Under the Pink [Deluxe Edition] [LP] Tori Amos Artist

{|Tori Amos|}'second full-length solo effort has often been considered a transitional album, a building on the success of {|Little Earthquakes|} that enabled her to pursue increasingly more adventurous releases in later years. As such, it has been un... Read more

{|Tori Amos|}'second full-length solo effort has often been considered a transitional album, a building on the success of {|Little Earthquakes|} that enabled her to pursue increasingly more adventurous releases in later years. As such, it has been unfairly neglected when in fact it has as good a claim as any to be one of the strongest, and maybe even the strongest, record she has put out. Able to appeal to a mass audience without being shoehorned into the incipient adult album alternative format that sprang to life in the mid-1990s, {|Amos|} combines some of her strongest melodies and lyrics with especially haunting and powerful arrangements to create an artistic success that stands on its own two feet. The best-known tracks are the two contemporaneous singles {|God,|} a wicked critique of the deity armed with a stiff, heavy funk-rock arrangement, and {|Cornflake Girl,|} a waltz-paced number with an unnerving whistle and stuttering vocal hook. While both memorable, they're actually among the weaker tracks when compared to some of the great numbers elsewhere on {|Under the Pink|} (other numbers that more openly misfire are {|The Waitress,|} a strident and slightly bizarre rant at such a figure, and {|Yes, Anastasia,|} which starts off nicely but runs a little too long). Opening number {|Pretty Good Year|} captures nostalgia and drama perfectly, a simple piano with light strings suddenly exploding into full orchestration before calming again. {|Bells for Her|} and {|Icicle|} both showcase what {|Amos|} can do with prepared piano, and {|Past the Mission,|} with {|Trent Reznor|} guesting on gentle, affecting backing vocals, shifts between loping country and a beautifully arranged chorus. The secret winner, though, would have to be {|Baker Baker,|} just {|Amos|} and piano, detailing the story of a departed love and working its cooking metaphor in just the right way. ~ Ned Raggett Less