Suzanne Vega as Carson McCullers Photo: screenshot from Lover, Beloved promo video/Suzanne Vega
Six years ago, Suzanne Vega performed an Off-Off-Broadway theatre piece inspired by the life and work of Carson McCullers, the American 'Southern Gothic' novelist.
The reviews for the show were not particularly good, but now Vega has produced Lover, Beloved: Songs From An Evening With Carson McCullers, an album of the songs, which were well-received and most of which she co-wrote with Duncan Sheik. Taken out of the theatre, the songs now stand as songs alone. Nestled in arrangements spiked with banjo, ukulele, clarinet and trombone, they catch the courageous outsider that was Carson McCullers.
William Dart checks the album out.
Playlist
'Song title' (Composer) – Performers
Album title
(Label)
'Early in the Morning' (Trad) – John Lee Moore & Prisoners
Southern Journey Volume 5: Bad Man Ballads - Songs Of Outlaws And Desperadoes
(Rounder)
'Carson’s Blues' (Vega/Stevens) – Suzanne Vega
Lover, Beloved: Songs From an Evening with Carson McCullers
(Cooking Vinyl)
'New York is My Destination' (Vega/Sheik) – Suzanne Vega
Lover, Beloved: Songs From an Evening with Carson McCullers
(Cooking Vinyl)
'Instant of the Hour After' (Vega/Sheik) – Suzanne Vega
Lover, Beloved: Songs From an Evening with Carson McCullers
(Cooking Vinyl)
'Annemarie' (Vega/Sheik) – Suzanne Vega
Lover, Beloved: Songs From an Evening with Carson McCullers
(Cooking Vinyl)
'12 Mortal Men' (Vega/Sheik) – Suzanne Vega
Lover, Beloved: Songs From an Evening with Carson McCullers
(Cooking Vinyl)
'Harper Lee' (Vega/Sheik) – Suzanne Vega
Lover, Beloved: Songs From an Evening with Carson McCullers
(Cooking Vinyl)
'Carson’s Last Supper' (Vega/Sheik) – Suzanne Vega
Lover, Beloved: Songs From an Evening with Carson McCullers
(Cooking Vinyl)
