A Stunning Collection From A Complex Genius

Tori Amos is rightly considered as one of the most talented and unique singer/songwriters of the modern era, so it seemed only fitting that she should release a collection of her best material in 2003, some 11 years after her now-classic debut "Little Earthquakes." Tori has never been a 'normal' artist by anyone's standards, so of course she couldn't just put out your typical Greatest Hits record. She had to take her own personal favourite songs from her entire back catalogue and 'recondition' them for this collection! No one should moan at this, because wouldn't you rather have slightly different versions of these amazing songs instead of just the same song you own on all of Tori's studio albums?



This record, "Tales Of A Librarian: A Tori Amos Collection," was the first Tori album I bought back in October 2004. I haven't looked back since. This album was the reason I have purchased nine of her other albums, and is the reason I will continue to buy any album she puts out in the future! Tori's latest albums are usually highly-elaborate concept albums, and this collection is no different. Here, Tori adopts the Dewey Decimal Classification. American librarian Melvin Dewey invented a way of classifying books called the Dewey Decimal Classification system. This system, one of the oldest and most widely used, is used to arrange materials in the library for easy access. It divides knowledge into ten classes, with decimal subclasses, and catalogues material for discipline so the same kind of information is maintained together. The Ten Main Classes are:



000 - Computer science, information and general works

100 - Philosophy & psychology

200 - Religion

300 - Social sciences

400 - Language

500 - Science

600 - Technology

700 - Arts & recreation

800 - Literature

900 - History & geography



I personally feel that the 20 songs in this collection should have been arranged in order of this Dewey Decimal Classification, but then I guess that this would take the interest out of trying to categorise them. What Tori has done here is take 20 of her OWN personal favourite songs from her career. The songs which are most important to her are here. This could come off as a little self-indulgent, but alas, she has adopted the Dewey Decimal Classification system into this to justify her reasons. That's how elaborate she is (and her music). Also, another advantage of adopting this system is that we finally get to know the true definition of her songs. Well, the one's on this collection anyway....



As far as the material on this collection goes, Tori pays generous attention to her first two albums "Little Earthquakes" and "Under The Pink." Her third album "Boys For Pele" is shockingly mistreated here, but thankfully the best of "From The Choirgirl Hotel" is on offer. There's one song from "To Venus And Back," nothing from "Strange Little Girls" or "Scarlet's Walk," two 'reconditioned' B-Sides from early on in her career which were previously not available on any album, and two brand new songs.



From "Little Earthquakes":



"Precious Things" (920 - Collective Biography)

"Silent All These Years" (410 - Linguistics (414 - Phonology))

"Winter" (520 - Astronomy (525 - Seasons))

"Crucify" (230 - Christianity and Christian theology (234 - Salvation and Grace (Forgiveness)))

"Me And A Gun" (360 - Social Problems and Social Services (362.8 - Act of Rape))

"Tear In Your Hand" (110 - Metaphysics (110.113 - Cosmology (Philosophy of Nature)))



From "Under The Pink":



"Cornflake Girl" (170 - Ethics (177 - Ethics of Social Relations (Betrayal)))

"God" (230 - Christianity and Christian Theory (231 - God))

"Baker Baker" (640 - Home and Family Management (641 - Home and Drink))



From "Boys For Pele":



"Way Down" (150 - Psychology (154 - Subconscious and altered states))

"Professional Widow" (590 - Animals (595 - Spiders))

"Mr. Zebra" (700 - The Arts (704 - Special Topics in Art (704.0397 - Native American)))



From "From The Choirgirl Hotel":



"Spark" (500 - Natural Sciences (501 - Philosophy and Theory))

"Playboy Mommy" (610 - Medicine and Health (618 - Miscarriage))

"Jackie's Strength" (970 - History of North America (973 - United States History (973.922 - Early 1960's)))



From "To Venus And Back":



"Bliss" (120 - Epistemology (129 - Origin and Destiny of Individual Souls))



Reconditioned B-Sides:



"Mary" (360 - Social Problems and Social Services (363.7 - Abuse of the Earth)) *Cross-referenced with 220 - The Bible (226 - Mary Magdalene)*

"Sweet Dreams" (970 - History of North America (973.928 - Politics of Illusion))



New Material:



"Angels" (320 - Political Science (324 - The Political Process))

"Snow Cherries From France" (390 - Customs, Etiquette and Folklore (398 - Folklore))



OVERALL GRADE: 10/10



I've decided, for once, not to focus so much on the music of this album because I've said everything that needs to be said about these amazing songs in my reviews of the albums they originally appeared on. Check them out for my comments. I thought it would be best to focus on how this collection is organised and hopefully shine some new light on why it's such an important collection for any true music lover. As you can see from songs such as "Sweet Dreams" and "Mr. Zebra," this classification system is extremely complex. I guess it has to be if it is to include everything that mankind studies and thinks or feels or acts upon. What Tori has done is said, "Look, these are how my songs fit into society." All these songs fit into the classification system somewhere, revealing her as a complex and multifaceted artist. This is definitely one of the best collections I have come across in a long time. It's also the most intricate and well-thought out. Tori's mind is ever-expanding and she wants to share her music with her audience. Indulge now. If you're a newcomer, start here. You're in for one hell of an experience.

A little bit dissapointed...

I just bought this CD taking a bit of a risk; a $14 gamble to be exact. Prior to this all I had heard of Tori Amos was 'Cornflake Girl' which I quite liked. But it was the positive reviews on this very site that finally prompted me to purchase this CD. And here goes a slightly different review...



OK, I admit it might just be my taste in music. I'm not into the kind of classical-jazz influenced alternative stuff artists like Tori Amos, Ani Difranco.etc put out. When I heard Cornflake Girl I thought Amo's work would be truly original, but when I heard her other songs I just didn't come out feeling they were much more than derivative, somewhat boring songs.



The only standouts were 'Cornflake Girl', 'Cruxifix' and perhaps 'Mr.Zebra' but all the rest lacked a distinct melody and were just a trite dull. I'm not starting to question if Amos has any real talent, popularity aside. Nonetheless, if you're not a fan it may not to be your taste...but then again you may love it. It just a matter of taste I suppose.

Fans deserve better **1/2

The songs on this album are amazing. But if Atlantic was trying for a best of, they failed miserably. Only about half of these songs were released as singles, not to mention actual singles that were left off to make room for 6(?) tracks from "Little Earthquakes" - great album, but Tori fans have already bought two copies because they played the first one out. The DVD is abysmal. I was expecting concert footage; instead we got Tori running through 4 decent tracks during a sound check.



The two new songs and the two remake b-sides are nice. Not that they break any new ground and were probably included to entice old fans. But Tori fans are rabid. Any group of people as obsessed as them should want more, I would imagine. This is a pretty lame way to get out of a recording contract with Atlantic.



Overall: 5 out of 10.