Tori Amos Liner Notes:
JR's Best of Tori's Covers, Bootlegs, and Rarities - Disc 1

JR Notes: This is the mix that started the idea for a mix section on the web site. The liner notes begin with my take on Tori's work and explain the criteria I used to put this mix together. The annotated track listings follow.

It's impossible to sell somebody on Tori Amos: either you're in or you're out. I'm in, though with increasing reluctance. I'm part of that school of fans who miss the emotional immediacy, blasphemous tirades, and melodic directness of her early '90s work. Finding little in Tori's recent work to engage me, I've found a worthy distraction: compiling and evaluating the many bootlegs and "B Sides" that have surfaced over the years.

Whatever one's stance on Tori's own work, it's hard to deny her stature as the foremost modern interpreter of male rock songwriters. Tori excels at applying a feminine twist to the sexual bravado of hard rock. From Robert Plant to Kurt Cobain, Tori has translated her fascination with the male rock lineage into a series of distinctive cover songs. These "out of left field" covers are highlights of her frequently bootlegged live performances.

Tori's knack for live interpretation is offset by her tendency towards self-indulgence. Not all of her covers work - I was never a fan of her "Whole Lotta Love" cover, though I had to admire its lustful sincerity. Tori's live work can also be ponderous, as is evident from some of the overworked versions of Joni Mitchell's "A Case of You" you'll run into. Of course, Tori's live indulgences apply to her own songs as well. Sometimes she provides a whole new window into her own work; other times she adds an unwanted layer of histrionics. But when she nails it live, she really nails it. And it's that search for those live revelations that drives the Tori bootleg collector back onto eBay for one more spending spree.

Being a maddeningly prolific "B Side Artist," Tori has also put out a significant amount of original material that never appeared on a full album. As expected, combing through Tori's B sides yield mixed, but ultimately satisfying results.

As I evaluated all these different rarities, an argument for combining the best of them onto one CD emerged. Together, these rarities, covers, and live performances form a more compelling and balanced collection than separate CDs of each would have. And I personally find this collection better than any of her studio releases, except maybe Silent All These Years. Though since it's my own mix, I guess that doesn't seem like a very persuasive statement. I can say that a Tori fan I know likes this collection better than Tori's own Strange Little Girls cover CD, so at least I'm not the only one who is partial to this collection.

How it came together: for several months, I evaluated my entire collection, finally burning the very best onto one eighty minute CD. In a few cases, I included songs that aren't truly rarities or B sides, but for whatever reason, fit into the flow of the mix. As a supplement to Tori's official releases, this CD makes as good as case for Tori's overall talents in songwriting and creative interpretation as I could hope to make.

No doubt the heart of this CD lies in the cover songs. Perhaps I find myself drawn to Tori's covers because her influences are so similar to my own. Whether we're talking Elton John or Nirvana, the Beatles or Bruce Springsteen, it seems that Tori and I were affected not only by the same artists, but by the same songs. I have a hunch I'm not alone. Tori's choice in covers veers towards the songs we used to lie awake waiting to hear, back in the days when radio was the messenger of moments that divided your life into "before" and "after." Tori seems to cherish that era as much as I fear it will never return.

One thing should be noted: I have never been a big fan of Tori's playful/silly side, so songs in the "Happy Phantom"/"Mr. Zebra" style will not be found on my collections.

Readers can refer to the annotated track listing for more details. When possible, I cite the original source of the track, but my focus is on the musical commentary, not on cataloguing the exact source of the recording. Many of these songs appear on multiple collections anyway. If you need more info on individual tracks, email me directly.

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Annotated Track Listing:

(1) "Caught a Lite Sneeze" (Live) - "Caught a Lite Breeze" was Tori's "Smells Like Teen Spirit." Though her song did not have the same significance as Kurt's, "Lite Breeze" had the same kind of surreal, stream-of-consciousness lyrics that simultaneously add up to nothing and yet convey an urgency and importance. Tori has performed a number of interesting renditions of "Lite Breeze." I've selected the "full of shit" version, which appears on the famous Tori Bootleg Collecting Bees. It's too bad that "you're full of shit" has been edited to "full of sh**," but the outburst still gives the song a greater buildup and directness than the studio version.

(2) "Honey" (Live) - Tori calls this "the best song on Under the Pink - only it's not on Under the Pink." One of the great "hidden" Tori compositions, this is the sinful, cunning Tori from the early '90s - the one who knew how to mine her adolescent sex trauma for aesthetic revelations as well as anyone. There are several widely-traded versions of "Honey," but the definitive version is this live issue from the Hey Jupiter EP. "A little dust never stopped me none… you liked my shoes; I kept them on…"

(3) "Love Song" (Live) - A good cover can be as simple as taking something implied in the original song and developing it more fully. In this case, Tori pulls the longing out into open view.

(4) "I'm on Fire" (Live) - Tori's likes to strip away the bluster of male songwriters in search of contradictory emotions, but in the case of Springsteen's "I'm On Fire," Bruce had already laid the song bare for her. As expected, Tori takes possession with authority. I still remember the first time I saw this song on VH1. As it turns out, the VH1 version, which appears on a number of bootlegs, is probably Tori's best rendition, but there are other worthy live takes of "I'm on Fire" out there as well.

(5) "Upside Down" (B side) - I'm not sure how this song eluded me for a decade, but when I stumbled on "Upside Down" last year, I was reminded once more of the emotional immediacy and melodic flow of Tori's early '90s work... In the end, it's "Upside Down's" hypnotic wordplay that secures its status as one of the best of the B's. Originally from the Winter EP.

(6) "Sugar" (Live) - It does seem odd for Tori to write two very different songs, only to call one "Sugar" and the other "Honey," but that's what she did. The two songs do have some things in common: both were recorded in the early '90s, back when Tori's music still deserved the description of "Kate Bush meets Joni Mitchell and slaps her in the face," both came into their own as concert staples, and both rank amongst Tori's best B sides. "Sugar" is the less obscure of the two, having made an uncensored appearance on Tori's official live set, To Venus and Back - still the best version I've heard. But "Sugar" rarely disappoints; Tori always rips into this mockery of male emotional idiocy with abandon.

(7) "Pretty Good Year" - Not a collectible, just one of the most underrated Tori songs… "they say you were something in those formative years…"

(8) "Abbey Road" (B side) - Tori's greatest B side, "Abbey Road" is a life-stopping work of understated beauty. By this time, Tori's lyrics had moved in a surreal direction, but there is just enough autobiography on "Abbey Road" to let us in. As Tori might put it: one of the deepest lakes of them all.

(9) "Sister Janet" (B side) - This wicked little number rivals "Icicle" as Tori's most subversive venture into the underbelly of religion… "a wing can cover all sorts of things."

(10) "Siren" (Soundtrack) - One prominent reviewer referred to this song, which appeared on the Great Expectations soundtrack, as a "Tori Amos throwaway." The question I would pose: if this song is such a tosser, why was it chosen as background for one of the most emotionally powerful moments in an otherwise forgettable movie?

(11) "River" (Live) - Tori's debt to Joni Mitchell is understood, as per her frequent covers of "A Case of You." Surprisingly, Tori's best Joni Mitchell cover turns out to be the harder-to-find "River." This live version, rescued from an obscure bootleg, might be as deeply felt as Joni Mitchell's original.

(12) "Daniel" (Live) - On the surface, covering Elton John's "Daniel" may not seem as audacious as covering "Whole Lotta Love," but I believe it is. As a cover artist, nothing is more daunting than taking on a song that has been recorded in such a definitive manner. While Tori's version takes nothing away from the original, she is one of the few artists who has delivered a worthwhile attempt.

(13) "Please Come to Boston" (Live) - Before Tori performed her own songs, she played pop songs in piano lounges. Now we come full circle, with stunning results. Tori gives the song a soul I never knew it had.

(14) "Precious Things" (Live, JR edit) - The studio version of "Precious Things" was no doubt classic, but it also became a staple of the live set. This version from Venus and Back makes the cut, not because it's a rarity, but because its venom is needed to balance the mix.

(15) "Wrapped Around My Finger" (Live) - I was lucky enough to see Tori in '94 when she was in the habit of playing this take on "Wrapped Around My Finger" to close out her shows, and it stands as one of her most visionary interpretations. This oft-traded bootleg can be found on many underground compilations, and it's performed just as I remember it.

(16) "Beulah Land" (B side) - Typically, Tori takes on her religious upbringing from the vantage point of sexual repression ("Icicle"), moral contradictions ("Sister Janet") and the need for theological reinvention ("God"). Thus this gospel-esque song, "Beulah Land," serves as an essential counterbalance.

(17) "Cooling" (Live) - Tori always knew this song was her "Stairway to Heaven," but unlike Led Zeppelin, she didn't know what to do with it. Albums came and went, but "Cooling" never saw the light of day. Finally "Cooling" showed up, a bit reluctantly, as a B side. Turns out the B side, which some fans seem to swear by, only hinted at what "Cooling" could become. Fortunately, the song insisted on a more dignified fate, and Tori was compelled to add it to her live set. The definitive version, which appears on the live side of To Venus and Back, is one of the most beautiful songs (and performances) ever recorded. Most songs are linear; "Cooling" is a circle. It's also Tori's greatest success at using surreal images to convey universally-felt emotions. From its first shattering line, "Cooling" creates an intimacy well beyond confessionalism.

(18) "Smells Like Teen Spirit" - In an eerie foreshadowing, Tori started playing this dark version of "SLTS" the year before Kurt Cobain died. Although she played it frequently for a year or two, the studio version on the Cruficy EP remains the best. On this take, Tori reframed a rock anthem.
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