Under The Pink - Tori Amos

With the likes of Avril Lavigne and Norah Jones cluttering up the charts at the moment it seems that the female singer-songwriter genre is on its way back up. But while Avril torments us with the tedious teenage angst of ‘Sk8er Boi’, Tori Amos continues to release masterpieces that go relatively unnoticed. Tori Amos was undoubtedly one of the most influential artists of the 90’s yet she continues to be most well known for the remix of her song Professional Widow. Her own songs make fantastic use of her masterful piano playing and she has the rare vocal talent to be able to move convincingly from numb desolation to intense anger. Her lyrics are ...  Read the complete review

'Under The Pink' is Tori Amos' sophomore release. Although its predecessor, 'Little Earthquakes' strikes more of an emotional chord with me personally, 'Under The Pink' is equally brilliant. On this album, Tori experiments with different sounds, which add a new element to her songs. Her lyrics are also drastically more cryptic on this album. While this fact could hinder song people's appreciation of the songs, I don't feel it detracts from them. Even though not all the lyrics may make perfect sense to the listeners, the underlying emotion always remains firmly intact. This was my first taste of Tori's music, and since hearing some ...  Read the complete review

Tori Amos has been quiet in the last few years, so it is refreshing to look back at her early work and rediscover her influence over some of today's female artists Style of music: Eclectic, quirky and often abstract, yet mangaging to convey accessible pop melodies and deliver some breathy and sexual vocals, which have a superb range. A lot of her work is piano driven. On this album: One of my tips is the amazing 'Cornflake Girl', despite listening to it over and over I have yet to fully understand what the song is about, but the melody will grab you. It is haunting and captivating, as it pauses for little breaths every once in ...  Read the complete review

This album is the truly amazing follow up to Little Earthquakes. I bought it in 1997, after several years of being a Tori hater. It blew me away the first time I heard it, and every time I listen to it now, there is still something else which stands out to me. There are several very good tracks on the album, but the ones that stand out to me are 'Cornflake Girl', which was released as a single, 'Icicle', and 'Cloud on my Tongue'. This woman can play the piano very well, and the sounds she gets from it through the album are wonderful. Some may find Tori a little depressing, but I find several songs on this album are very uplifting. ...  Read the complete review

"Little Earthquakes" was amazing as a debut album but if you are new to Tori Amos then I suggest buying "Under The Pink". Tori has moved on from the solo effort in this album and uses a band and keyboard as well as piano. Her use of the piano also differs - for example, she muffled the sound for some of her songs by putting a blanket over her piano. And what an amazing sound it is - she moves from high-pitched, unique tones ("Bells for Her") to a loud orchestra-like sound ("Yes, Anastacia"). She proves how versatile her talents are in this album with this and a beautiful duet chorus with Trent Reznor ...  Read the complete review