eMusic Review 0
Before the release of 1998's From the Choirgirl Hotel, Tori Amos had three commercially successful LPs under her belt. All of them were largely centered on her piano work, which alternated between delicate and haunting, alongside lyrics rich with religious allusions, coming from a woman still trying to find her voice. In "Girl," from her 1992 debut Little Earthquakes, Amos sang, "She's been everybody else's girl/ Maybe one day she'll be her own." On Choirgirl, Amos makes it clear that she's got the voice — and the platform through which to share it — and she's not afraid to take risks. While her prior work did make use of outside instruments, Choirgirl is a band-made project, rather than a collection of accessorized piano songs.
In many ways, Choirgirl was a reaction to 1996's Boys for Pele, which was arguably Amos's most eccentric release to that point. It was her first self-produced effort, and many were turned off by lyrics that were often either overly cryptic or unnervingly personal. With Choirgirl, Amos regained some of her mainstream accessibility, balancing her melodic elegance with a gritty alt-rock edge. It marked the first time she fully collaborated with other musicians, and it shows: Opening… read more »
