i declare the Valentine's Day song of 2007 to be this one. it's too precious for words. SOOOOOOOO cute. "im yours to keep... if you want to" i totally want to cry when i hear it. i guess the woman singing is the wife of one of the band members (also with her own career, she did the stunning song "Above the Candystore" from the film "Spun")

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I think this is one of my first favorite albums ever. I first heard of Tori Amos when God was out from the album preceding this. My sister was all down with it and i used to steal Under the Pink from her in order to listen to it. Truth be told i didnt really jump on the crazed tori amos bandwagon until Spark came out so i was late in finding Boys For Pele. but once i did...

This is her first self written AND self produced album, and it was the poorest of all her albums to date in opening sales, but it ended up being her best selling album to date, and most revered among her crazed fans. for the vinyl junkies, she released two delicious double vinyl editions, one with transparent records, the other with clear green records.

i have to say this is her most alarming and challenging work. it's totally baroque, finding beauty in ugliness. its very southern, as it was recorded in part in New Orleans. There's a lot of brass, harpsichords, organs, and gospel choir.

Every couple of songs there is a short introduction. Those that own the album on CD instead of record may see these as just interludes, but the way it was meant was for the record release, as each short interlude begins each side of the vinyl and acts as a sort of introduction to the four songs following. The final track, "Twinkle" also acts as the closer, although it is about 3 minutes long.

Beauty Queen/ Horses is arresting. Both songs are included as track one, so it's more apparent how Beauty Queen acts as an introduction. Starts off slow, dark, and the descent begins. Blood Roses is the first implementation of the harpsichord on the album. It makes me think of powder wigs and hoop skirts. But in a menacing way. Father Lucifer is a beautiful song incorporating more instruments, and was remixed strangely in an almost acid jazz-y way on the remixes version of the single for Jackie's Strength later in her career. Professional Widow is definitely a strange song. Loud and uncompromising, the harpsichord is being completely destroyed, and the menacing sound of a bull screeches in the background. In the bizarre alternate universe of tori amos remixes, this song was remixed by uk garage genius Armand Van Helden and hit #1 on the charts (Professional Widow) Mr Zebra, the next introduction, is cute at first, until you listen to what she's really saying. It gets sinister. Marianne is a beautiful track with a great orchestral back-up. It's a song about someone she knew in high school who committed suicide. Caught a Lite Sneeze, one of my favorites from the album, from her career, and of all time, has an awesome beat. It was the album's first single release. Excellent blending of piano and harpsichord. If you ever get a chance, see 'Til the End of Time by Delirium to hear an awesome sample of this track. Muhammad, My Friend is a precious track with biblical themes. The music is lovely and light-hearted. Easy to enjoy. hey Jupiter, a very sad song, is also one of the most beautiful on the album. Was released and remixed as "The Dakota Version" using samples from her previous track, "Sugar" (of which a live version appears on the single release) Way Down is the next introduction, very short and simple, making great use of the gospel choir Little Amsterdam is a drawn out almost jazzy track about the negative, angry, hidden, underground, sleazy sides of things Talula is another great song that was remixed and released. This time by trance dj BT (who also remixed the song again on the single, and who Tori leant her vocals to for a great track, "Blue Skies".) Apparently, the song was so well received that the original version was deleted and replaced with the remix on repressings of the album Not the Red Baron is another one of my favorites. Very simple, just her and the piano, and very depressing. i love depressing. Agent Orange, the last introduction, has nothing to do with the heinous chemical, although it may or may not metaphorically. Doughnut Song is cute, with much more instrumentation, and floats in like a hazy dream. In the Springtime of His Voodoo is a so-so track that she had remixed and tried to reproduce the success of Professional Widow. This did not happen. I dont know if i even should recommend hearing the remixes, because they're kinda awful. I will say this much, though, around roughly 3:35 there is a beautiful 0:30 of heavenly music. Putting the Damage On is probably my favorite on the album. It's brassy, and has the sound of a showtune, like the last song from a musical. The culmination of all these events. Now im not much of a fan of musicals, in fact i hate them, but this song just evokes something in me. I love it. If you ask me, this should have been the closer, instead of Twinkle, the actual closer. Kinda boring if you ask me, but a nice quiet ending to a crazy journey.

and now, for your pleasure, i will for a limited time, host "Putting the Damage On" for download so you can hear it's marvelous beauty for yourself. Tori Amos - Putting the Damage On

and here's some of the music videos from the album:

Caught a Lite Sneeze Talula (The Tornado Mix) hey Jupiter the Dakota Version Professional Widow (Armand's Star Trunk Funkin' Mix) ("official" [??])

whew. next time, is the debut album by Garbage. see you then.

justin!

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