Cons: Occasionally silly lyrics; "Liquid Diamonds" is slightly weaker than the rest.
The Bottom Line: I'd advise anyone who wishes to delve into Tori's music or expand their collection to run out and purchase this album. It's simply incredible.
neverseenblue's Full Review: From the Choirgirl Hotel by Tori Amos
Tori Amos is more than a slight anomaly. The mere mention of her name tends to bring out strong reactions in people. Whenever I've brought up her name in the midst of a discussion, the person I've been talking to has reacted either by positively shrieking "I love Tori Amos!" and continuing to blather on about her for several minutes, or by instantly changing his/her facial expression to that of pure disgust and scathingly declaring "She's a freak." Oh, and then there's that ever so common blank stare that I'm all too used to receiving. There really isn't ever an in - between, and unfortunately, the first reaction is a rarity. Most people who do recognize her name think of her solely as that scary chick who wrote "Cornflake Girl" and humps her piano bench.
Despite all that, Tori has garnered a fiercely devoted fan-base, undoubtedly due to the highly personal and strikingly honest approach she takes when it comes to her music. Over her lengthy career (which is far from dead, despite the fact that she recently released a "Best Of" album.), she has touched on many genres of music and tackled such heavy topics as religion, sex, and her own rape and miscarriages. Melding bizarre yet poignant lyrics, interesting and beautiful melodies, and unique, ethereal vocals, Tori's music is amongst the most emotionally stirring I've heard.
Although her previous three albums - - "Little Earthquakes," "Under the Pink," and "Boys for Pele" were all brilliant, "From the Choirgirl Hotel" feels like a culmination of everything Tori Amos is about and everything she has striven for. The album's cover photo might lead people browsing music shelves to believe that it is a flimsy, weightless dance album. That wouldn't necessarily be a silly assumption - - the idea behind the photography was initially intended for a Kylie Minogue album, after all. It wouldn't be entirely untrue in some respects, either. Unlike Tori's aforementioned three albums, which were based mainly around keyboard instruments, "From the Choirgirl Hotel" incorporates a full band and prominent electronic elements. The album is anything but flimsy, though. Fueled by an unfortunate miscarriage, its emotional force is just as strong as anything Tori had written up to that point. It single-handedly demonstrated to me that "electronic" does not automatically equal "contrived."
I've only been familiar with Tori's music for approximately a year and a half. Because of this, I discovered Tori's impressive body of work nearly all at once. Therefore, the lack of similarity from one Tori album to the next didn't really phase me. It was a pleasant surprise when I first listened to "Choirgirl" and realized that it wasn't very much like "Little Earthquakes" and "Under the Pink" (the only two albums I owned at the time) at all. I can imagine, however, that "What is this?!" was a common initial thought amongst many longtime fans after they returned home from purchasing the album and excitedly placed it into their CD players, anxious to hear new material from their favourite artist.
"She's addicted to nicotine patches/she's afraid of a light in the dark."
This statement taken from Spark, the album's intriguing opener, makes for an effective introduction to Tori's "new" sound. The aforementioned phrase's compressed, hushed vocals immediately indicate that new and interesting things are to come. "Spark" is the first song written as a reaction to Tori's miscarriages. In it, she attempts to come to terms with what has happened so she can move on with her life and feel like a whole person again. The band is utilized to great effect, assisting a smooth segue from the hushed verses to sweeping choruses.
Cruel is lucid both lyrically and musically, but certainly not in a negative manner. Although it contains such odd lyrics as "lover brother bogenvilla, my vine twists around your need," the song's overlying theme of unwarranted unkindness toward loved ones in far from foreign. Tori's ethereal vocals absolutely float over the simultaneously dense and fragile instrumentation, which features a prevalent bass line and electronic effects. Wailing, desperate background vocals add to the communication of the feeling of being trapped in a state of bitterness and despair.
As I write this review, it is starting to grow dark outside and snow is barreling down, covering everything in a layer of white dust. Black-Dove (January) fits quite nicely into this sort of atmosphere. Muted, icy piano accented by Tori's sharp intakes of breath opens the song, creating an extremely claustrophobic feel. Quite fitting, considering the subject matter. As Tori unravels the song's meaning through words, we learn that the subject matter concerns an abused girl. "Black-Dove" features some fantastic piano work; primarily a stunning bridge that conjures up the visual of someone running away. It's funny; although "From the Choirgirl Hotel" is widely recognized as the album on which Tori strayed from her beloved Bosendorfer piano somewhat, it showcases Tori at her best as a pianist in many incidences, in my opinion.
Raspberry Swirl is basically sheer ear-candy. Tori gasps, growls, and sighs over a pulsing beat on this glittering dance track, written for her best friend Beene (Nancy Shanks.) Tori has always said that it's a shame she's straight, because if she weren't she'd be completely in love with all of her girlfriends. "Raspberry Swirl" plays on that statement as Tori declares; "If you want inside her, well, boy you better make her raspberry swirl/Things are getting pretty desperate, when all the boys can't be men." The song concludes with rather orgasmic-sounding sighing.
I've always had a love/hate relationship with Jackie's Strength. At times, I find the "Hey - a Jackie" vocalizations that open and appear within the song so irritating that I can't bring myself to listen to it. Most of the time, though, I allow myself to be overcome by the sheer melancholy beauty that exists within the song's verses. In "Jackie's Strength," Tori expresses sympathy for Jacqueline Onassis while reminiscing on her childhood in the 1960's. The song manages to be melancholy, nostalgic, and humourous all at once, combining a warm piano melody, gorgeous strings, and the aforementioned themes with lines such as "Worshipping David Cassidy, well I mooned him once on Donna's Box/she's still in recovery."
iieee's truly lovely opening vocalizations instantly make a good impression, and things only get better from there. Except for the guitar laden bridge which Tori snarls her way through, the song maintains an ethereal tone due to its sweeping instrumentation and Tori's soaring voice. The topic is one that is very familiar to Tori: religion. She questions the state of things exclaiming "We scream in cathedrals/why can't it be beautiful?/why does there gotta be a sacrifice?"
If there is anything resembling a clunker on this album, it's Liquid Diamonds. That being said, it's not remotely bad, it just meanders a bit. The song presumably details a disintegrated friendship, and although the lyrics are cryptic, for the most part they don't verge on silliness. The highlight of "Liquid Diamonds" is the chorus, throughout which Tori sings absolutely gorgeously.She's Your Cocaine is a gritty, discordant, funky, and guitar laden track, and quite a contrast to "Liquid Diamonds." The focus of the song is a boy who is sacrificing his entire personality just to please a girl. His situation is told through eyebrow-raising lyrics that only Tori could get away with. A sample? "You can suck anything, but you know you wanna be me." Shrieks of "Please don't help me with this" give way to a once again orgasm-resembling conclusion.Northern Lad's beautiful piano melody and stunning vocals more than make up for any qualms one might have over the numerous clichés running through the song's lyrics. In fact, I would venture to say that it boasts Tori's most impressive vocal performance. Ever. (Well, except for maybe the glorious "We'll Seeeeeee" in "Under the Pink's" Yes, Anastasia.) The irony of this song is that it's about losing a relationship, and the same year she released it she married her "northern lad," Mark Hawley. Hotel effectively carries on the theme of discordant or lost relationships that evidently permeates this album. As Tori sings "I have to let you crash down" it becomes clear that the man in question is troubled, likely due to drug addiction. "Hotel" is quite possibly the most successful amalgamation of piano and electronica on the album. The madness and intensity felt throughout the song reaches a peak when loud electronic effects provide a backdrop for Tori's piercing cries of "Give me more." Near the end of the song, the piano takes the front seat, and Tori frantically plays, adding to the desperate atmosphere. After all this panic and madness, the song, and most likely the relationship end calmly with the reassuring words; "King Solomon's mine, Exit 75/ I'm still alive, I'm still alive, I'm still alive."
If a sadder song than Playboy Mommy exists, I certainly haven't heard it. Like "Spark," "Playboy Mommy" deals with a miscarriage. Unlike "Spark," however, it is not directly autobiographical. It is told through the eyes of a woman whose daughter died at a very young age. Her daughter died resenting her due to her somewhat questionable profession. A slight country twang is intermittently featured, which I suppose is appropriate due to the common (and usually warranted) notion that country music is synonymous with pain and sadness. If I haven't already started weeping uncontrollably due to the subject matter and the despair evident in Tori's voice, It's a fairly certain bet that by the time the line "I'll say it loud here by your grave those angels can't ever take my place" plays, I will be. Heartbreaking.
Pandora's Aquarium is an oddity, to say the least. It's far from a fan favourite, and although I adore it, I suppose I can understand why it's not particularly popular. Beginning with an intricate piano intro which segues into Tori's high pitched vocals, the song can be a little hard on the ears. Thankfully, high pitched vocals don't bother me. My other favourite musician is Kate Bush, after all. The lyrics, which are utterly nonsensical for the most part - "She dives for shells, with her nautical nuns." - don't help things much, either. The chorus, however, is completely beautiful. Tori laments the fact that her significant other puts all of his suffering onto her, as she sings; "Line me up in single file with all your grievances," and the rolling melody perfectly suits the lyrics. It all ends with a single, drawn out word -"Pandora." I'd say that's quite an appropriate conclusion to "From the Choirgirl Hotel." That statement could go a couple of ways - you decide which one works for you.
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