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Album Details

• Artist: Tori Amos
• Album: From The Choirgirl Hotel
• Label: Atlantic
• Year of Release: 1985
• ME Rating:
• Reviewed by: gwhill on 2013-01-31

It seems that (at least for a while) every album that Tori Amos released was better than the previous disc. Considering the quality of her albums, this had to be a difficult task. This disc has some very solid work and seems to improve with each listening, and it is one of my favorites from Amos. The thing is, Amos’ voice is sometimes off key. Her music isn’t always pretty. It is always captivating and it always seems to be genuine. Personally, I’ve always thought that Amos is one of the most creative and compelling artists out there. This is one of her best discs. Put those together and you’d have to know that I think this is pretty great. Of course, Amos’ sound (outside of a few hits) isn’t for everyone. It’s obvious that her sonic creations might challenge some listeners and others might just “not get it.” The truth is, though, it doesn’t seem like it would be easy to deny the artistry or passion of her music.

When I first heard Amos, on her first release, I thought she sounded a lot like Kate Bush. That element is still present here, but once you get to know Amos’ music, she bears some resemblance to Bush in terms of vocal sound and general musical territory, but has her own identity. Everything here is strong, but some tracks stand out as better than the rest. “Raspberry Swirl” starts somewhat in the mode of a Nine Inch Nails number, with slightly angry guitar chops and a techno type of percussion feel. Quickly, it drops more into a typical Tori Amos mode. The “swirl” in the title is somewhat musically represented here with a backing musical segment, present in almost the entire song, which seems to be swirling us in ever moving directions.

“Hotel” shows those Kate Bush influences, but I really like it more than I have liked any thing by Ms. Bush. It seems that Amos takes those sorts of influences and thoroughly updates them into her own style. This contains many interesting twists and turns and is full of emotion. The ending is a whimsical little segment that has a very unique feel. While those two tracks are my picks for the “best of” the disc, everything here is up to Amos’ typical standard.

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