Days of Open Hand

Days of Open Hand
Studio album by
Suzanne Vega
ReleasedApril 10, 1990 (1990-04-10)
RecordedSeptember 1989 – January 1990
Studio
  • Skyline (New York City)
  • RPM (New York City)
  • The Living Room (New York City)
Genre
Length45:51
LabelA&M
Producer
Suzanne Vega chronology
Solitude Standing
(1987) 		Days of Open Hand
(1990) 		99.9F°
(1992)
Singles from Days of Open Hand
  1. "Book of Dreams"
    Released: 1990
  2. "Tired of Sleeping"
    Released: 1990
  3. "Men in a War"
    Released: 1990

Days of Open Hand is the third studio album by Suzanne Vega. It was released on April 10, 1990, through A&M Records. The album was the follow-up to the successful Solitude Standing (1987). It was produced by Vega and Anton Sanko, who also co-wrote six of the album's eleven tracks. Recording took place across multiple studios throughout New York from late 1989 to early 1990.

Days of Open Hand combines Vega's established folk-rock style with more varied instrumentation such as the ney and dumbek and experimental arrangements. High-profile contributors to the album include Philip Glass, Shawn Colvin, and John Linnell (of They Might Be Giants). The album saw greater use of synthesizers and samplers than Vega's previous studio albums; these included the Fairlight CMI and Voyetra-8.

Days of Open Hand did not match the success of its predecessor, stalling at number 50 in the US and failing to spawn a hit single. It was more successful in the UK, where it reached the top 10. Despite this, the album did surpass sales of a million copies[1] and reviews were generally positive. Days of Open Hand was nominated for Best Contemporary Folk Recording and won the award for Best Recording Package at the 33rd Annual Grammy Awards.[2]

  1. ^ Anthony, Andrew (9 October 2016). "Suzanne Vega: 'It's taken me a while to say, You are what you are, it's fine'". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 July 2019.
  2. ^ "All Grammy Awards and Nominations for Suzanne Vega". Grammys. Retrieved 12 March 2023.