Are they worthy of the accolades or should they be sent down...
The Accused:
TORI AMOS
It was obvious from that first listen that the rest of the album was a bit different to 'Cornflake Girl'. I loved it though and felt that the track order was spot on. Opening with 'Pretty Good Year' sets a nice tone and ending on the epic 'Yes, Anastasia' felt like perfect bookends.
Imagine the euphoria I felt once I found out this was her second album and quickly went out and purchased Little Earthquakes; her debut. If Under the Pink got me interested, Little Earthquakes got me hooked. What a debut: 'Crucify'; 'Silent All These Years'; 'Winter'; 'China' and 'Me and a Gun' with its heartbreaking true story. Those were the highlights that immediately spoke to me. But they are all gems on this album; it is one of the strongest debut's I have ever heard.
Boys for Pele would see the start of a worrying trend from Tori as her catalogue increased; the overlong record. The two previous releases were both just under an hour in length; Boys for Pele clocks in at just over seventy minutes. Tori also began to experiment with more instrumentation such as using the harpsichord on multiple tracks. It is the start of Tori expanding her horizons and while it is still a solid record, there are some songs that don't quite grab you 'In the Springtime of His Voodoo' is one example. My two favourites from the record are 'Hey Jupiter' and 'Putting the Damage On' both of which are more akin to her earlier output. The remix by Armand Van Helden of 'Professional Widow' is possibly Tori's most well-known tune and definitely her biggest hit.
Her fourth album From the Choirgirl Hotel would again see Tori change her style with the addition of a full supporting band. This album was written from a dark place in Tori's life after having two miscarriages and this is reflected in the material as it has a darker tone, even the album sleeve emulates the gloom that must have enveloped her life during this difficult period.
Overall the album got back to under an hour in length and felt snappier for it; there are no one minute interlude songs appearing here. The double A side release of 'Cruel' and 'Raspberry Swirl' single out my two favourite tracks. 'Raspberry Swirl' is another song that benefitted from being remixed, giving Tori another club hit song.
To Venus and Back was Tori's first double album featuring new material on one disc and a second disc of live material from her back catalogue. The live disc is where the gold can be found. From the new material the bittersweet '1000 Oceans' album closer is the stand out song.
The next release would see Tori explore two new things; firstly we have a concept album and secondly one that is a reimagining of other artists recordings. Both of these concepts feature further along in her career. Strange Little Girls isn't just an album of covers though. Throughout Tori's career so far she had covered songs by different performers, but interpreted them in her own unique style. This was a full album of covers all written by men, with Tori taking each song and arranging them in a style that reflects a woman's perspective. On the whole it is a success with 'Happiness Is a Warm Gun' possibly being the weakest of the bunch. If however you aren't a little unnerved by her version of '97 Bonnie & Clyde' then you are made of sterner stuff than I am!
Now we start to get to the stage where the wheels start to come off a little bit. I get the impression that the concept album bug must have bitten Tori after Strange Little Girls because every release for the next few years has some concept around its development. Not only does it become a distraction from the music but it results in records that tend to outstay their welcome.
After signing to Epic Records after relations soured with her former label Atlantic Records; Tori released Scarlet's Walk. Interestingly this is the only album since leaving Atlantic that has reached Gold status. Perhaps they were able to reign in some of Tori's more bizarre concepts; whereas Epic gave her a longer leash. There are some great songs that hark back to her origins such as 'Strange' and the hauntingly beautiful 'Your Cloud' with its simple piano tempo. Again she comes up trumps choosing 'Gold Dust' to end the album. While I do enjoy the record it still feels like a chore to get through with one listen.
As with all Tori's output there are gems on this record 'Sweet the Sting' and the title track 'The Beekeeper' being amongst my favourites. And while this is a steady effort, nothing really jumps out at you as being startling. It is probably the least likely record of hers I would choose to play.
Possibly her most ambitious concept album, American Doll Posse, has Tori taking on the persona of five different females during her musical journey. Once more the themes are wide and varied and once again the outputs hit and miss. I don't think the concept helps matters as it seems so outrageous that at times you wonder what you are listening too. Is it a record to throw on as background music or is someone preaching at you? I tend to think more of the latter.
For every 'Bouncing Off Clouds' and 'Girl Disappearing' there is a 'Big Wheel' with its cringe worthy MILF bridge section. But what do you expect when a record contains twenty three songs! This album would also see the return of songs which I class as musical interludes; ones that are just under or slightly over a minute long. If some of this fat was trimmed to bring the album to a more accessible duration then overall it would be a solid effort.
Abnormally Attracted to Sin once more sees an album require more than seventy minutes of your listening time. Thankfully there isn't an overriding theme on this one as it is more of a return to a regular format. Songs were written on the road as well as at home which I feel contributed to the more traditional style. This helps the tunes be more accessible and there are no shortage of tunes either as there are seventeen in total. The title track is a highlight as is most of the second half of the album. Another common occurrence on most of Tori's records is an extra-long closing track in 'Lady in Blue'.
Tori took a surprising turn with her next record Midwinter Graces; her first seasonal album. Tori puts a unique spin on some old hymns and carols to produce a challenging but also very rewarding Christmas album. It might not be to everyone's tastes as she breaks with the traditional representations of these songs. This has become one of my staples for the festive season and is often played at that time of year in my home. Tori's own original songs combine beautifully with the ones she chose to cover.
Maybe she was bitten by the cover-bug as Night of Hunters is another record where Tori takes an original piece of music, this time from the classical genre, and reinterprets them in her own way. This is a wholly acoustic album that relies on that big classical sound. What it also does is bring Tori's piano to the fore. It is the first time in a long while where her piano skills have been at the forefront of one of her records. It might be long in length (but what else do you expect by now) and the concept is a little quirky but this one is definitely one of her stronger latter albums.
There is a bit of a theme running through her last two records where the preceding album seems to have lit a spark in her creative output and directly influenced the next release. I feel the positive energy Tori took from recording Night of Hunters must have inspired her to look at her own back catalogue when coming up with the idea for Gold Dust. This time Tori revised her own work and gave it the orchestral polish.
Interestingly out of the fourteen songs she has chosen the majority are re-workings of releases from the 90's. Time and life experiences probably had a say in why she decided on these particular tunes. Whereas her more recent output was probably still a little fresher in her mind and didn't quite have the distance required to re-evaluate their arrangements.
One of her rarer releases is A Piano: The Collection. Listening to this will make you no stranger to different mixes of her music but the versions on Gold Dust are sometimes stunning in their interpretation. They make the listener very nostalgic for each song and at the same time create the feeling you are listening to something new. The overall selection of songs also complements one another quite well.
Now I have a confession to make; I haven't actually heard Tori's last release Unrepentant Geraldines so I can't pass judgement on this particular record. The reason for this I put down to the lethargy I have felt as each new album has not quite lived up to my expectations. By all accounts it is quite a decent release and one that I might put under interrogation in a future trial.
With the planned release of Native Invader coming this year it has been a good time to investigate this chanteuse's career. If anything this retrospective of Tori Amos has given me a new appreciation for some of her later work and I now feel a bit more intrigued to see what this latest album will offer.
Tori nowadays would be strapped down and forced to listen to younger Tori in the hope that she goes back a bit more to her origins.
Splitting a portion of this persons back catalogue into what I would "go to" and what I would choose to "avoid"; given the choices I would categorise this entertainers output as thus...
The Scorcher's:
The Torture's:
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