mem@sii.UUCP (Mark Mallett) (10/25/85)
Hmm. Because I like Suzanne Vega and Laurie Anderson, and because I keep reading comments here (and in Doug's group) that say Jane Siberry is sort of a cross between them, I went out and bought the "No Borders Here" album, and listened to it several times. I figured I'd write this for people who know the music of Vega and LA and not Siberry, to head them off. (you see what's coming?) The only similarity I find between Vega and Siberry is that their voices sound sort of like each other. To mind mind, their styles are quite different; Vega is a much more expressive and natural singer. The only similarity I find between Laurie Anderson and Jane Siberry is that one of Jane Siberry's songs uses a melodic instrument for rhythm. Some sort of horn, reminiscent of the "ah ah ah ah" in LA's "O Superman". And maybe you can compare them because Siberry isn't heavily melodic, and neither (of course) is Anderson; on the other hand, Anderson uses it to advantage and is inventive in other ways. Laurie Anderson and Suzanne Vega have quite imaginative, meaningful, poetic lyrics and interesting arrangements. While there are some enjoyable songs on the "no borders here" album (particularly one with three vocal parts), it seems to me that she tries to play with words in an attempt to be clever, and for the most part fails. Now take this with a grain of salt. It seems that there are enough people out there whose opinions I respect who like Jane Siberry to mean that she has something going for her. I would just caution against buying the album unheard (like I did) because of supposed similarities to these other peoples' music. Mark Mallett decvax!sii!mem or ittatc!sii!mem