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Pug
The Movie Geek
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Joined: 21 Aug 2003
Posts: 8924
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 Posted: 12/11/03 - 15:55 Post subject: CD Review: Tori Amos - Tales of a Librarian
“Tales of a Librarian” is the new cd from Tori Amos. While at first glance it may seem like a Greatest Hits album, it is not. All 20 songs were selected by Tori, so rather than this being a collection of her singles, this is a collection of Tori’s favorite tracks. There are 16 songs from her first five albums (nothing from Strange Little Girls or Scarlet’s Walk), 2 former B-Sides (Mary, Sweet Dreams), and 2 new songs (Angels, Snow Cherries from France). These songs have been remixed and remastered, and in some cases, rerecorded. For most of the songs, there is little noticeable difference. I have read that the vocals have been brought up on “Winter”, but I couldn’t tell any difference from the version on “Little Earthquakes”.
There are songs that you are different. Both “Cornflake Girl” and “Tear in Your Hand” have some extra lines sung on top of existing verses. “Professional Widow” is a dance mix, and while I would have much preferred the slower, mournful “Merry Widow” version, this is a new look at the song. The album also features some of my favorites like “Playboy Mommy”, “Silent All These Years”, and “Precious Things”, among many others.
I am the happiest about the inclusion of “Mary”, which has long been one of my favorite b-sides. The other b-side, “Sweet Dreams” has a much different sound than you will find on the single for “Winter”. I wasn’t too impressed with “Angels”, but “Snow Cherries from France” is a much better song (despite the silly title).
There is also a bonus DVD included in this set. There are 5 songs on this DVD. Three of them are videos made from a sound check before one of Tori’s shows. The three videos are “Honey”, “Northern Lad”, and “Pretty Good Year”. There are also two audio tracks: “Mr Zebra”, and “Putting the Damage On”. While it was nice to have three videos, this was not a very impressive DVD.
I’m a huge fan of Tori Amos, so I naturally love the album. It’s great to have this many great songs on one album rather than being spread across 5 albums. The DVD did not really add anything to this collection, but as a fan of Tori Amos, there is nothing to complain about here. This is a must own set for Ears With Feet (Tori’s term for her fans).
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crazyfrog
Kermitologist
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Joined: 31 May 2003
Posts: 7610
Location: atlanta
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Posted: 12/17/03 - 22:45 Post subject:
i picked this up too, as im also a huge tori fan...
i was kinda disapointed when i realized it was a collection of old stuff, but most of the tracks are some of my faves...i love the version of way down with the choir at the end.
and i like the dance remix of professional widow, but there are much better remixes of that song and some of her other stuff... i have a whole cd of remixed tori and i think its great.
overall, its a great cd, but i think im getting burnt out on tori since i wasnt all that impressed with the disc...
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