Tori Amos - From the Choirgirl Hotel
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Music CD Cover
Artist: Tori AmosBrand: AMOS,TORI
Edition: Music CD
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2000
CD Release Date: 1998-05-05
Music Label: Atlantic
Soundtracks:
- Spark
- Cruel
- Black-Dove (January)
- Raspberry Swirl
- Jackie's Strength
- Iieee
- Liquid Diamonds
- She's Your Cocaine
- Northern Lad
- Hotel
- Playboy Mommy
- Pandora's Aquarium
Free Music Notes for From the Choirgirl Hotel
Free Music Review: An Album To Drown In
Hit: 5 Stars
Out of all Tori's albums, I would say that this is the one I took to the quickest. It is also, at this moment, my favourite Tori Amos record. After the critical and commercial success of her first three studio albums "Little Earthquakes," "Under The Pink" and "Boys For Pele," Tori Amos returned in 1998 with her fourth album "From The Choirgirl Hotel." It was an album that divided a few fans, but the majority of fans loved it and Tori also picked up a large new audience because she dabbled with electronica on this album. This record took a very big turn from anything Tori had done in the past, and instantly reminded me of Alanis Morissette's "Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie." Since that is one of my favourite albums ever, I knew that this was going to become my favourite Tori Amos album!
This album is my favourite one by Tori because it works so well as a whole. Sure, Tori's best ever songs aren't all on this album, but as an entire album it's a total work of art. It's powerful, evocative, sorrowful, emotional and harrowing. The album art work is also absolutely beautiful and so striking - the images of Tori are amazing and the way the lyrics are arranged and printed is very aesthetically pleasing. I know you shouldn't judge a book (or album) by it's cover, but the art work of this album is so perfect for the music on here.
The album opens with the beautiful "Spark." This song is Tori's account of her unfortunate miscarriage a year before this album was released. Tori is questioning her ability to be a mother and also her realisation of what has happened. I love this song because Tori took something so harrowing and personal to herself and shared it with her adoring fanbase. For that, we love her all the more for having the strength to do so. "Cruel" is amazing and the way the instruments are arranged is awe-inspiring. The song has an incredibly dark feel to it as Tori questions her hatred that she sometimes feels towards people, and how she cuts herself off from anyone. The beat is dark and relentless, Tori's vocals strong and direct. There's also a great bridge section with lots of wailing. "Black-Dove (January)" is definitely one of the best songs of Tori's entire career. It starts off all dense and almost foggy, before Tori's sunlit vocals make things clearer. The way this song shifts mood is incredible and when you hear Tori singing "On the other side of the galaxy!" you're left feeling truly warmed by the sheer love she radiates!
"Raspberry Swirl" is a brilliant foray into dance-electronica, no doubt influenced by the success of the dance remix of "Professional Widow" which not only became a huge UK No.1, but pretty much revolutionized the club scene. This song has fast beats and shimmering, primal backing vocals. The lyrics are swift, sharp, controversial, saucy and most definitely acid-tongued! Tori rocks this song to the core. "Jackie's Strength" is definitely one of the best songs on the album, and one of the best ballads of Tori's career in my opinion. This is a near-perfect composition with a very beautiful piano introduction. Tori sings of how Jackie Kennedy coped with the assassination of JFK. Of course, this is Tori's interpretation of it and she really makes it very emotional. The addition of the strings in the chorus is a beautiful touch. "Iieee" is one of my favourites on the album. I just love the way the song begins with a really cool beat that just rolls in out of no where! The way Tori sings "I-i, eee-i-i, eee-i-i, eee-i-i!" is so cool, she sounds like a total Goddess. Well, she is, but you get my meaning! The rocking break out halfway through is amazing too.
What I love about "Liquid Diamonds" is the way it starts off, just with a superb bass that pounds and echoes, just out of no where, gradually becoming louder and louder. This song runs for more than six minutes, but I suppose it's the true epic of the album. Slow, but not too slow. It picks up pace but has a hook to it which keeps it balancing. "She's Your Cocaine" is a fantastic, funky, feel-good rocking anthem with a dirty bass and some eccentric vocals from Tori. She wails, "She's your cocaine, she's got you shaving your legs!" The bridge where everything becomes 'perfect' and harmonious is great, before things break down and Tori brings the listener back to her world. The song closes with the superb screeching of "Pleeeeease don't help me with this!" This was my favourite song when I first listened to the album, but not so much anymore. "Northern Lad" is a great ballad, very heavy with emotion and beauty. Tori sings about the basic break up of a relationship, but what makes this song so special to me is the way her vocals rise and fall ala Kate Bush-style in the chorus as she wails, "Because of the rain!" She also sings, "I feel this cake just isn't done," which could be a reference to "Baker Baker" from 1994's Under The Pink.
"Hotel" is a return to the electronica-style she perfected (yes, she bloody perfected it!) on this album. The programming is very evocative, and reminds me so much of something from Madonna's "Ray Of Light" which was released - interestingly - around the same time. The way the verses change in contrast to the operatic-vocal style of the chorus is great as well. A song that achieves the feeling of a wide, open space, as if Tori is on top of a mountain in the middle of the night in a storm. "Playboy Mommy" speaks for itself really. It's a classic, and a definite fan favourite. Another song about Tori's miscarriage, but this one is more blunt and to the point. Tori's vocals here are so strong and emotional. You can sense that raw, undiluted passion in her lyrics, especially as she sings, "Don't judge me so harsh little girl. You've got a playboy mommy, come home...But I'll be home, I'll be home, to take you in my arms." The album closes with "Pandora's Aquarium" which I feel is very underrated. I just can't help but adore Tori's vocals on this song. The lyrics are so visual and evocative, especially "Line me up in single file with all your grievances."
OVERALL GRADE: 10/10
This is one of the few albums where I love every song on it. Of course some are better than others, but the overall standard of this immaculate production is perfect. This was the first album where Tori used a full percussion set on most of the songs. The songs have a fuller effect to them, which also makes them more accessible. This isn't the reason why it's such a good album, though. It's such a good album based on the simple fact that the songs are exceptional. I'd definitely recommend From The Choirgirl Hotel or Little Earthquakes as the first album to buy if you're looking to get into Tori Amos and her life-changing music.
From the Choirgirl Hotel Poster
Japanese edition of her hit 1998 album with 'Purple People'added as a bonus track. 13 tracks total, also featuring thesmash single 'Spark'. An EastWest/ Atlantic release.For Tori Amos, sex can be a weapon, a spiritual offering, or an act of protest. It's certainly been the singer-pianist's big subject since her 1989 debut Little Earthquakes. But while her earliest compositions tried to punch every emotional hot button at once and came off sounding turgid and overblown, her new album packs a greater punch by toning down mock-symphonic excess in favor of stark, haunting tracks that contain veiled mysteries. Love cuts both ways on Choirgirl. Songs such as "She's Your Cocaine" and "Cruel" view relationships as vicious power plays, while the protagonists in "Playboy Mommy" and "Northern Lad" desperately seek salvation via emotional connection. Hypnotic, affecting, and frequently gorgeous, From the Choirgirl Hotel is Amos's most accomplished album to date. --Marc Weingarten
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