Search - Tori Amos :: Winter (+ 4 Non-Lp Songs)

A TORI SINGLE THAT'S GORGEOUS IN EVERY WAY

Howard | Pittsburgh, PA USA | 10/22/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"It's rare that you pay around $6 for a maxi CD single and get something more beautiful in image than a regular CD. Tori graces the "Winter" single cover in a shiny silver dress on top of a white horse. The digi-pack case also contains a lyric book in Tori's writing of the lyrics to each song. The songs are all gorgeous. "Winter", as known to any pre-listener, is beautiful and the same version as on "Little Earthquakes". The b-sides are so good that they should have been on a Tori release. The first b-side, "The Pool", is amazing. However, it's haunting hymns and melodic lyrics are quite spooky, and you may not want to listen to it alone. "Take To The Sky" is fantastic, and a b-side that's so good, it's the title of a Tori fanzine. "Sweet Dreams" is a peppy, quick song that is semi-cheery and intact with Tori's fun side. Then, the beautiful "Upside Down" closes the CD. This single is just as beautiful as any of Tori's releases. I recommend it highly."

Sweet Dreams

Erica Anderson | Minneapolis, MN | 04/30/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Tori Amos is easily my favorite artist in the past decade. Her music takes me to another plane of reality. I found her music extremely comforting to listen to when I was in my darkest moods. "To Venus and Back" was my first Tori Amos album I bought. "Little Earthquakes" came second. One of my favorite songs on the album was the sparse ballad "Winter". It is amazing that "Winter" is ten years old yet it sounds amazingly fresh and holds up well against the trends in music. I bought the single "Winter" one day when I was on a Tori rampage and bought a slew of her singles. What I really appreciate about Tori Amos is that she includes b-sides tracks that you don't find on her albums. Now singles have gone the way of cassette tapes and eight-track tapes (can't say I miss them). On the single for "Winter", there are four b-side tracks. I have heard most of them live when I saw Tori come through Minneapolis in the past three years. The songs are absolutely amazing. "The Pool" is one of those songs that literally sends chills running down your spine. Very haunting and lovely to listen to. Very Delerium-esque almost. I would love to see Tori perform the song live. The production value is excellent with every song. "Take to the Sky" is excellent especially if you have seen Tori perform it live. Same with "Upside Down". "Sweet Dreams" is a quite good. I have yet to see Tori perform the song live. I hope I don't have to wait very long for Tori to hit the road again. She is an incredible performer."

Buy, beg, borrow, or steal to get this CD

Daniel Jolley | Shelby, North Carolina USA | 09/07/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This CD single is truly incredible. Most artists would give their teeth to record five songs this good over their entire careers. Winter is one of Tori's earliest yet most beautiful songs, as any Tori fan surely knows. Each of the other four songs is worth the price of the CD in and of itself; getting all four together seems like stealing--that is how good they are. The Pool is rather weird, but in a totally good way. The few lyrics of the song are blended into an atmosphere of dark, haunted, shrouded passions; I consider The Pool to be more akin to a deep-felt emotion than a mere song. The remaining three songs are stellar, quintessential Tori. Coming on the heels of her first album, they capture her boundless spirit, energy, and genius, while also somehow managing to betray similarities to her later work on Boys For Pele. Take to the Sky sports some intense lyrics; its jaunting pace is forcibly seized and intensified by what sounds like Native American war drums as she approaches each chorus. Sweet Dreams has elements of darkness wrapped inside its seemingly happy title; Tori casts her blinding light of musical passion on the hypocrisy of her fellow man yet seems to admit that she herself is not immune to humanity's innate faults. Finally, Upside Down ensures that this CD is to forever be a masterpiece. Only Tori can write such poignant lyrics as these. The song seems to fit in nicely with the mood, message, and stylings of her Little Creatures album. All of these songs should be on an album, really, so that all of her fans can easily find and enjoy them. Tori fans simply must own this CD single; it represents Tori at her most musically pure and honest best."