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Old 2016.04.11, 04:22 PM   #1
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Default Tori Amos' Boys for Pele 20th Anniversary appreciation thread

So, OK, I've been pretty vocal with my disdain for current Tori Amos albums. But that does not diminish my faith and respect for her golden years. In particular, this album.

Never before or after did Tori hit on such a dark, raw, personal level. To many fans, this album is a life changer. For some, a life saver. It abandoned the awesome but poppy approach of her first two best sellers and offered something else- a challenging, disturbing epic that was all consuming and relentlessly emotionally draining.

So, on its 20th anniversary, give Boys for Pele a spin. Revisit those memories. Or discover it for the first time. It really is a masterpiece. Share your memories with the album here, I would love to hear them!
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Old 2019.04.08, 01:20 AM   #2
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Okay, I will be the one to resurrect this two years after...

I got the vinyl reissue recently, Tori Amos' music has a special meaning for me and I've loved her music since high school days. This is without a doubt her highest musical accomplishment, the album only gets better as it ages. But needless to say I don't return to it very often, it is very raw emotionally and this music requires 70 minutes of concentrated listening. Having visited New Orleans for the first time in October, I am now particularly drawn to the "southern" songs that come after Way Down.

Speaking of which, I love how every side of the vinyl starts with one of the interludes, and divides the album into four distinct parts. It feels like less of an undertaking than having 18 tracks. Also, design-wise the reissue is a huge letdown - why is there only one piece of paper with one photograph on each side? It's a crime to leave out the artwork, especially when it could be printed in a 12-inch format. I would gladly pay extra for that.

What I listen to more often is the reissue of Y Kant Tori Read that came out a year after. I barely ever heard that album before and it holds up surprisingly well - dare I say it's better than most of what we had after Scarlet's Walk. While the production is a world apart from how we would ultimately know Tori Amos, the songwriting has Little Earthquakes kind of all over it.
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Old 2019.04.08, 03:00 AM   #3
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I love Y Kant Tori Read, the remaster is quite nice too. I liked Native Invader a hell of a lot, which surprised me immensely.
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Old 2019.04.08, 07:40 AM   #4
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Originally Posted by shirasagi View Post

Speaking of which, I love how every side of the vinyl starts with one of the interludes, and divides the album into four distinct parts. It feels like less of an undertaking than having 18 tracks. Also, design-wise the reissue is a huge letdown - why is there only one piece of paper with one photograph on each side? It's a crime to leave out the artwork, especially when it could be printed in a 12-inch format. I would gladly pay extra for that.

You mean they didn't even include the lyrics and CD artwork? Usually her album pamphlets have amazing photos and art. This album in particular stands out. Breastfeeding (?) the pig, I'll never forget what a shock when I first saw that photo.


I'm glad you brought this thread back up. One of my friends let me listen to her Tori discography for a week back in the early 2000's. I really feel more geared towards songs with haunting vocals and music. Caught a Light Sneeze being one. I don't follow Tori much anymore but it feels good to go back to something that was so amazing.
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Old 2019.04.08, 09:05 AM   #5
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Originally Posted by JimmyKoria View Post
You mean they didn't even include the lyrics and CD artwork? Usually her album pamphlets have amazing photos and art. This album in particular stands out. Breastfeeding (?) the pig, I'll never forget what a shock when I first saw that photo.


I'm glad you brought this thread back up. One of my friends let me listen to her Tori discography for a week back in the early 2000's. I really feel more geared towards songs with haunting vocals and music. Caught a Light Sneeze being one. I don't follow Tori much anymore but it feels good to go back to something that was so amazing.
Yeah, I actually wanted to frame the breastfeeding picture until I found out that it is not there! That's a real missed opportunity right there - what I don't understand is that Tori Amos is listed as the executive producer for the reissue, so it must have been her choice, at least in part.

This album has truly aged like fine wine - it just gets better with time.

And yeah, Native Invader was good, but I haven't listened to it since it came out really. I always go back here.
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Old 2019.04.08, 09:09 PM   #6
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Originally Posted by shirasagi View Post
Yeah, I actually wanted to frame the breastfeeding picture until I found out that it is not there! That's a real missed opportunity right there - what I don't understand is that Tori Amos is listed as the executive producer for the reissue, so it must have been her choice, at least in part.

This album has truly aged like fine wine - it just gets better with time.

And yeah, Native Invader was good, but I haven't listened to it since it came out really. I always go back here.

Like everyone else, she's grown, so I can see her distancing herself a bit.


I'm listening to Native Invader at the moment on Spotify. Broken Arrow is a trip of a track. It's got that 60's/70's subtle funk but modern. I'm only 3 tracks in and I'm happy. Wings seems very early/mid 90's inspired. I've been on an Allie X kick and her first and second album drew from that sound but kept it modern. Can't wait to listen to the rest in the morning.


P.S. I hope DeadGrandma can be reincarnated soon. He's been a dead old lady for so long.
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Old 2019.04.09, 02:37 AM   #7
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Originally Posted by JimmyKoria View Post
Like everyone else, she's grown, so I can see her distancing herself a bit.


I'm listening to Native Invader at the moment on Spotify. Broken Arrow is a trip of a track. It's got that 60's/70's subtle funk but modern. I'm only 3 tracks in and I'm happy. Wings seems very early/mid 90's inspired. I've been on an Allie X kick and her first and second album drew from that sound but kept it modern. Can't wait to listen to the rest in the morning.


P.S. I hope DeadGrandma can be reincarnated soon. He's been a dead old lady for so long.
Oh have you not heard it yet? It really was a solid album, certainly seemed more like a return to form to me. I could never warm up to Wings (the production rubs me kind of the wrong way) but Reindeer King is the best song she's put out in years.

And see, the "growing" part is something that doesn't make sense to me here - it's not like the photographs for Boys for Pele were something cheap or just for shock value, but they visually correspond with the music; it's always been a part of the package for me. That breastfeeding shot, for example, is striking and startling for sure, but it actually carries a beautiful message. Well I guess that depends on how you read into it, but that's art. It's a damn shame!
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Old 2019.04.09, 03:38 AM   #8
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I doubt she had anything to do with the reissue vinyl packaging tbh. Breastfeeding pig pic is in the OG vinyl so yeah.
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Old 2019.04.10, 12:25 AM   #9
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I know, I saw pictures of the OG vinyl years ago. The discs are also translucent green whereas the reissue are classic black discs, and I think the original pressing was also gatefold?
So if you have that, consider yourself lucky. At least nobody touched the music like they did with those dumb CD reissues back in the day (whoever thought Professional Widow should be replaced with the remix should be shot)
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Old 2019.04.10, 01:52 AM   #10
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I have both versions of the vinyl.

Choirgirl reissue when
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