| Surprise | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1989 | |||
| Genre | Folk rock | |||
| Label | Virgin | |||
| Producer | Syd Straw | |||
| Syd Straw chronology | ||||
| ||||
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]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [17] |
| Chicago Sun-Times | [15] |
| Chicago Tribune |  [14] |
| Robert Christgau | B [18] |
| Los Angeles Times | [19] |
| MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide | [7] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [20] |
| St. Petersburg Times | [8] |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| 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" |
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