From the Choirgirl Hotel - Amos, Tori (CD 1998)

It is not easy to classify Tori Amos and just when critics alike were starting to perhaps come to a conclusion she throws in their face From The Choirgirl Hotel. Like Madonna, Tori has reinvented herself but she still holds on to various trademarks that make Tori unlike anyone else. It is interesting however to examine both albums by Madonna and Tori. On the first track of Madonna s album Ray of Light, Madonna ponders her life in relation to be a celebrity. On the first track of Tori s album however, Tori openly discusses the pain and hardship she s felt in relation to having a miscarriage. Two greatly different stories but two stories that speak to each in how they relate to music. Madonna s uses her brain. Tori uses her heart.

So what s changed for Tori in this album?

What some fans don t understand or refuse to accept is that Tori is always changing. Her live performances may stay the same of which she simply relies on a piano and a microphone but in each of her albums she has changed at least slightly. Under the Pink had a harsher tone than Little Earthquakes and perhaps better production values. Boys for Pele had more various instruments including harpsichords. And now, with From The Choirgirl Hotel, Tori has more of an electronic influence both instrumentally and vocally.

So what hasn t changed?

Tori s voice has remain virtually unchanged when it is not being alerted electronically. Her voice is still moist and filled with air which is why some people have called her songs 40% air and 60% singing. The piano is still neatly tucked under her fingers and in certain songs such as Jackie s Strength get more of a chance to shine over the electronic instruments. Finally, Tori still sings poetry. Many of her lines don t rhyme and at times it seems like she s wandering from thought to through but that s how Tori has always sung. It will take just about any listener at least three times through the album to understand the various stories that Tori is trying to tell.

What are your favorite tracks on this album?

There are quite a few. They would be:

Spark. It s quite daring of Tori to open up her new album with a story that so clearly is about her loss of her unborn child. Tori reflects on herself by saying she s convinced she could hold back a glacier but ultimately realizes she couldn t keep baby alive . Clearly Tori s soul is at war with itself for many of us feel that we have this human ability to be strong (represented by moving the glacier) but still there are times where things happen outside our control where we still resort to blaming ourselves (couldn t keep baby alive). It s very bold for Tori to open with such a depressing track yet her voice never sounds like it s on the verge of collapsing. More so she is receiving comfort and perhaps freedom for her torture by sharing it with others, her fans.

Raspberry Swirl creates a dizzying feeling similar to Precious Things from Tori Amos first release Little Earthquakes. The intro has several instruments especially guitars hitting chords for brief periods while it sounds like their tone has been electronically alerted to induce a vertigo like effect. It honestly feels like everything is swirling around before Tori opens up with her lyrics in a muffled voice stating I am not your senorita. I am not from your tribe. In the garden I did no crime . She repeats these lyrics in a clearer voice the second time around leading into the chorus where she sings This are getting desperate. When all the boys can t be men. Everybody knows. I m her friend. Now, this track is interesting. Because my thoughts will either be considered a stretch or simply a male point of view on words sung by a female. Even so, this is what I think. The first portion seems to read that Tori is pointing out that she s no some senorita , or a woman with label given by men onto women. I am not from your tribe would seem to further break or separate her from a communal and In the garden I did no crime seems to obviously point to religious aspect of Adam and Eve whereas Eve was created from Adam s rib and then did wrong in the garden (my Christianity is a little rusty I apologize). In other words, Tori points out three examples of how she should not be considered a typical woman or womyn especially in relation to men. She continues to lash out when she makes the next statement of things are getting desperate when all the boys can t be men . This, again, at least to me is an obvious statement of the lack of sexual stamina that us men are famous for (10 minute guys, etc.) and she s stating that basically she s unhappy with bedroom behavior.

So what is all of this leading up to? Well, a Raspberry Swirl of course. In one line Tori states Boy, you better make her raspberry swirl . Which I think it a clear statement that Tori is saying you better not be like any other man because I m not like any other woman so you better make my quote/unquote-sexual-body-part swirl.

I I e e e. Tori returns to the darker tone she first started the album with on Spark. This time around her song sways back and forth between depressing statements such as I know we re dying and there s no sign of a parachute to a harsher tone when she states just say yes you little arsonist . She then returns to an interlude where it seems she s on the brink of crying or suffering from an emotional outburst as she sings no we scream in cathedrals why can t it be beautiful. Why does there gotta be a sacrifice? I m not entirely sure what to make of this track. At first I thought it was a song about societies injustice towards women especially in relation to how they look. There s a few lines where she states and I do much more need a lip gloss boost in your America. Is it God s. Is it yours? . At first I believed this more and more for I misinterpreted the line why can t it be beautiful to be why can t I be beautiful . Now, I ve moved on to believe that the songs statement is a depressing spur of the moment thought perhaps in relation marriage and the statements made during such an event. I just attended a wedding where the minister grinded into the bride that she was to honor, respect, obey and perhaps strangest of all allow her husband to be the leader, to lead her through life. The minister made this point at least three different times within the short 20 minute ceremony. I wonder if Tori is touching upon this in I I e e e.

Liquid Diamonds. Sounds like the second act to I I e e e as it opens extremely softly with a landscape filled with various drum beats and a very low reverberating bass. What led me initially to this track was the curiosity as to what Tori was saying in the chorus. Often I m led to artists I don t understand just to explore what they are saying. This is what led me initially to the Cocteau Twins, to Alanis Morissette, to even Eminem with his rapid fire rap lyrics. The same led me to Liquid Diamonds as I tried over and over to understand what she is vocalizing. It wasn t until much later that I discovered that all she s saying during the chorus is the words Liquid Diamonds over and over. That s it. Simple yet very effective. As the track continues Tori s piano makes brief appearances playing off the drum beats. As for lyrically what is Tori discussing I have even less knowledge than I did on I I e e e. Her lyrics use words such as liquid , underwater , sea , and make references to some sort of travel but I honestly can t make heads or tales of what story she s exploring. All I know is that the track is well put together as the drums, piano, and her voice play off of each other creating a mystical sound that seems to travel itself. Perhaps that s the trip.

She s Your Cocaine can best be summed up as Tori rocking out on her piano accompanied by harsh electronic guitars. The song would seem to be about a relationship where someone is controlling perhaps to the point where that person becomes an addiction like the drug cocaine is an addiction.

Northern Lad. Here, Tori pauses for a moment and gives the electronic instruments a break just to sing along with her piano. If Spark and I I e e e were depressing tales, Northern Lad would seem to be about release as she sings that it is important to know when its time to turn the page .

What tracks are your least favorites?

Well, I ve said quite a bit at this point so I ll just say that I enjoy the other tracks, but the ones I discussed above are the ones that I pause to listen to each time I listen to the album. They either speak to me, or they speak to my emotions for the emotions they contain, or they are just fun tracks that speak to Tori s creativity. Granted all the other tracks speak at least to Tori s creativity but it is just these tracks that do more so.

Overall, what did you think of this album?

For me it was a return to Tori. She lost me a little bit on Boys for Pele, which is my least favorite album she s done. I loved her first album Little Earthquakes and Under the Pink was equally impressive. Tori also releases quite a few EP s and remix albums that I enjoy picking up but Boys for Pele was just too different with an edgier sound that I guess I just didn t like. From The Choirgirl Hotel was a return to the voice I expected, the piano playing I came to love from her, and best of all the perfect blending of her lyrics, her voice, and her choices in instruments including electronic ones. I won t say this album is her best; Little Earthquakes I think still holds that title. But it definitely ranks high on the list.