Suzanne Vega Paints Her Masterpiece

"Flying with Angels" and Adapting Dylan

I've known Suzanne Vega since 1983, when she was a receptionist at a publishing company and sent some lyrics to me at the New York office of Newsday. The words were either to "Cracking" or "Small Blue Thing," and both later appeared on her 1985 self-titled debut album for A&M Records, produced by Steve Addabbo and the Patti Smith Group's Lenny Kaye.

The idea was to curry interest in her appearances at Folk City, then brought back to life by Robbie Woliver and Marilyn Lash. Something was happening there, a singer-songwriter collective performing individually at Folk City and other Village clubs with a 'zine and monthly album sampler called Fast Folk. Other artists included Jack Hardy, Shawn Colvin, Lucy Kaplansky, David Massengill, John Gorka, Christine Lavin, Richard Shindell, and Erik Frandsen, with cameos by Lyle Lovett and Dave Van Ronk. (These artists all appear on the 2002 Smithsonian Folkways collection, Fast Folk: A Community of Singers and Songwriters.)

It was the biggest New Yo…