*Dislcaimer* i am very much a fan of Ms. Amos, so I hope this review doesn't sound scathing. I love her, I preordered ADP, and i'm glad that I did. I enjoy her work. See also
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tori_AmosOh yeah...albums released in order:
LE, Little Earthquakes, 1992
UDP, Under the Pink, 1994
Pele, Boys for Pele, 1996
From The Choirgirl Hotel, 1998
Venus, To Venus and Back, 1999
SLG, Strange Little Girls, 2001
SW, Scarlet's Walk, 2003
Tales of a Librarian (anthology), 2003
The Beekeeper, 2005
American Doll Posse, 2007
I own all of them except Librarian and Beekeeper. I've seen her 3 times, the most electrifying was when I saw her in Boulder at the end of her Dew Drop Inn tour in 1996 (I was in the front row center). I saw her in Denver in 1998 (I think) and 1999.
Somebody nice's Review of American Doll PosseYo George: Miss. This was the song that I hoped would be kickass. It has a very quiet sound, although the lyrics are good. Mr. Lincoln, we can’t seem to find you anywhere. The madness of King George. Very forgettable, regretfully.
Big Wheel: Hit, I love this one, very edgy. I've listened to it dozens of times. I love it.
Bouncing Off Clouds: My favorite track on the entire album next to Big Wheel. This is another track that is faster-paced. I like this one. It makes me feel like I’m 15 again, driving fast on an ethereal spring Colorado day in a friend’s car with the windows down and soft rain falling. The lyrics aren’t as out-there as Pele, but this song reminds me of her badassery from those days, and I like it.
Teenage Hustling: Hit. A darker sound for a bleak topic. Driving, raucous guitars like in Strange Little Girls, fast-paced, definitely sounds like rock. Very kinetic/moving track, and I like it.
Digital Ghost: Miss. Another soft, floating piano track. Sounds like it should have been on Scarlet’s Walk.
You Can Bring Your Dog: Hit... Lilting, falling piano and voice. Blues-driven guitar. Great sound, another badass track.
Mr. Bad Man: Meh. Awesome jazz top-hat begins this track then the letdown as her voice (again) is very soft and floaty and legato-as-hell, which I don’t feel is the highest and best use of her voice. I feel that she has better expression and demonstrates her range to its fullest when she sings in a non-legato fashion.
Fat Slut: Really weird 30-second track. Cacophonic, scary track. She busts out her scary voice for this one. Scary subject matter, so it fits. For some reason iTunes will not print the world "slut" but instead they asterisk it to "s**t", although the word is thankfully not bleeped out on the audio track.
Girl Disappearing: Soft Bosendorfer/violin and piano and more legato bullshit. Another track from Scarlet’s Walk. Her voice is smooth and although she uses a considerable range, I just don’t like that style. I prefer the breaks and kinetic nature of her voice from Little Earthquakes, UDP, Pele, etc. Her voice has much more promise than just the legato bullshit that she falls back upon.
Secret Spell: Miss. This has a very soft-rock sound to it, probably a cut that didn’t make it onto Scarlet’s Walk. The guitars and piano are tightly woven and it’s a little more exciting than the other “Scarlet-esque” tracks, but it still sounds like adult lite-rock-contemporary. I don’t like it. Her voice weaves in and out in a very soft legato style, which has basically eclipsed all other styles on every fuck*ng album since Pele. That’s what she’s doing here, and it’s BORING.
Devils and Gods: Miss. A very short 50-second piece. There is a little Bosendorfer or harpsichord here. Not very noteworthy.
Body and Soul: Miss. “Bona fide to be my judge all my life”. A great commentary, and the guitar and drums are more edgy here. There is still a lurching up-and-down with the keyboard that I dislike, she used that technique a lot on Venus and on Secret Spell, and I don’t like it.
Father’s Son: Meh. Starts out with very soft piano, and you just know it’s going to be a Scarlet track, instead of a LE or UDP kind of soft piano. More floating voice where everything is melded together.
Programmable Soda: Meh, albeit the “Happy Phantom” of the album. The same lilting, marching-like piano and oboe. It’s whimsical and fun. I’ll give it a hit.
Code Red: Hit. Starts out with dark guitar and piano. The track is already edgy and kinetic, I love it. She uses the same melty-floating voice, though. The piano cuts through the beautifully underlaid supporting guitar and drums, and the track is very artfully composed. She has a powerful voice and she’s an amazing composer, and this track really shines.
Roosterspur Bridge: Another Scarlet track. Bleh!
Beauty of Speed: Hit. Starts out with Venus-esque fast-yet-floaty piano and strong drums. The lyrics are very good, though. The chorus is great and uses either backup singers or an echo of her voice, either way it’s very nice and sounds tightly woven. Very good track. Although she does use the melty-voice (legato) a lot, there are some instances where she breaks away, and these occur often enough to keep the track moving and interesting.
Almost Rosey: Semi-hit. Another Scarlet/Venus Track, although the piano is still quicker. I’m getting hella sick of this. After the first few bars, it bursts into a heavy guitar riff, although she always floats above it. This has a brighter sound than the darkness of Venus, so I like it… eh, I’ll give it a hit anyway.
Velvet Revolution: Miss. Spidery old-west or Italian restaraunt harpsichord. Weird. Don’t like it.
That is all I reviewed. The rest of the album was a "meh" to me. I hope that as I listen to it I will like it more.
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I will post more later. Those are my thoughts. Bouncing off Clouds and Big Wheel are pure sex in audio format. I looove them.
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Topic: Tori Amos' new album, American Doll Posse, is fuck*ng great. (Read 2213 times)