MUSIC REVIEW: Tori Amos - To Venus and Back

"Good and/or great."

Tori Amos' studio work on this 2CD set is somewhat polarizing. With From The Choirgirl Hotel, Tori fleshed out her sound by adding denser arrangements with the rest of her band. With To Venus And Back, she sticks with this formula but meets with less success. Some of the songs feel overproduced, which handicaps the level of intimacy usually associated with her music. With Choirgirl this worked, but here the results are iffy. Tori doesn't cut loose with her voice as much, there's way less piano balladry, and some of the songs are a little 'ehhh'. However, the album does have its share of highlights. The ethereal, dreamy "Datura" is wonderfully enigmatic. It's to her credit that Tori somehow manages emotional expression with a fairly detached voice. Also, "Concertina," "1000 Oceans," "Bliss," and the provocative "Lust" are almost as good as anything she's ever put to record, I think. My problem is that sometimes she waxes the techno sound a bit too much.

But then we come to disc 2. The live album included is incredible. I've never seen her live, and I'll take for granted that this album is no replacement, but it's great for a live recording. It's full of revelatory moments as Tori radically rearranges many of her songs and boosts the energy level. For some reason, I don't like most live albums on my first listen, but this is my one exception. The haunting "Bells For Her" is entirely different on a piano that isn't all busted. I don't know where "Cooling" comes from, but it's an incredible showcase of Tori at her best: an emotionally intense piano ballad with utterly beautiful vocals. The violent "The Waitress" is extended by six or seven minutes, and it totally rocks. Overall, the setlist (you can see it above) is basically perfect, and Tori's onstage charisma is remarkable. The b-side "Purple People" is one of her best songs so that's good to hear. "Sugar", cut from Under the Pink if I remember correctly, is f'ing awesome.

The studio album is not her best, but the live album is one of the best things she's released. So really, the album on the whole rules.