We first heard the piano strains, vulnerable vocals and deeply personal lyrics of Tori Amos on her debut album, Little Earthquakes (Atlantic/WEA, 1992). It’s hard to believe 17 years have passed, but since then we’ve watched the talented singer/songwriter/pianist score hits such as “Cornflake Girl” and “A Sorta Fairytale” and explore conceptual work, such as the creation of five characters to represent different aspects of her personality in American Doll Posse (Sony, 2007).
With Abnormally Attracted to Sin, the 45-year-old Amos’ 10th album, the Doll Posse is still around, making cameos on some of 16 video vignettes filmed by Christian Lamb. The footage, available in the deluxe version of the CD and on iTunes, is an interesting addition, since Amos always has painted such vivid images with her words. (In fact, Amos recently inspired Comic Book Tattoo (Image Comics, 2008), a graphic novel featuring the work of artists who created visual interpretations of her music.)
Never conventional, Amos recorded 18 tracks that stay true to the ever-present piano, but run the musical gamut — from the Beatlesque pop of “500 Miles” to the melancholy “Lady in Blue,” in which the protagonist is consumed with regret after meeting an old lover. (The film of alter ego Santa eating cotton candy under London Bridge captures the loneliness of the lyrics: “What is left? / What is right … you may understand / I left the right man / Said the Lady in Blue.”)
“Welcome to England” is complemented by the video, which features Amos in a one-shouldered sequined American-flag pantsuit, and at one point, being photographed by posse doll Isabel from the London Eye. See it for yourself here:
“Give” is a dark, sensual lounge song, channeling Portishead musically and Greta Garbo visually. “Starling” is mostly ethereal, peppered with short bursts of Queen-like riffs, but it’s Led Zeppelin the guitar emulates in the powerful “Strong Black Vine.” While not as accessible as some of Amos’ previous work, the tales she tells draw you into her world.
We love seeing the songs through Amos’ and Lamb’s eyes in the vignettes. Do you like the idea of having a video concept for each song or do you prefer to create your own imagery when listening to music?
