Scarlet's Walk: New Tori Amos album

[HeartlandGirl]

Re: Tori Amos - Scarlet's Walk Review

I may feel differently one day, as it continues to grow on me, and remain on my CD player for a long time (alongside the "instant classic" new Coldplay). And it's my second favorite album of 2002 (behind Coldplay).

I still have not made it through the whole Tori album, and that's mostly becaue I cannot seem to get Coldplay out of the CD player. It's brilliant!

Coldplay

 

[joyfulgirl]

Mark > somehow I missed your excellent review until now. I agree with it almost verbatim. We even like and dislike (or, like less, rather) the same songs with the exception of "Your Cloud" which a lot of people seem to love but...I don't know... it's a little too adult-contemporary-rock for my tastes (but maybe it'll grow on me). And for me Pele will always be her masterpiece. But otherwise, I'm amazed at how much I concur with your review.

(Wish I could get into Coldplay but I still haven't heard anything by them that doesn't annoy me. Oh well. Can't like everything I guess.)

 

[dizzy]

Well if you like Little Earthquakes.... you should definately listen to her other stuff....try Under The Pink, To Venus and Back, and From The Choirgirl Hotel....I don't know of a site offhand that has mp3's (her label Sony are real pains about mp3's) Definately do a search on Kazaa and see if you like her other stuff.

Oh yeah, I've heard a lot of her other stuff, because my former flatemates were all Tori fans. But I should definitely buy the cds this time. I actually saw her live last year.

 

[HeartlandGirl]

My co-worker Julie and Mark Freedman seem to be on the same page as far as favorites songs go, but I think I'm on the opposite track. Perhaps this is because some of my favorite Tori stuff is the weird, the industrial, and the 10-minute-long Datura type stuff. Here are my favorites so far:

#1---Crazy (best lyric on the album--see new sig)

Others--I can't see New York, another's girl's paradise, gold dust, and perhaps Carbon.


I'm with joyfulgirl on this one--Pele is still reigning supreme in my book. This album at first glance is all the same speed. I just need more time with it, and I'll start off with the above songs.

Other comments: your cloud sounds like a song from the 70s. I picture Tori looking dead into the camera on American Bandstand and singing into one of those really skinny microphones.

 

[joyfulgirl]

Perhaps this is because some of my favorite Tori stuff is the weird, the industrial, and the 10-minute-long Datura type stuff.

Me, too! Blood Roses, Professional Widow, Datura, iiiee....love all that stuff.

Other comments: your cloud sounds like a song from the 70s. I picture Tori looking dead into the camera on American Bandstand and singing into one of those really skinny microphones.

HG, I can't believe you're saying this--I had a moment yesterday in the car where I pictured the Carpenters singing Your Cloud!

And I LOVE Crazy and Another Girl's Paradise. Those were turning points on SW for me because it was the first time I hit replay to hear a song again.

 

[HeartlandGirl]

Me, too! Blood Roses, Professional Widow, Datura, iiiee....love all that stuff.

HG, I can't believe you're saying this--I had a moment yesterday in the car where I pictured the Carpenters singing Your Cloud!

And I LOVE Crazy and Another Girl's Paradise. Those were turning points on SW for me because it was the first time I hit replay to hear a song again.

HG and JG = separated at birth! Except for maybe the Coldplay thing...

Seriously, sounds like we're both reacting the same to SW. I think I need more time with it.

 

[daisybean]

now that I've listened to it a gizillion times

Okay...Wednesday really reminds me of The Wrong Band, it has that same quirky feel with deep undertone.

I can't really say how it ranks yet, it's still too new...it's really reminisent of Little Earthquakes...It's hard for me to even rank her albums...One day it's Under the Pink, another it's Choirgirl...it all depends on my mood.

Crazy definately gave me big chills the first time I heard it....and I usually need to hear a song several times to get familiar with it and "feel" it.

 

[pax]

I'm with joyfulgirl on this one--Pele is still reigning supreme in my book.

How could you not love "the harpsichord album"? Pele proves more than any of Tori's other work that she really, really is a genius. Although, I must admit, I like a few of the remixes from Pele better than the album versions (like the Dakota version of "Hey Jupiter" and the Tornado Mix of "Talula").

"Putting the Damage On" still makes me a little weepy. So does "Twinkle." And "Blood Roses" and "Professional Widow" still scare me a little bit.

Here's a question: what is the saddest song on Pele? "Doughnut Song," "Marianne," "Hey Jupiter," "Not the Red Baron," "Putting the Damage On" and "Twinkle" are all strong contenders. Which is the most depressing?

 

[Mark Freedman]

Tori Amos is definitely one of those artists who you look back upon and realize how classic her albums are. At the time some of them came out, I wasn't so sure, but I've been ripping her CDs lately, revisiting them, when it hit me.

I drove my wife through the local park today for a fall photo-ops, and I sat in the car listening to all of SW while she went out to shoot, and the mood fit the quiet of the park perfectly. It was great (and she thinks she got some great shots).

 

[MonaVox]

1. My boyfriend got us tix to see Tori next month

2. Maybe this album will grow on me. Nothing has really succeeded in grabbing my full attention so I can like it better than any other of her CDs......but I always need time for her to sink in. We'll see. There are some really excellent lines in some songs though. For the most part the writing is great as usual. I still need to be able to tell the songs apart though.....I'ma listen to it again now.

 

[joyfulgirl]

1. My boyfriend got us tix to see Tori next month

2. Maybe this album will grow on me. Nothing has really succeeded in grabbing my full attention so I can like it better than any other of her CDs......but I always need time for her to sink in. We'll see. There are some really excellent lines in some songs though. For the most part the writing is great as usual. I still need to be able to tell the songs apart though.....I'ma listen to it again now.

Cool--where will you be seeing her? Have you seen her before live? I can't wait for the Denver show.

This record is really a sleeper--I couldn't tell the songs apart either at first but now they're getting under my skin (in a good way) and I can't stop listening to it. Even though I love her crazy weird stuff, in some ways I think SW could be her most accomplished record. The music and string arrangements are so rich. But I really like all her different phases just as I love all of U2's phases. I guess that's what makes them my two favorite artists (duh).

 

[joyfulgirl]

How could you not love "the harpsichord album"? Pele proves more than any of Tori's other work that she really, really is a genius. Although, I must admit, I like a few of the remixes from Pele better than the album versions (like the Dakota version of "Hey Jupiter" and the Tornado Mix of "Talula").

"Putting the Damage On" still makes me a little weepy. So does "Twinkle." And "Blood Roses" and "Professional Widow" still scare me a little bit.

Here's a question: what is the saddest song on Pele? "Doughnut Song," "Marianne," "Hey Jupiter," "Not the Red Baron," "Putting the Damage On" and "Twinkle" are all strong contenders. Which is the most depressing?

I agree about Pele. It makes me laugh, cry and squeal with delight. Did you know that the Tornado Mix of "Talula" is now (and has been for a few years) the version you get when you buy Pele? I think she regretted it wasn't on there to begin with. Some people haven't even heard the original. But the Tornado Mix was always my favorite, too.

Saddest song...I'd have to go with "Putting the Damage On" and "Hey Jupiter." "Marianne" is sad but it seems to be addressing something more from the past, a memory, while "Damage" and "Jupiter" seem to have a more urgent emotional sadness to it (relating directly to what she was going through when she was writing Pele). "Doughnut Song" seems more angry than sad, and "Red Baron" and "Twinkle" are just mellow and contemplative to me though not necessarily born from pain and sadness.

 

[HeartlandGirl]

Here's a question: what is the saddest song on Pele? "Doughnut Song," "Marianne," "Hey Jupiter," "Not the Red Baron," "Putting the Damage On" and "Twinkle" are all strong contenders. Which is the most depressing?

I'd vote for Hey Jupiter. It's so poignant and beautiful, hopeful and despairing. A girl I know absolutely bawled through the whole song when we saw her in OKC on the Dew Drop Inn tour. It still gives me chills to hear it.

Looking back at Pele, it's so wonderful. Doughnut Song is still my #1 Tori song of all time. I'll never forget hearing it live.

SW is starting to grow on me. The songs are definitely beginning to take their own shapes. I agree that Tori's metamorphoses have been just as interesting as U2's. If either artist were always the same, it wouldn't be any fun. To quote Simon and Garfunkel, "After changes upon changes we are more or less the same." Tori and U2 change, but they've still got that innate essence that makes a U2 song a U2 song and a Tori song a Tori song.

 

[daisybean]

Hey Jupiter is definately one of the saddest songs on Pele....it's been a while since I listened to it...perhaps I'll put it on again...once I need a break from SW (which may not be happening anytime soon). Also "Caught a Lite Sneeze," while an upbeat tune, lyrically, it's full of desperation and loneliness.

And oh yeah.... I got confirmation that my limited edition is being shipped today

 

[joyfulgirl]

not ready for this thread to die

Okay, it's official. I am in love with Scarlet's Walk.

Favorite songs (in no particular order):

a sorta fairytale
strange
Carbon
Crazy
I can't see New York
another girl's paradise
Scarlet's Walk

I like every song and yet these are the ones I'm beginning to skip over so I guess they're my least favorites:

Amber Waves
Sweet Sangria
your cloud
pancake

We'll see how it competes in my CD player with the U2 best of later today.

 

[daisybean]

I'm really loving
Crazy
Wednesday
Another Girl's Paradise
Don't make me come to Vegas
Your Cloud

I'm kinda skimming
Wampum Prayer
I Can't See New York

Although I was too lazy to take my cd outta my car so I'm rediscovering Choirgirl Hotel right now

 

[joyfulgirl]

People have always made the comparison to Kate Bush and although I never really got that comparison (aside from being two amazing female musicians with sort of similar voices that critics couldn't peg so they labeled them 'quirky'), I am definitely hearing a Kate Bush influence on "I Can't See New York." Anybody else get that?

daisybean--I can't get that "Crazy" chorus out of my head (HeartlandGirl's new sig)

 

[HelloAngel]

I'm going to the tour launch this Thursday in Tampa.. I'll let ya know how it goes

 

[joyfulgirl]

I'm going to the tour launch this Thursday in Tampa.. I'll let ya know how it goes

 

[HeartlandGirl]

Who can love you and still be standing?

Fave songs report:

Crazy---I wake up singing it, it is that stuck in my head

Another Girl's Paradise--beautiful chorus

Carbon

Taxi Ride

Gold Dust

Strange

I Can't See New York ---I just typed this giant thing about how this song reminds me of September 11, but it seemed stupid all typed out... Anyway, I find this song to be beautiful and sad. Definitely a highlight on the album, imho.

I don't really skip any songs, but if I did, I'd probably skip Don't Make Me Come to Vegas, Sweet Sangria, Virginia, and Scarlet's Walk. These songs just haven't made any impressions on me yet. No disrespect, of course!



Have you guys tried Scarlet's Web? Very cool stuff, but I don't think everything's up and running fully yet. I highly recommend it if you've got the free time.

 

[MonaVox]

Cool--where will you be seeing her? Have you seen her before live? I can't wait for the Denver show.

This record is really a sleeper--I couldn't tell the songs apart either at first but now they're getting under my skin (in a good way) and I can't stop listening to it. Even though I love her crazy weird stuff, in some ways I think SW could be her most accomplished record. The music and string arrangements are so rich. But I really like all her different phases just as I love all of U2's phases. I guess that's what makes them my two favorite artists (duh).

1. Seein her at the Patriot Center Nov 12 FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER O_O

2. I love this CD now. SO MUCH. Can't stop listening to it.

fav songs (so far):
Taxi Ride
A Sorta Fairytale
Strange
Your Cloud
Crazy
Another Girl's Paradise (lyrics baby....)


"first let's just unzip your religion down" ---> CLASSIC Tori....perfect

"Wednesday" is also VERY Tori....like oldschool LE Tori or something

really diggin' this album.. I am above all things a lyrics person. BIG Lyrics person. So this is awesome...

 

[daisybean]

still waiting for my limited edition to come in the mail

grrrr

she never comes to the Syracuse area

the closest she's coming to me is 6 hours away.....

anyway....I'm truely addicted to Crazy......This is definately one of the best cd's of the year.

 

[joyfulgirl]

HelloAngel > please give us the lowdown on the show last night!

Here's the setlist I pulled from The Dent. She played for 2 hours and 20 minutes--27 songs! Interesting setlist:

Wampum Prayer
a sorta fairytale
In The Springtime Of His Voodoo
Bliss
Crazy
Take To The Sky
Pancake
Caught A Light Sneeze
Mrs. Jesus
Crucify
Wednesday

Band leaves

Cloud On My Tongue
Cool On Your Island
Cooling

Band returns

Strange
Concertina
Sweet Sangria
Lust
Amber Waves
Don't Make Me Come To Vegas
Hotel
I Can't See New York
Spring Haze

1st Encore

Virginia
Past The Mission

2nd Encore

Tear In Your Hand
Hey Jupiter


Also from The Dent, Scarlet's Walk has hit the U.S. charts at #7, which is unbelievable. It's really weird to see her keeping company with huge mega-stars like Eminem, Christina Aguilera , Nirvana and Faith Hill:

Soundscan says that Tori sold 110,000 copies of Scarlet's Walk during the first week. Here are the Soundscan numbers. This is not official yet but should be close!

1. 8 Mile Shady - 746,000 -- Soundtrack
2. Christina Aguilera - 342,000 -- Stripped
3. Nirvana - 244,000 -- Nirvana
4. Rascal Flatts - 171,000 -- Melt
5. Santana - 167,000 -43% -- Shaman
6. Faith Hill - 143,000 -26% -- Cry
7. Tori Amos - 110,000 -- Scarlet's Walk

 

[HelloAngel]

HI you guys!

I'm just going to post my thoughts here about the show, and hope I don't get flamed for having anything other than a glowing opinion of the show, etc.

Let me preface my review by saying that the first time I saw Tori was 10 YEARS ago this month. I've been a fan since the second I saw the 'Crucify' video on VH1 late one night. I absolutely Tori and all that she stands for, and all that she has done with her RAINN network. She's is an impeccable artist, writer, singer and pianist. This was the 4th Tori concert I've been to.

That said...


Her choice of setlist was very very downtempo. It was very slow, and again, please don't flame me here, but alot of the new songs sound exactly the same in a live concert setting. Much of her early works are very innovative and odd sounding, and you can truly tell the difference between her odd more experimental old stuff versus her new stuff. And I don't just say this because I have grown into a woman being a fan of the previous albums, and haven't yet fully absorbed the new material.

Due to the prevailing downtempo material, the audience, while rapt, was often listless and bored. Tori seemed disinterested herself, versus other times I've seen her. And I don't fully attribute it to first night jitters. You can tell when someone just isn't having fun up there. You can tell when someone is weary (while understandable.. she does now have a family and thus, other priorities). But, she does have a record contract, and thus a slight responsibility to tour in support of the new album.

On a more positive note, her voice is absolutely electrifying still. Sometimes, with age (she is 39), one's voice wanes, but she is a singing master. I would be hardpressed to say I wasn't moved to tears just by her sheer passion and vocal range alone.

There wasn't alot of chatter to the audience from Tori. The past times I've seen her, she's been very talkative - telling stories, gossiping, taking questions. She didn't do that here. She stuck to the setlist, did her wave at the end of the main set, and as she approached down stage, a fan lept onto the stage and grabbed her. A security guard rushed the fan and Tori stood there stunned. She then cupped the fan's face, smiled, and left the stage. 2 encores preceeded.

I was sad to not see much material from Little Earthquakes, simply because it's more of her most piercing music. Perhaps she is trying to not have the evening be so depressing now that she has found a wonderful man to marry and have a beautiful daughter. She's happier in her own life, and wants her shows to reflect that.

I'm not intending this review to be negative. I'm just not one of those fans who will agree with everything a musician does and never question it. Criticism and doubt are part of life. So to summize, Tori didn't wow me this time, and perhaps as the tour rolls on and takes a personality, she will incorporate more uptempo songs into her set to balance out the slower songs.

It was wonderful to see the remixed "Hey Jupiter" live. I would've died to see "1000 Oceans" or "The Waitress" or perhaps even "Space Dog." Ah well. Maybe next time

 

[joyfulgirl]

HelloAngel--thanks for the review! No one should ever flame someone for being less than wowed over a particular performance so don't worry about that. The guy who owns The Dent was also at the show last night and said it wasn't the best Tori show he'd seen by any means and said he needed to see a few more shows on this tour before he decided how he felt about it. I am surprised that if she wasn't really into it that she played that long. I think you're right about her being in a different phase in her life. As with any artist, this might alienate some fans while at the same time bringing in new ones. Just the way it goes. I'm really looking forward to seeing her, though. She's always done a different setlist every night so it will be interesting to see how she mixes it up in the coming weeks.

 

[HeartlandGirl]

Thanks for the review, HelloAngel. I appreciate your honesty and enjoyed reading your thoughts on the show. I remember at the last show I saw, there were a few moments where I was a little bored, so I understand what you're saying. Some of the songs just don't get you excited, you know? Tori shows are not like U2 shows, that's for sure. Very different moods for the audience.

I'm interested in seeing how the rest of the tour goes. The closest she'll be to me is 8 hours, so i won't be seeing her, but I'm still interested in the reviews, both from fans and critics.

 

[daisybean]

woo hoo

I finally got my limited edition of SW today....I got this cool little arrowhead charm thingie....

now I have two copies.....one for the car and one for home....


Once she gets warmed up on the tour she'll be better...Everyone has an off night