There are very few albums indeed that posses this level of....durability. I bought it about three years ago, and it turned out to be one of the few cd's that has a permanent position near the top of my cd-stand. Just like good wine, "Boys for Pele" gets better with time.

Should you buy this album, you need to avoid making hasty judgements, as the songs do take at least a couple of goes to sink in. The most delightful aspect of the album is that at the point which the cd has almost grown to be an integral part of your cd-player, you still seem to notice new things now and then as you press the play button for the hundredth time. Set it aside for a couple of months, try it again, and you'll find it even more pleasing to the ear.

Here's a brief walkthrough of the album:

Beauty Queen

A sort of a quiet prologue to the album - so brief and inconspicuous as not to be assigned a number. It's the song before the first song. Interesting...


Horses

Minimalistic, Tori and the piano. Soft, enticing. Possesses the sort of a subtle aspect that might not impress at first, but...


Blood Roses

Wow! A harpsichord. Stands out nicely after "Horses". Still pretty minimalistic, little more than the harpsichord and Tori, but hey - what more do you need? A very good song. The words do stand out, very cryptic. She gives you the key to unlock the mystery at the very end of the song:

"at least when you cry now / he can't even hear you / when chickens get a taste of your meat / when he sucks you deep / sometimes you're nothing but meat."


Father Lucifer

A beautiful song with the words providing a disturbing contrast - one of my favorites on this album. I do know that Tori's father is (was?) a member of the clergy, so is this a song in protest of her own past, or is this simply about a fictional situation? Especially with some of the lyrics in the next song, one just can't help but wonder.


Professional Widow

Back to the harpsichord, this time with more generous backgrounds. Perhaps the most hectic song on the album, with a few quiet spells in the middle, and at points at least as disturbing words as in "Father Lucifer". One of the more memorable tunes on the album.


Mr Zebra

A sudden and welcome contrast to "Professional Widow", this simple and playful song features Tori, the piano and soft horns on the background. Sure to bring a smile on your face. A brief, excellent song.


Marianne

A song that you won't appreciate until a more thorough "Boys for Pele" insaturation in your brain. This is a bit complex song featuring strings in the background in addition to the usual Tori-piano combo.


Caught a Lite Sneeze

The hit song from the album, catchy, memorable, another favourite of mine.


Muhammad my friend

Delightfully provocative, quirky clever lyrics - oh yeah, and cryptic as always. Perhaps the difficulty in interpretation is one of the keys of this album that keeps you pressing the play button. A fairly quiet song. Very nice indeed.


Hey Jupiter

A beautiful, interesting ballad with perhaps the most accessible lyrics on the album. The sort of a thing you can easily end up listening to with glazed eyes staring out the window, immensed in pleasant thoughts.


Way Down

A short track featuring a gospel quire towards the end. Quite a nice mood setter for "Little Amsterdam".


Little Amsterdam

One of the best, if not the best song on the album, very good, subtle and a bit jazzy backgrounds, but still Tori's voice takes centre stage in this one. Absolutely brilliant.


Talula

Another contender for the best song title, this song gets better and better towards the end, as the innovative backgrounds show their full variety. No trace of minimalism in this one.


Not the Red Baron

This is a song that I think that only just now, in writing this and listening to it on the background, I may have figured the lyrics out. Absolutely brilliant, should I be right. (I might be wrong but this song seems to me to be about the injustice of the Old Testament idea of hell - looking from that viewpoint, the words do come out VERY strong.) One of my least favourite songs originally, but after this "epiphany" I think this might change...

See! I'm still getting new stuff out of this album...

Agent Orange

This inconspicuous little song, although pretty, isn't one of my favorites. Seems like a kind of an interlude between "Not the Red Baron" and "Doughnut Song". You'll hardly notice it's there - I actually missed it when writing this, and had to come back to edit this note in.

Doughnut Song

More good stuff, clever lyrics again:
"You told me last night /that you were a sun now with your very own / devoted satellite / happy for you / but I'm sure I hate you / two suns too many too many able fires"

as well as some good pointers: "You never gain weight from a doughnut hole" :-)


In the Springtime of His Voodoo

Yes, the name is weird. So are the lyrics: "got an angry snatch / girls you know what I mean / when swivelling that hip doesn't do the trick / me pureed sanitarily Mr Sulu / warp speed / warp speed / warp speed / In the springtime of his Voodoo...."

A nice song, nonetheless.


Putting the Damage On

One of the most beautiful songs on the album. Not much more to say about this one.


Twinkle

A good song to end with - has the sort of a stare-to-the-distance-and-dream quality similar to "Hey Jupiter".


That's it - now just press "repeat"... :-)


Recommended: Yes