Tori Amos - Under the Pink

The only female pop artist I can listen to

My tastes are ecclectic but musical excellence is critical. The female pop style is grating on my ear for a variety of reasons, and I would not have sampled Tori Amos except I got sucked into her Wicki Bio.

She hasn't changed my mind about the genre, and I sometimes wish she would let her normal voice out a little more but I understand she has to sell records. But even the vocal style cannot cover the music.

Incredibly (to me) she has made my standard playlist. December 28, 2007

I believe in peace...

Though a radical departure from her first solo release, Pink is the next logical stop along Amos' evolution. It's a fantastic work, a treasure I'm pleased to own, even all these years later. August 1, 2007

Three Hands in her Pocket : Career Low for Amos

What can one say about "Under the Pink" that hasn't been said already? However, I find glowing five star reviews here for this album that I think aren't really deserved. At best, this is a four star album as it contains some of her biggest hits, but also features some real turkeys.

There are some that consider "Under the Pink" to be one of Tori's masterworks. It isn't quite. The primary problem here is that throughout the album, it seems that Amos is searching for some actual tunes. Often she hits upon something reasonably tuneful ("Cornflake Girl", one of her biggest hits), but then you'd have to wade through another three interminable tracks (of dubious subject matter, at best) to find another tune worth remembering.

See, heres the thing. Tori Amos is a goddess who can create the most spellbinding music, with unforgettable choruses and/or musical interludes (just listen to all of "Boys for Pele" and tell me you aren't blown away). Which is why listening to "Under the Pink" isn't as exciting as it could be. Strangely, it seems lifeless and rather directionless, and of all Amos' albums, this by far has the least personality.

My favorite track on this is "Pretty Good Year", which you have to see alongwith the video (it just doesn't have the same punch without it). Another Amos classic is here - "Past The Mission". This song is historical because it's the first time on record that Amos dueted with anyone (Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails - a god in his own realm). The only other time she would repeat this would be in 2005 on the hideous "The Beekeeper" (which, alongwith this album, marks the lowest point in Amos' illustrious career). "Past the Mission" is a wonderful musical oddity - the song kicks off without any build-up and is as straightforward as you could expect.

However, its sad that there are so many clunkers on this album. The worst is the closer "Yes, Anastasia" - which has got to be one of the most godawful things Amos has ever put to record. Seriously, its abysmal. I can stand pointless plink-plonk on a piano for a while, just as much as the other Toriphile, but this track tested even my well cultivated patience. That said, the album ends on this sour note, which does not really add to its memory value.

Another snoozefest, "Bells for Her" is one of those pretentious pieces in Amos' oeuvre that is best forgotten. And next to last closer "Space Dog" isn't very nice either. Consider these lyrics : "Rain and snow our engines have been receiving / Your eager call there's colonel Dirtyfishydishcloth / He'll distract her good don't worry so". Also, this other gem from the lullaby "Icicle" : "Greeting the monster in our easter dresses / Father says bow your head like the good book says". I'm not sure if this makes sense to you, but I think that even if it did, it doesn't justify the substandard music its' set to.

"The Waitress" on the other hand is famous for its one liner (you have to listen to it to find out), but it's the three primary tracks - "Pretty Good Year", "Cornflake Girl" and "Past the Mission" that make this the famous album it is. I can't even think of what this would sound like without those tracks.

Get this one, for sure. It isn't her best, but if you're a new fan of Tori Amos, you might want to check out some of her later work first before getting this one.

June 12, 2007

Instrumentally - Cutting Edge, but one must decide on the lyrics

In the1990s, Alternative Music began to take over the mainstream music scene. As far as Alternative Rock goes, this was originally a term that was a "catch all" to describe those genres (such as Indie, Grunge, etc) of music that didn't fit into the mainstream Rock. Eventually this music would become so common that it would become mainstream. In the late 1990s, the common element of many of these sounds was a strong guitar-laden presence. Eventually the problem with this sound is that it would prove to be "cookie-cutter" and sound all alike. Since the definition of Alternative Music (and Rock) refers to those genres that don't fit into the mainstream, not everything is necessarily lumped into the guitar-laden sound category. One artist that falls into this "other" category is Tori Amos. In a way, Amos could be considered one of the pioneers of the Alternative Music revolution. Amos' sound is a piano-oriented sound. In a way, while being a pioneer of Alternative Music, she could be considered an alternative to the alternative sound (i.e. guitar-laden Rock). While I wouldn't consider Amos' music to have a "radio-friendly" sound, she still managed to build what could be called a cult-following. While the piano-oriented sound is one reason why Amos is grouped into the Alternative Music scene, it is ultimately Amos' songwriting that propelled her into this category - and thus leading to this cult-following. Amos is known to "push the envelope" with her lyrics tackling such subjects as religion, sexuality, feminity, and personal emotions. This was demonstrated on her debut album, "Little Earthquakes" and is also on demonstrated on the follow-up album, "Under the Pink". In my opinion, "Under the Pink" definitely shows Amos' talent as a musician. Her piano work and vocals are outstanding. While the purpose of this review is not to be judgmental to Amos' messages on this album, it is important to know in the area of religion, Amos may push the envelope over the line for most people.

In a lot of ways, "Under the Pink" is a reflection of Amos' own femininity from both a lyrical and musical concept. While it is evident from many of the lyrics, it is often evident from the music (for the most part it is a soft classical piano sound with its moments of "strength"). This is best seen from looking at each track individually.

"Pretty Good Year": This opening is a perfect example of blending the soft classical piano sound with the strength - thus demonstrating Amos' femininity. Amos employs the use of a strings section to bring out the "strength".

"God": Amos tackles the subject of religion here. While doing a good job at combining piano and guitar, the bottom line is lyrically this song may offend people - namely with lines like "God sometimes you just don't come through" and "do you need a woman to come after you". While in a way, I think Amos might be joking and demonstrating her femininity, this is something the listener will need to decide on their own.

"Bells for Her": This song is a haunting ballad. This song demonstrates incredible talent of Amos on the piano and the vocals. Listen to how Amos makes the "bell"-like sound on the piano and compliment it perfectly with her voice.

"Past the Mission": This is a more radio-friendly song than the first three. Amos makes good use of her vocal range. The high notes sound more upbeat while the chorus is in a deeper, more serious voice. Listen to the use of the piano and how it adds a haunting sound to the bridge about 2+ minutes into the song.

"Baker Baker": This song uses an analogy to baking - and I guess this expresses Amos' femininity in some way. This is another piano-oriented song.

"The Wrong Band": Amos employs a "rag time carnival" like sound - again blending her voice with the piano superbly. Amos does a good job at discussing two friends - "Ginger" and "Heidi".

"The Waitress": This song brings more of classic alternative rock feel to it - a la Alanis Morrisette-like. It is a commentary that Amos has on a waitress she encountered. Like "Pretty Good Year", Amos demonstrates her femininity by combining the soft piano sound with a powerful sound.

"Cornflake Girl": Another radio-friendly song that became the album's most popular song. While this song uses guitar, bass, and drums, it is still Amos' piano sound that shines. The title "Cornflake Girl" reflects her femininity.

"Icicle": From a musical standpoint, this song has a lot to offer - especially from the two minute piano introduction. In fact this song has some of her best classical piano work. However the theme of female eroticism contrasted in a religious atmosphere is probably going to offend a lot of people. Again one must make their own judgment.

"Cloud on My Tongue": This is another example of Amos employing the use of strings to augment the piano sound - done very well.

"Space Dog": This is another example of Amos using her vocals to augment the piano sound. Her vocals bring true female emotion to the song. This song has a beat to it. Again this song uses guitar, bass, and drums to help enhance the sound.

"Yes Anastasia": The perfect "wrap up" to the album. This song has a theatrical quality - namely because of its length and the use of the piano and orchestra. Toward the end of this track there will be the contrasting of the soft and loud sounds - that became an Amos trademark on this album.

The album includes all of the musician credits and most of the lyrics (the beginning to the lyrics of "Icicle" are distorted). Overall from a musical sound standpoint, this album was cutting-edge for the alternative music sound. From a lyrical standpoint, as mentioned - one must make their own judgments on the messages that Amos gives. April 25, 2007

NoTORIous

I saw Tori Amos's "God" video randomly on MTV when I was 14. I could not believe how amazing she was. I bought the CD and listened to it over and over again. There was a guy I liked and I played the CD for him. He asked me "what that crap was"? Two years later he was dating a hippie chick and during a conversation at lunch he asked me if I'd ever heard of Tori Amos. That's when I first realized that he was definitely not for me.

Under the Pink laid the background for my future revolution. I could sing every line of every song. "Bells for Her" is about blanket friends. "Cornflake Girl" is about never being a cornflake girl. What's a Cornflake Girl? You decide. In "God," Tori asks God whether he needs a woman to look after him. "The Waitress" is about wanting to kill a co-worker. I'm sure you've been in a similar situation. While Tori has put out several more CDs, but in my opinion, this is her best work. January 13, 2007

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