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When Tori Amos appeared in
the early 1990s with Crucify and the subsequent album
Little Earthquakes, she reawakened an interest in the
art of the female singer / songwriter. Indeed it's
doubtful the likes of Alanis Morissette would
have enjoyed quite so much exposure without the
pioneering efforts of the Newtonian ice-maiden.
That's not to say that everything
touched by Tori has turned to gold - some of her
lyrics still raise many a quizzical eyebrow, and the
infamous suckling pig shot that adorns Boys For Pele
wasn't exactly a great piece of animal rights
publicity. The overall impact though is one of the
last decade's most important solo artists, which is caught in this
handsome collection of 20 songs, four of them
new.
Little Earthquakes is the album
most plundered, and rightly so - for emotion there's
little to beat the rape song Me And A Gun, which is still
shocking in its intensity. Crucify and Silent All
These Years are still sounding as vital as ever, with Amos
right up close to the mic and bursting into the
listener's world.
Cornflake Girl is still the most
immediately commercial of her untampered single
releases, even if "hanging with the raisin girls" and
"peel out the watchword" weren't the most catchy of
refrains. Part of the appeal I guess!
After the gospel
choir brings 1995's Way Down to a reverential close it
comes as a shock when Professional Widow shatters the
calm, one of Armand Van Helden's finest mixing
moments culminating in a devilish bassline and giving us one of the
most distinctive dance records of the 1990s. On this
collection it sticks out like a sore thumb due to
Tori's other dance collaborations with the likes of
BT not being included, but that only serves to
double the impact. Dr Zebra pales by comparison but is
still a rollicking good track with support from The
Black Dyke Mills Band.
There are four new songs which
demonstrate the same lyrical kookiness and musical
attention to detail as her earlier work, although
Angels shows signs that married life is beginning to
mellow her anger and intensity.
If you plump for the
accompanying DVD release of Librarian, you get the
excellent Pretty Good Year, a strange omission from
the CD, plus Honey and Northern Land - proof that when
it comes to making a Tori Amos collection there's an
abundance of good songs to choose from.
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Mercury Prize 2009 nominees
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