Tori Amos
to venus and back
Label: Atlantic
Genre: Rock, Pop
File Under: Space is the place
Rating: 83
"Tori Amos? Uh-uh. I
just don't get her," a
friend said on the
phone the other night.
If you're a guy and not
of the sensitive '90s
variety, you probably know what he means.
Since the beginning, Amos' songs, like "Me and
a Gun" and "Silent All These Years," have been
about female victimization and empowerment,
and if guys listened to what she had to say, it
was like occasionally checking out the Lifetime
channel 霠a little experiment to see how the
other half lives.
On her previous effort, 1998's from the choirgirl
hotel, Amos turned in one of her most lyrically
obtuse, yet musically satisfying albums.
Incorporating touches of electronica in a way
that didn't overwhelm her familiar piano-based
sound, she proved you could be a traditionalist
and cutting-edge at the same time, an act few
artists can pull off, regardless of their gender. to
venus and back is a sprawling, two-disc album
originally intended as a B-sides compilation, but
turned into a full-blown collection of new songs
once the muse 霠no, no, not Sharon Stone 霊dropped in for a spot of tea. She's as lyrically
bizarre as ever 霠the album's first lines, from
the song "Bliss," are, "Father, I killed my
monkey/ I let it out/ To taste the sweet of
spring." Consider that, plus the fact that she
continually pronounces the title word "bleece,"
and you might think that Amos is merely toying
with her audience.
But I don't think so. Somehow it's apparent that
the song is about finding personal identity and
separating from another. Amos' ability to convey
meaning through her rangy voice and
increasingly techno-tinged music is
extraordinary, but that's been true for much of
her career. What's intriguing on venus is that
she's doing it with an almost entirely new sonic
toolbox 霠the hard, percussive rhythms of
"Juarez," the swirling, distorted vocals and
recitation of "Datura," the subtle, sensuous
textures of "Suede."
Disc two was recorded live on her 1998 Plugged
tour, and it's a nice throw-in, but hardly as
revelatory as the set's new material. With full,
fleshed-out arrangements of songs like
"Precious Things," "Cornflake Girl," and
"Waitress," it's a nice souvenir for fans 霠guys
included 霠who've been patient enough to listen
to Amos and understand what she's about, even
if she's never been able to tell us directly. 霊Daniel Durchholz
--
gender is just an excuse, relationship shouldn't just be an excuse,
love is often an excuse, although sometimes these excuses are all
we have to hold onto,
death is the reason and living is the celebration
- Beth Orton
--
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