak position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | "Book of Dreams" | Billboard Modern Rock Tracks | 8 |
| UK Singles Chart | 66[21] |
References
- ^ AllMusic review
- ^ "Days of Open Hand - EW.com". Retrieved 3 June 2016.
- ^ "Suzanne Vega - Days Of Open Hand CD Album". Retrieved 3 June 2016.
- ^ "Robert Christgau: CG: suzanne vega". Retrieved 3 June 2016.
- ^ "Days Of Open Hand : Suzanne Vega : Review : Rolling Stone". 23 November 2007. Archived from the original on November 23, 2007. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ a b Anthony, Andrew (9 October 2016). "Suzanne Vega: 'It's taken me a while to say, You are what you are, it's fine'". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 July 2019.
- ^ a b "Days of Open Hand - Suzanne Vega | Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 17 October 2017.
- ^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988-2010. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
- ^ "Austriancharts.at – Suzanne Vega – Days of Open Hand" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 8, 2014.
- ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Suzanne Vega – Days of Open Hand" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 8, 2014.
- ^ "Officialcharts.de – Suzanne Vega – Days of Open Hand". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved June 8, 2014.
- ^ "Charts.nz – Suzanne Vega – Days of Open Hand". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 8, 2014.
- ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Suzanne Vega – Days of Open Hand". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 8, 2014.
- ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Suzanne Vega – Days of Open Hand". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 8, 2014.
- ^ "Swisscharts.com – Suzanne Vega – Days of Open Hand". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 8, 2014.
- ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 8, 2014.
- ^ "Suzanne Vega Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved June 8, 2014.
- ^ http://www.infodisc.fr/Ventes_Albums_Tout_Temps.php?debut=4250
- ^ "French album certifications – Suzanne Vega – Days of Open Hand" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique.
- ^ "British album certifications – Suzanne Vega – Days of Open Hand". British Phonographic Industry. Select albums in the Format field. Select Gold in the Certification field. Type Days of Open Hand in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
- ^ "officialcharts.com/search-results-album/_/Book%20Of%20Dreams#single". Retrieved 3 June 2016.
