Double the Goods!

The original material on the first disc has no trouble comparing to the classics on the second. Her voice on songs like "Juarez" and "Riot Poof" suggest she's a ruler of some country in the way it's so powerful and controlling. She's beautiful as always in songs like, "Bliss" and "Concertina". And is beautiful, but dark, in "Suede". As for the live material, Tori's voice always remains just as strong live as on her albums, which is an impressive feat. She rocks so hard on songs like "Precious Things" and "Waitress". She also rocks in "Cruel" where her sorceress vocals at the end have me picturing her conjuring spirits to her. And her vocals at the end of "Sugar" are like musical tears. She's phenomenal!

Drifting In Space With Venus

I've never amassed a collection of an artist's work quite as fast as I amassed the works of Tori Amos. Since January I've bought "Under The Pink," "Boys For Pele," "From The Choirgirl Hotel," "Strange Little Girls," "Scarlet's Walk," "The Beekeeper," and of course this album, "To Venus And Back." Having bought "Little Earthquakes" and "Tales Of A Librarian" in late 2003, I now only have "Welcome To Sunny Florida" to purchase. Upon listening to Tori's albums for the first time, I've noticed that I tend to frantically skip through songs trying to absorb everything the album has to offer, and ultimately coming away disappointed. However, I KNOW that these records are superb. Tori doesn't release rubbish records.



Sometimes I'll just be doing coursework and listen to Tori for hour after hour on my iPod, becoming totally absorbed into her music. I initially didn't take too well to "To Venus And Back," but after listening to it a few times through in its entirely I now love it. I love techno/electronica Tori, so this album is superb to me, and represents possibly the pinnacle of her creative talents around the late Nineties. This album is superb because it's excessive BUT essential. It comprises of two discs, the first being an album of new studio material, the latter being a superb live disc of one of Tori's live concerts.



Beginning with the first disc, the actual album "To Venus And Back: Orbiting" features eleven tracks of amazing electronica. This is a natural progression from her previous album, 1998's From The Choirgirl Hotel, and whilst the material isn't as good, it's more ethereal and celestial, if that were possible. The album opens with the lead single "Bliss," which is one of my favourite Tori songs ever. I love the way this song opens very moody before breaking out into a melodic and almost-joyous chorus. Abstract lyrics blended with genius production. "Juarez" is a fierce and primal song with blips and bleeps which create a spooky effect. Tori's vocals are understated and hardly fathomable, as she sings about the place in New Mexico where numerous girls were repeatedly raped. Tori constantly wails, "No angel came!" to echo the horror of the situation in your mind. A firm fan favourite comes next in the form of "Concertina" which has a hypnotic, swirling introduction. Tori's vocals on this song are incredible, especially where she draws the chorus out and sings, "This I swear, you're the fiercest calm I've been in."



"Glory Of The 80's" is a really cool song which is very catchy because of the way the vocals are arranged in the chorus as she sings, "And then when it all seemed clear..." Tori sings of nostalgic memories of her times in the Eighties. The song has a 80's feel to it whilst still managing to sound beautifully electronic and masterful. Definitely one of my favourites on the album. "Lust" is different to anything before it on the album, because it could fit on almost any Tori album. It's not really electronic and more of a return to old roots. The piano on this song is absolutely gorgeous and makes this song so memorable. The song has such an epic feeling to it and the melody of the piano is so powerful it almost makes me cry. Tori's vocals are rather shy and unsure, which adds to the emotional intensity. "Suede" is a great song with subdued vocals that I can hardly make out, but it doesn't seem to matter because the song possesses such an intimidating atmosphere. The instruments here create a dark and spooky song which takes quite a few listens to really sink in. This is definitely an amazing song and is so smothering, you can't escape it! "Josephine" is a more drum-oriented song which lasts only two and a half minutes, but is rather memorable. This song reminds me a bit of Little Earthquakes Tori, but it fits in better on this album.



"Riot Poof" has completely unfathomable lyrics, but once again, it doesn't matter because the focus here is on the instrumentalism of the song. Tori wants to show off the way she's using this music, and it definitely shows. The chorus is kind of catchy and the high-pitched "Blossom, riot poof" is very melodic. There's so many things about this song which I just love. "Datura" is the longest song on the album at over eight minutes and probably the strangest song on the album. It's named after a very strong hallucinogen, and you'll feel very spaced out by the time you finish listening to this, let me tell you! The lyrics don't even make sense, they're so abstract and probably the most unusual of Tori's career. Her vocals stutter all over the arrangement as she whispers in the background and whip-like noises echo through the set over and over. She repeats the words "Dividing Canaan" so many times that you just become hypnotised by her. She's a master of creativity, ladies and gentlemen!



"Spring Haze" returns the listener to more appealing Tori but still possessing the ambient, electronic edge. This is probably my least favourite song on the album but I still like it because Tori is just incapable of producing anything less than good on this record. The album closes with "1000 Oceans," which fans really love but I haven't taken to much. I mean the song is great, there's no question about it, but I'd much prefer to listen to tracks such as Glory Of The 80's and Lust.



OVERALL GRADE: 10/10



The second disc "To Venus And Back: Still Orbiting [Live]" is really superb, although I don't listen to it as much as Tori's other albums. If you're ever unsure as to whether or not you'd like to see Tori in concert then you simply must hear this. The woman has such passion and dedication to her music. She knows she makes absolutely amazing music, and she's proud of it. It's not big-headedness or vanity, because when you have something this profound it's clear as the nose on your face. The audience confirms this, and proves just why Tori has one of the most loyal fanbases of any act in modern music. These are true Toriphiles as they call themselves, and as the classic piano notes of "Precious Things" play after the first minute they establish themselves as such! "Cruel" and "Cornflake Girl" are also amazing, as are songs such as "Bells For Her" and "Girl." "Cooling" is a live song which Tori wanted to be on Pele, then Choirgirl, but the song didn't want to be on any of them. Listen to her explanation, it's so sweet.



The crowd goes crazy for "Mr. Zebra," as they do for the few opening notes of the beautiful "Cloud On My Tongue." I'm not too keen on "Sugar," but I do love "Little Earthquakes" live. "Space Dog" is great too, but my personal favourite has to be "The Waitress." At over ten minutes long, Tori really slows this song down and creates such a tense atmosphere. We all know that this song has a soft opening, before an insane chorus, and the build-up to this manic chorus on this song is just so awe-inspiring. As she sings, "But I believe in peace. I believe in peace, b***h!" you'll get chills down your spine. The crowd go wild because she's pouring so much passion from her soul, into her finger tips, and into her piano that she commands worship. The album closes with "Purple People" which is a great song but I tend not to listen to it very often. I'm not sure why, maybe I should listen to it a bit more.



OVERALL GRADE: 9/10



All in all this is one double-disc set which every Tori Amos fan must own. I knew just from looking at the cover that I would love it, and was a little bit disappointed when I didn't. When I just listened to it in its entirety, however, it just naturally grew on me. I love every Tori Amos album so much that it's hard to rank this album, but I think it would probably in my Top 5 Tori albums. Compared to a lot of the other albums I own, it's a stellar masterpiece. Buy it now.

A great album in all respects

I love this album. I think it's fabulous, great, smashing. But it's not just enough to merely state my opinion, is it? What exactly makes this album so worthy of your time and money?



You bet I'll tell you what.



This album, although far removed from her earlier, more acoustic-sounding works [such as "Under the Pink" and "Boys For Pele"], "To Venus and Back" is by no means a musical slump for Tori Amos. Honestly, what I love about Tori is that she doesn't repeat the same sound every time she kicks out an album - each one has it's own sound and personality, and that's what I get when I listen to the first CD of "To Venus and Back", which is new music unlike the second CD, which is a live composition of earlier songs.



[Bliss] - Great introduction to the album. It is the most commerical sounding of all the ones on the CD, and is done very well.



[Jaurez] - very techo, but still very well. I love the beat in this song and her haunting voice as she sings "no angel came". Very sad song of women who were raped in Jaurez, Mexico, but very good.



[Concertina] - mellow song that, in structure, reminds me somewhat of "Bliss", but has it's own sound. The lyrics are very well written, especially lines such as "I know the truth lies in between the 1st and the 40th drink" and "I run into your thought from across the room - just another trick".



[Glory of the 80s] - techo but very fun! This song is very catchy and you'll find yourself singing it long after you've heard it. Obviously the song is deliberately dated, and it just sounds great.



[Lust] - gorgeous romantic ballad on piano. The lyrics are very poetic and don't always make sense, but the way her voice purrs these words and the beautiful harmony with the piano... it is so lovely. I've listened to this one on repeat many times.



[Suede] - ooh, great song. The lyrics are very interesting; they are meant for you to make your own sense out of. The overall sound has a somewhat eery quality to it that I just love it.



[Josephine] - one of my personal favorites on the album. It is such a sad, beautiful song. Her voice is so soothing and melancholy, and the drums go perfect with lines such as "in an army's strength therein lies the denouement" and "in the last extremity to advance or not to advance".



[Riot Poof] - Yes, another techno song, but not overdone. If an upbeat song is what you want, this is the one. Her voice sounds great as well, but I honestly couldn't understand a word of it until I looked up the lyrics.



[Datura] - in a word: weird. It's a song based on a hallucinogen which the song is titled after - Datura - and the sound is based on the moods of the trip. I do like this song but I admit, this is definitely an acquired taste musically. It may take some getting used to for a few people.



[Spring Haze] - very nice mellow song, which is a much welcomed sound after "Datura". What I gather from this song is that it is about unfulfilled desires, from such lines as "I know it's just a spring haze but I don't much like the look of it", and "why does it always end up like this?".



[1000 Oceans] - GREAT song. Why this song isn't listed above in the album tracks is beyond me. It is a melancholy song about missing a loved one - the piano is very soft, and her voice is calming. The lyrics are very well-written and will haunt you after the album closes. Personal favorite lines are "I've cried 1000 oceans and it seems I'm floating in the darkness" and "I'm aware what the rules are but you know that I will run, you know that I will follow you". This song is the perfect closing for the entire album.



In all, this album is a beautiful artistic display of the musical genius in Tori Amos. The first I heard this album, I fell in love with it, and it has always meant something to me. Every night my sisters and I would stack an increasing number of Tori's albums near the CD player, put our favorite for the moment in and crawl into bed to listen and dream. For a long time, it was this CD that we lay in bed listening to. Listening to it always brings me back to that time in my life, and the music is of the most beautiful I have ever heard. I highly recommend this CD to anyone who enjoys has an inquisitive ear for tasteful music.

LIES!

This album is great, too bad this seller is a fraud and has to deface the preciousness of Tori & this album. It was a huge pain dealing with a refund from this place. I am not even sure if I ever got a full refund? Nonetheless, DON'T ORDER FROM THEM. Just get the domestic release and hope someday you will run across the Limited Edition fraudulently listed here.

A unique release of a stellar CD.

Quite simply, an otherwordly double CD experience. The first disc finds Amos furthering her musical experimentations. This CD marks the first time she recorded with her touring band of Matt Chamberlain on drums, Jon Evans on bass, and long-time collaborator Steve Caton on guitar. Amos not only continues her instrumentation experimentation, but also delves further than her previous effort's, "from the choirgirl hotel," electronic tinkerings. Relying this time on her piano, keyboards, band, and computer technology, Amos weaves her intricate musical world together with the same mysticism and soul as all her previous efforts. Highlights from disc one include "Bliss," "concertina," "glory of the 80's," and "Josephine." Disc two gives the fans what they had been longing for: her first ever live album. The disc contains many of Amos's concert standards and hits spanning her solo career. Recorded during her concert tour in 1998, the first tour with a full band, Amos showcases her many talents and passion for music. This generous helping of Amos live closes out an intergalactic journey into the heart and mind of a truly complex musician. Highlights on the second disc include "Precious Things," "Cooling," "Sugar," and "Waitress." This limited edition of the set comes in a wooden box with an etched portrait of the songstress.

Strange

Tori Amos can never be accused of conforming to common marketed pop standards, and we can take that as a good sign. Known for her eccentricity, she doesn't let it drop here.

This album combines the piano of her earlier works with the electronica featured later in "Strange Little Girls", for example. However, unlike "Strange Little Girls", here Amos has written and produced all of the songs.

The opening track of every album should be the hook, and "Bliss" is just that. A good piano track with lyrics aimed towards a father, it builds and falls, and is overall well done.

"Concertina" has a light, lovely piano tune, which is fun to sing, and it's not heavy or dark. "Josephine" is set in wartime, mentioning various locations, and is sweet and also light. "Spring Haze" is a dreamy little number, keeping the piano in good form, with a lovely bit just following the chorus.

"Lust" gives off the impression of walking into the unknown, with a mellow melody, gently rolling. "Suede" is a somewhat strange track, that makes the listener feel sort of powerful, and it gives off a mysterious atmosphere. And "Riot Poof" is an example of a good kind of electronica, but it's a song that's a bit hard to describe, though it's good to listen to, particularly when walking or in a moving vehicle.

There are a number of very good tracks here, though some are forgettable, and some combine both. An example of a mix is "Dãtura". I like the piano, but I reckon the song should've ended after about three and a half minutes. There're about five minutes following that that are really just repeating the words "dividing Canaan", and the piano isn't there, but rather just electronica.

The "out of 10 mark" was based only on Disc 1. Disc 2 didn't really need to be there, as it consisted of all live tracks, most of them found on other albums, with the remainders being ones specially performed for concerts or B-sides.

Tori Amos consistently produces non-mainstream albums that bring the listener into an unreal world, and is never short of creativity. But sometimes one just has to wonder, "What is she on?"