Surprise | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 1989 | |||
Genre | Folk rock | |||
Label | Virgin | |||
Producer | Syd Straw | |||
Syd Straw chronology | ||||
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Surprise is the debut solo album by the American musician Syd Straw, released in 1989.[1][2] The first single was "Future 40's (String of Pearls)".[3] Straw supported the album with a North American tour, backed by a band that included D.J. Bonebrake and Dave Alvin.[4][5] Surprise was a commercial disappointment.[6]
The album was produced primarily by Straw, who also wrote or cowrote most of the songs.[7][8] She spent more than year recording it at studios in London, New Orleans, New York, Austin, and Los Angeles.[9] "Future 40's (String of Pearls)" was cowritten by Jody Harris and Michael Stipe.[3] "Think Too Hard" was written by Peter Holsapple; Marshall Crenshaw played guitar on it.[10][11] "Hard Times", coproduced by Van Dyke Parks, was composed by Stephen Foster.[12][13] Richard Thompson played guitar on "Sphinx".[14] John Doe contributed backing vocals to some of the tracks.[15] Straw considered "The Unanswered Question?" to be a combination of pop music and opera.[16]
The New York Times concluded that "perhaps the most striking cut on Surprise is 'Almost Magic', a diaphanously textured showcase of overdubbed vocals on a song in which Ms. Straw pleads for one more chance to hold together a crumbling relationship."[3] Trouser Press determined that the album "boasts a guest list that suggests a hipper version of the bloated superstar processions Peter Asher used to assemble for James Taylor and Linda Ronstadt."[10] The Los Angeles Times wrote that "the slower, softer [songs] ache or rage convincingly, a Talking Heads-style art-funk number hits its groove, a Dylanesque shaggy-dog story ambles along playfully."[19]
Spin opined that "her voice, though beautifully pitched, lacks emotional range."[21] The Globe and Mail called Surprise "both immediately accessible, full of familiar country and pop elements, and bursting with interesting little instrumental and vocal flourishes."[22] The Washington Post deemed the songs "electric, eclectic folk-rock, with elliptical, fragmented lyrics ... and a tendency toward melodic meandering."[11] The Sacramento Bee considered it one of 1989's best debut albums.[23]
AllMusic wrote: "The album's style and production mix jangle pop elements from the preceding decade with a roots rock tone, and the overall result has a healthy folkish disposition. Surprise anticipates what was to come for females in rock during the '90s."[17]
No. | Title | Length |
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1. | "Think Too Hard" | |
2. | "Heart of Darkness" | |
3. | "Chasing Vapor Trails (His Turn to Cry)" | |
4. | "Almost Magic" | |
5. | "Crazy American" | |
6. | "Hard Times" | |
7. | "Future 40's (String of Pearls)" | |
8. | "The Unanswered Question?" | |
9. | "Sphinx" | |
10. | "Racing to the Ruins" | |
11. | "Golden Dreams" |