Suzanne Vega - 'Ludlow Street'

She has perhaps one of the most familiar voices currently in music and is back with 'Ludlow Street,' a beautiful and elegant lament to a post September 11th New York. Taken from the album Beauty and Crime, it sees a welcome return for Suzanne Vega and that voice that since Toms Diner has enticed, hypnotised and it is true, at weaker times, baffled.

It feels like a melancholic look back at her youth and the neighbourhoods she grew up in that have now changed beyond recognition. The dark charm of the lament is very personable and more importantly from a listening perspective, enjoyable. Things do change. Times and places and most importantly, people and Ludlow Street captures the reverie of it quite brilliantly. Thankfully Suzanne Vega hasn't changed too much musically over the years even if her New York has. 

Released 15/10/07 on Blue Note.