lambchops's Full Review: Crucify [EP] by Tori Amos
Tori Amos can sing a mean, moving, and utterly unforgettable cover song. She’s been doing it for years—first with the EP Crucify and then as years progressed with b-sides and even more impressively an entire album in 2000 titled Strange Little Girls. Beneath her flame-red hair hid an old, somber soul. She was never ordinary. And, even more importantly, by consistently and impressively covering a wide breadth of songs he admitted imperfection and was humble.
This is but one reason why I believe Tori Amos to be one of the most notable musical folks to become prominent in the 1990’s. We all know her story. Myra Ellen is the daughter of a Methodist preacher. She was also a piano protégé at a very young age and would study at the Peabody Conservatory during the day while, under the wing of her father, she played smoky bars at night. It didn’t take long for young Tori (as she would come to be known) to be signed by Atlantic in 1987.
But things were not perfect—Tori’s earliest incarnation/band focused on style more than substance and soon dried up. In addition, she experienced some incredible personal trauma and dealt with subsequent inner demons. This turmoil is what spurred her successful solo career beginning in 1992 with Little Earthquakes. Today, after a total of seven studio albums (including a few unconditional sorts and 2002’s Scarlet’s Walk) Amos is widely recognized as unique, creative, and talented.
Rewind to 1992
Amos is just getting her solo career off the ground. Little Earthquakes has proven to be a modest success. What next? More material of course. I’m not sure whether it was a calculated move to attract a wider audience, but Amos recorded Crucify—a disc containing versions of both Crucify and Winter from her debut. But more remarkable was the inclusion of three unexpected cover tracks. In the midst of the Seattle movement, Tori took one of the most popular songs (Nirvana’s Smells Like Teen Spirit), stripped it down to the melody and words and little else, and augmented it with piano. Not just that, she also had the guts to cover staid acts Led Zeppelin (Thank You) and the Rolling Stones (Angie).
In the end Crucify is an unexpected and incredibly moving EP. Some of the moments don’t quite gel as well as others, but overall Crucify is sufficiently impressive to warrant a purchase—especially by fans of Amos and for that matter people who just like really cover songs.
Neither the remix of Crucify nor Winter comes as any particular surprise. Both are fine enough songs in their own right, but without the three additional covers I wouldn’t have ever purchased this EP. So, regardless the quality of these two songs the real treasure is with the reworked rock classics. The most notable of the two original songs is the remixed Crucify. It opens the EP up with both style and grace. An evocative, understated affair it sweeps in and out with classically beautiful melodies tightly meshed with Tori’s characteristically haunting voice. Winter is an airy, simple sort of song. But at the same time it is simple, it is also rich with tears.
Of the three covers, Angie is probably the weakest. I love all three original songs and all three original bands, but Angie is too stark for my tastes. Amos sounds great—she injects a great deal of heart and soul into the simple, piano accompaniment. Though, in the end it just ends up sounding like a crystalline, beautiful jam. Almost as thought it was completely unplanned. This off-the-cuff nature of many of Amos’ work is what likely draws to her many listeners. Personally I just prefer her with a bit meatier, darker material.
And in that vein, Smells Like Teen Spirit is incredible. Amos injects and entirely other kind of emotion into the Nirvana song. Instead of a disillusioned slant, this is a pained and emotionally scarred rendition. She breathes Cobain’s lyrics with great ease that oozes from the innermost depths of her wounded self. The starkness of the song is in such great contrast to the original that it proves surprising and challenging—good things in the end.
Thank You is one of my personal favorite songs from Led Zeppelin. The original, also a modestly evocative song, was in some ways atypical of Zepp. But for Tori the material seems to be second nature. Truth be told, she had been a fan of the band since childhood. This love and respect for the rockers shines through in her sparse rendition. Thank You has always been so beautiful it hurt and it is no less perfect here.
Crucify is a good, bordering on great EP. Amos is the kind of artist you either love or hate—and this is the kind of material that makes her or breaks her. She’s recorded slightly better material (Under The Pink) and slightly worse material (From the Choirgirl Hotel) but her overall discography is impressive to say the least. Crucify is just one tiny facet.
Rating: 4/5 stars
Track Listing:
01. Crucify [remix]
02. Winter
03. Angie
04. Smells Like Teen Spirit
05. Thank You
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