Close-Up Series Vol. 1-4

In 2010, celebrated singer and songwriter Suzanne Vega launched an ambitious project she called the Close-Up series; it was a series of four albums, released over the space of two years, in which Vega re-recorded favorite songs from her back catalog in spare, acoustic-based arrangements, with the song selection for each album determined by theme. Close-Up, Vol. 1: Love Songs dealt with love and relationships, Close-Up, Vol. 2: People & Places was dominated by story-songs that focused on characters and locations, Close-Up, Vol 3: States of Being concerned emotional and psychological subjects, and Close-Up, Vol. 4: Songs of Family focused on the bonds of family as well as the joys and sorrows of marriage. The Close-Up Series is a special box set that includes the four Close-Up albums in full; in addition, the set includes a bonus disc that collects extra tracks that were included in certain digital releases of the albums, as well as a DVD of Vega performing a solo acoustic show at New York's City Winery. ~ Mark Deming