So, I've tended lately towards listening to burned CDs of huge discographies. Neil Young, Pearl jam, TMBG, etc. - just load all their albums on one or more mp3 CDs and go to it.

Next on my list is Tori Amos, who I know some of my flist are inordinately fond of (Hi, Ysa!). I dunno why I've never really listened to much of her - certainly her first two albums were hugely popular when I was at college - but for me it's pretty much been 'Silent All These Years' and her Nirvana and Anita Ward covers (she's one of the rare cover artists who needs to bump the original UP several steps to fit her range, on 'Ring My Bell').

So, I burned about 5 albums and will be listening to those - Little Earthquakes, Under the Pink, Boys for Pele, From the Choirgirl Hotel, and To Venus and Back. Boys for Pele apparently has two versions, the one I'm listening to has no remixes on it.

I debated starting with Y Kant Tori Read, out of pure bullheaded chronologicalness, but came to my senses.

I'll likely update the LJ with what I think. I suspect I'll be pleased, as Tori's not too far away from Kate Bush, who I've always liked. Amusingly, apparently her newest single has been banned from some stations for the word "MILF" featuring prominently. Actually, looking at the wikipedia pages, it appears her singles tend to be banned a lot. ^^;;

Finished Album 1 on the way to work.

(First of all, yes, my previous entry was incorrect, Tori sings Ring My Bell in a lower register. I had gotten the original and cover confused, something I do all the time with Ruby Trax songs, because it's one of my most played albums. I still tend to think the Legend of Xanadu is by The Fall, and that Suicide Is Painless is by Manic Street Preachers, despite obvious evidence to the contrary.)

It's a good album, very much how I imagined it would sound. My favorites tended to be the ones which were a bit more musically varied - "Happy Phantom" was a darkly comic song about a dead lover (from the perspective of said lover), and "Leather" was almost a cabaret song. The final track, Little Earthquakes, was also very good.

Of the 'Tori and piano with occasional others' songs, the prevailing tone seemed oddly to be jaded anger. There was a fury in the lyrics about these beaten down women, but the fury also sounded tired - much, I imagine, as the women were supposed to be. (The album, needless to say, sounds very autobiographical.) Silent All These Years is still my favorite of these, a beautiful song.

Then there's Me And A Gun. It's a very raw portrayal of rape, and the line about Barbados is so realistic that it makes it all the more disquieting. I will admit that I did think, as the song came to a close, "This was a single?" I'm not surprised that DJ's flipped it to play SATY as the choice radio cut.

Next up, Under the Pink. When I was a radio DJ at college, they sent this along as a promo, so I've heard God and Cornflake Girl (the tracks the label was pushing us to play) quite a few times.

More Tori... and that difficult second album. I do recall when this came out a lot of folks saying she'd 'sold out' to mainstream pop... which is surprising as the music is only slightly more poppy than LE.

It's not as good as the first album, but still has lots of moments I quite liked. The Wrong Band was a lot of fun, and I also really enjoyed Space Dog. God and Cornflake Girl were the singles, and it shows - Cornflake Girl is really great and catchy, and was what likely led to the 'sellout' talk - how dare you write something so hummable!

There's far less biography on here, and far more stories - something I approve of, as Tori is a good storyteller. Sometimes the piano-driven softness does drag it down a bit, though. I think she found a good balance in the final long track, Yes, Anastasia.

Next up I will talk about Boys for Pele. Listened to the first quarter or so and was quite surprised, as I was expecting something really jarring and atonal, from the reactions. But no, it's piano-pop, albeit sometimes harpsichord pop. I will admit Professional Widow is different from the usual, but it's still very good.

Oh, and Mr. Zebra is an aural orgasm. Needs to be longer. :)