(note: title jacked from here)
IÂ admit: it’s been a good nine years since I took any interest in Tori Amos’ career. Her current release at the time was From the Choirgirl Hotel, an album fraught with the emotional turmoil of new love and repeated miscarriages. I admit: I listened to it probably twice, and went back to my copy of Boys for Pele, which I continued listening to in the ensuing years. Tori moved on, trying electronica, a covers album, a label switch, concept albums, and all the usual shit that seems to happen to successful musicians midway through their career when they’re not exactly sure what to do next. Then, on top of that, came the greatest hits collection, the official bootlegs, and the retrospective box set. It seemed like Tori was closing the door on an artistic part of her life, and moving into a new phase (in fact, she started mentioning doing something different from her earlier albums in interviews). When the opportunity arose for me to review American Doll Posse, I took it, interested to see what she might be up to. I told my roommate, and she replied “Tori’s gone apeshit!”
And yes, folks, it’s true: Tori’s gone apeshit. If you’ve been following any of the pre-release hype, you may know that Tori has created five “alter egos,” (the “posse,” natch) and they all split vocal duties and writing chores. Um, sure. Except they’re all Tori Amos, right? Well, they sure all sound like her. I can’t say if she’s writing the blogs each of the characters maintains. Oh, and they’re all based on Greek mythology, apparently, although I don’t recall a Greek god named “Santa.” Or “Pip,” for that matter. I realised that I’d have to stop rolling my eyes at some point, ignore all this character creation (which is hardly something she’s never done before, if the Wikipedia entry for Scarlet’s Walk is to be believed) and actually listen to the record if I was going to learn anything I could impart unto you, the reader.
The album kicks off nicely, following the brief ode to everyone’s favorite American citizen “Yo George” with the lead single “Big Wheel.” It’s a somewhat courageous choice, given the burnished, radio-ready sound of “Secret Spell” and “Bouncing Off Clouds,” but it’s a good one, coquettishly kicking its way onto the dance floor while Tori proclaims “I’m an M-I-L-F, don’t you forget.” The mis-steps start early, though, as “Teenage Hustling” tries a mean swagger that comes off self-concious (it should be noted that “Body and Soul” handles the swagger much better.) “Programmable Soda” wastes a fun music-hall arrangement on a song that’s, well, called “Programmable Soda.” What more do you need to know? On the other hand, a string quartet pops up on the lovely, understated “Girl Disappearing.” Another ballad, “Digital Ghost,” mixes quietly ticking electronics with quiet, crunchy guitars. Unfortunately, around the hour mark of this 79-minute album, the songs just run together. It’s a shame some of the wasteful fluff like “Mr. Bad Man” couldn’t have been trimmed.
But I suppose that’s not the point. If I were reviewing this album in one sentence, it would say “Tori Amos makes a Tori Amos record.” All I can really say about many of the songs are that they sound like Tori Amos songs. I’m okay with that, but then, I like her okay. American Doll Posse won’t sway anybody’s opinion; if you’re a fan, I’m sure you’re already making art based on an offhand remark in Clyde’s blog, and if you’re not, you’ve probably given up on this review by now. Which leaves just you and me: the vaguely curious. And what we are left with is the fact that Tori will make the album she wants, and more power to her. But for all her talk of forward motion, why is the music so familiar? Has her search for a new voice led her back to an earlier sound? Is it artistic laziness? I suppose we’ll have to wait for the next album, or maybe longer. Maybe I’ll spend another nine years reaching for Boys For Pele when I want to hear a Tori Amos record. But I’ll keep an ear open.
9 Comments »
Joshd, your review is probably one of the least biased I’ve read, as most people have chosen sides at this point as to whether or not Tori’s career is “washed up,” so I respect your viewpoint. However, I would encourage you and other readers to give the CD a few spins before ruling this one out. While 4 or 5 tracks could have and should have been cut, this is some pretty damn good music. I’m relieved to see songs like ‘You Can Bring Your Dog,’ ‘Father’s Son,’ ‘Body and Soul,’ and ‘Smokey Joe’ added to the catalogue. They are refreshing additions after Tori’s last album (Beekeeper), which was only slightly better than melodramatic mush. By the way, you only gave ‘Choirgirl’ a couple of listens??? Yikes!!!
Y’know, that’s the thing I was trying hard to get across: despite my many reservations, I really do like the record. It’s not the best thing she’s ever done, but it’s pretty damn good.
And I’ve listened to Choirgirl since. I think “Northern Lad’ is a right nice tune.
Well, people do not realize 2 important things:
1) An album is not made to be listen from the star to the end from the exactly moment that you turn your cd player on… the SKIP button was made to… errr… skip songs when you already heard them or when you already heard some of the firsts but hadn’t time to finish all the listening. It’s a very important button on the digital world era, so… a 79 minutes album is not an excuse to low its importance. If it could be like this, well, then DVD would not have chapters and everytime you would like to see an important scene you would have to watch all the movie from the start to the point you are expecting.
2) I think that for an artist like Tori Amos, 9 albuns and a huge list of b-sides and unreleased tracks goes to a point that… yeah, she already did everything she could do. So, this is another fact that people do not consider when are listening to a Tori’s new album, people are always expecting Tori to be BETTER and BETTER and… hey, stop it, ok? If you want another Boys For Pele or another From The Choirgirl Hotel so go listen to it once more! People just need to stop comparing new albuns with the old ones because each album is unique for its own. Tori Amos doesn’t need reviews anymore, just understanding.
Ooooo-kay. Superstarcastians, back me up on this:
1) An album is not made to be listen from the star to the end
Yes, it is. If it weren’t, an artist would just make singles. A 79-minute album, in this case, is indicative of the fact that Tori’s just a bit too full of her artistic self and doesn’t realize that she needs to cut a few of the crappier songs, for pacing. They can be b-sides, Tori! It’s okay!
2) I hardly ever skip chapters while watching a DVD, unless I had to leave and am picking up from where I left off. The idea that filmmakers want you to just watch five minutes of their artistic statement is just ludicrous. Do you only look at two square inches of a Picasso? No, you take in the whole thing.
3)yeah, she already did everything she could do
Oh! So it IS laziness! Criminy. I respect Tori Amos enough to expect her to make better records than Scarlet’s Walk or the Beekeeper. I’m sorry you don’t.
I agree that it’s not right for people to expect any artist to keep churning out the same style of music for more than a decade. It’s sickening to hear a Tori “fan” piss and moan about how much they miss all of her music prior to Scarlet’s Walk. Oh, okay, then the woman should be repeatedly traumatized every two years just so she can churn out the same heart and gut wrenching stuff for her rabid fan’s personal edification.
However, I’m not sure what happened with Beekeeper. It has its moments, but it just doesn’t measure up to her best work.
Josh D, sorry I didn’t the read from your post that you actually like the album, that did not come across too well. Cheers then.
rubens, you just made 2 really lame points there. i am not even going to waste my breathe arguing with you as josh has already admirably done so but geez…i just had to point it out. LAME.
Actually, Josh, you’re totally wrong. Albums have always been made to skip songs. That’s why vinyl has those spaces in the grooves; so you can see when the next song starts and skip to it. And Commercial Cassettes? Well, obviously you were supposed to buy those decks that could detect silence and stop fast-forwarding before the next song. Sheesh.
DJ, I am going to punch you in the dick.
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Comment by Sam E. — April 30, 2007 @ 8:07 pm
Trimming the wasteful fluff would require excising most of Tori’s career, at least in my opinion. But I enjoyed your review nonetheless ^_^