lambchops's Full Review: Hey Jupiter [EP] by Tori Amos
When I think of Tori Amos, I think her two most distinctive attributes--her haunting voice and her fire-engine red hair. Over the course of the last decade, Amos has become one of the most mysterious and wonderful not to mention independently minded women in music. If there is one major complaint I have about Amos it is that she tries TOO hard to be different--this drive often outweighs the actual quality of her songwriting.
This failing mars so many of her albums and much of her music to the point that I become completely apathetic. Most troubling of all is that Boys for Pele (1996) is a complete waste of time and plastic as far as I’m concerned. Amos came across as a woman with high ideals but low talent all too often. She was overproduced and under entertaining outside of a few songs. Fortunately for the truly talented singer-songwriter and listeners alike, the good albums and songs far outweigh the bad. Albums like Under the Pink (1994), From the Choirgirl Hotel (1998), and even Strange Little Girls (2001) lend her great credibility.
In addition to Amos’ many full-length efforts she has released a host of singles and EPs--many of which are worth exploring and some of which are not. What I am particularly fond of in general about this group of discs is that Amos has chosen to include much non-album material and alternate versions (most of which are at least moderately entertaining). Hey Jupiter came on the heels of the aforementioned Boys for Pele debacle. Taking into account my considerable disdain for that album, I assumed I wouldn’t like Hey Jupiter despite the choice to include a version of two songs I did like from the album, Hey Jupiter and Professional Widow.
Hey Jupiter is the only studio version of the EP of the same name. The slow, mesmerizing song is a wonderful re-interpretation of the original. Equal parts fantastic exuberance and deeply troubling ache, it burns a hole into my soul. This is the reason people like Amos--she weaves an honesty and urgency into her songs, both of which resonate with the listener well after the final note ceases to exist. As much as I do enjoy this track, I think the real joy in Hey Jupiter lies in a few of her live selections.
Sugar, Honey, Professional Widow, and the movie classic Somewhere Over the Rainbow are pleasant surprises. However, I’m specifically drawn to the song Honey which according to Amos’ oration was originally slated to be part of Under the Pink but in the end didn’t make the cut (apparently to the dismay of the artist). It definitely soars over top of Sugar. In fact, it is with Sugar that my biggest pet peeve about live albums is evident--the damn noisy crowd that detracts from the song. Honey begins on a similarly annoying note, but soon the distractions are set aside by the soothing, cool, and simple piano-acoustic guitar combination. Honey is truly a lovely song.
I like the original version of Professional Widow, but in all honesty is definitely better than this “Merry Widow” attempt. Amos’ voice is breathy and dank along side the droning organ. It is painful and piercing--probably the worst musical moment of this entire EP. Heck, I find it difficult to even listen to the track in its entirety. The final track is a fascinatingly strange version of Somewhere Over the Rainbow. She’s genuinely faithful to the original, but her sparse voice and piano add a yearning that is hinted at in the original but brought to fruition here. It’s not a great track really, just an interesting and unexpected oddity.
Hey Jupiter is the kind of EP that fans cherish but proves unnecessary to people who don’t yet have all of her album material. Amos is talented; we’ve learned that much over the course of her career. She’s also rather prolific with her releases. The songs here range from the excellent (Hey Jupiter, Honey), through the mediocre (Sugar, Somewhere Over the Rainbow), to the truly awful (Professional Widow) and thusly it is only an “okay” release taken as a whole. If you are already a huge fan of Miss Amos, then its high time you get this CD. Otherwise, skip it and get the Crucify EP instead.
Rating: 3/5 stars
Track Listing:
01. Hey Jupiter (The Dakota Version)
02. Sugar (live)
03. Honey (live)
04. Professional Widow (live, Merry Widow Version)
05. Somewhere Over The Rainbow (live)
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