Search - Meegs & Jessicka, Amber Asylum, St. Eve :: A Tribute To Tori Amos - Songs Of A Goddess

Give it a Try

whiterabbit69 | Sparks, Nevada United States | 10/26/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I, of course, have no place to say, because I am indeed a hardcore Toriphile. The difference is, however, that I kept an open mind listening to the CD. Unlike most fanatic fans, I belive a good cover is a great complement, whereas others would take the artistic license in offense. Here's a rundown.1)Beauty Queen: Unto Ashes- Good cover. The latin translation and polyphonic chords gave a good intro. My hopes began high2)Leather: Amber Asylum- My dreams waned a bit after this cover. Amber Asylum's girlish vocals made me feel like a pedephile, and the instrumental had no real outstanding punch.3)Bliss: Glampire- Very well done. Glampire takes "Bliss", throws in some well orchestrated guitar and bass and makes it his own. Although you might wonder at times wether he is truly a man or not as he sings it in it's original alto octave.4)Sugar: Rei Toei- Easily competes for my favorite cover. The russian band starts the song in it's native piano then adds some techno tronics and a sweet guitar. Thier lead lady, Irene, has a bit of an accent which adds flavor to the piece.5)Cornflake girl: Tapping the Vein- My other favorite cover. If you buy this CD for nothing else, get it for this. The translation of "Cornflake Girl" from piano to guitar is seamless. Tres Bien!6)Winter: October Hill- The backround is very nice, the girl singing, however, is not. She dosen't seem to want to stick to the music at all, and it was butcherd tword the end. Not pleasing.7)Caught a Light Sneeze: Vltaire- A+. Voltaire uses violin and techno beats to give "Caught a Light Sneeze" first rate treatment. The violin even follows what should be Tori's harmony in the backround. 8)Crucify: The Ascension- a great song followed by another. The Ascension made "Crucify" sound dichotomatic. It's dark, and bright at the same time. Very etherial9)Iieee: Meegs and Jessicka- Somone call an excorsist. This is by far the worst cover on theis compilation. The "music" is nothing but T.V. fuzz and microphone feedback, while the girls sing to no particular set rythem. Skip it.10)God: Temple of Rain- So-So cover. Nothing big here.11)She's Your Cocane: St. Eve- Why anyone would wan't to cover this song is beyond me. St. Eve really dosen't do much to it, she gives it no different feel.12)Rasberry Swirl: Simple- More techno-fied and docile. It's not as frenetic, but a good cover non the less.13)Space Dog: Dragon Style- They ended on a good cover just as they had begun. Like Glampire, Dragon Style makes this song thier own. The feel of it is nice.Naturally on a CD thare will be songs you like and songs you don't, this is better than average if you ask me. Just put Tori out of your mind and listen, you'll like what you here."

Cleopatra -- indiscriminate, random as usual

whiterabbit69 | 08/09/2001

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I'm a longtime Tori Amos listener, as well as an enthusiast of gothic music, so that pretty much puts me in a strange position here in a set of reviewers who seem to either be big fans of Cleopatra comps or big fans of Tori.Cleopatra seems to pump out such compilations and tributes at such a blinding rate that it might well benefit by some method of musical birth control. This is not to say that I am against darkwave bands receiving the exposure Cleopatra affords them -- it's just that some of said exposure can be likened to that of those gothic women one often encounters at clubs whose mass pops out of the lacings of their not-quite-binding-enough corsets in unspeakably hideous ways.Um. " 'If you're going to do a cover, it has to be a complete challenge' " Cleopatra quotes Tori. This is a fine statement, and one by which, I think, other bands should test their tribute decisions.The trouble with such an ambitious epigram is that one has to live up to it. Here's where the iffy-ness of this album takes root.Since this is Cleopatra, who seemingly spins a board game spinner to see which artists participate in their comps, some of the covers are really innovative and interesting (Voltaire's adorable "Caught a Lite Sneeze", Unto Ashes' "Beauty Queen"), some simply pretty (This Ascension's "Crucify"), some a lot of fun (Glampire's "Bliss", St. Eve's "She's Your Cocaine"), and some miserably awful (a real shame for Amber Asylum, who is capable of so much more), with the usual amount of filler.This could have been *such* a better album, but it comes off as hastily put-together, nominally researched and only adequately staffed, with the really interesting tracks leaving one hungry for more. So, buy this album if you're really a Tori (or Voltaire!) fan... there are some real gems on this disc. But beware the quirks of Cleopatra, and do yourself a favor and burn the tracks you like onto a mix or something to save yourself the trouble of skipping past the equal amount of un-inspiration to which you will be subjected."

A more honest review from someone who knows the bands

Eric S. Brown | Middletown Ohio | 08/19/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I must admit I love this mix! I think all of the versions of the songs stay very true to the originals with the exeption of Cornflake Girl and Iieee. I am not a Meegs fan at all and this song is of no exeption. Tapping the Vein also tries too hard to be dancable in my opinion while sacraficing thier sound in other areas. October Hill,Glampire & Voltaire is WONDERFUL additions that make this tribute worth owning. This Ascension is one of the best Gothic/darkwave bands out there and that was what really caught my attention. I must admit I dont think that the die hard Tori Amos fans will get the full effect of this tribute. I noticed that in many of the reviews people seem to expect it to be exactly like Tori and it isnt,It is a tribute,how other bands interpret the songs. There is a few bands that i wish would have been involved but werent,Namely Diva Destruction or Edge of Dawn also would have nice. I think that a great representation of the bands can be found on the unquiet grave:Unearthing the underground cd by Cleopatra records. I hope the Tori Amos fans will keep an open mind when listening to the cd.Dont expect Tori here but expect a great cd with bands doing thier own styles of wonderful songs. Listen to it with an open mind!"