Tori Amos B-Sides
September 11, 2019 10:03 PM Subscribe
Look, I'm not going to fancy this up with some kind of framing. I own a few early Tori Amos singles. They have really great B-Sides. I thought some of you might want to hear them, so here they are. They're more interesting than you might expect. From Silent All These Years: Upside Down, Thoughts
From Crucify: Angie, Smells Like Teen Spirit, Thank You
From Winter: The Pool, Take To The Sky, Sweet Dreams (live bootleg recording, CD version unavailable, boo!)
From China: Flying Dutchman, Humpty Dumpty
From Pretty Good Year: Honey, Black Swan
From God: God (The Dharma Kaya Mix) [Edit from original 12m37s runtime], Home On The Range (Cherokee Edition), God (The Rainforest Resort Mix), Piano Suite - All The Girls Hate Her / Over Her, God (The Thinking Mix 2)
From Cornflake Girl: Sister Janet, Daisy Dead Petals [unavailable]
From Crucify: Angie, Smells Like Teen Spirit, Thank You
From Winter: The Pool, Take To The Sky, Sweet Dreams (live bootleg recording, CD version unavailable, boo!)
From China: Flying Dutchman, Humpty Dumpty
From Pretty Good Year: Honey, Black Swan
From God: God (The Dharma Kaya Mix) [Edit from original 12m37s runtime], Home On The Range (Cherokee Edition), God (The Rainforest Resort Mix), Piano Suite - All The Girls Hate Her / Over Her, God (The Thinking Mix 2)
From Cornflake Girl: Sister Janet, Daisy Dead Petals [unavailable]
If you have more to share, I've come to the end of my Tori single buying era...
posted by hippybear at 10:22 PM on September 11, 2019
posted by hippybear at 10:22 PM on September 11, 2019
I love Tori Amos, and this post, but I’m not in love.
posted by ejs at 10:23 PM on September 11, 2019 [3 favorites]
posted by ejs at 10:23 PM on September 11, 2019 [3 favorites]
This post hides a nasty stain still lying there.
posted by hippybear at 10:30 PM on September 11, 2019 [5 favorites]
posted by hippybear at 10:30 PM on September 11, 2019 [5 favorites]
I have the eponymous “The B Sides” CD somewhere. It was the second disc in a double-CD version of Under the Pink that was an import in the us.
These days my favorite track from it is Take To The Sky.
posted by snuffleupagus at 10:40 PM on September 11, 2019 [3 favorites]
These days my favorite track from it is Take To The Sky.
posted by snuffleupagus at 10:40 PM on September 11, 2019 [3 favorites]
It was never officially released, but Abbey Road is from that era and is lovely.
posted by Candleman at 10:40 PM on September 11, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by Candleman at 10:40 PM on September 11, 2019 [1 favorite]
Also, not Tori but possibly of interest to fans of that era, Cornflake Girl covered by Jawbox.
posted by Candleman at 10:53 PM on September 11, 2019 [4 favorites]
posted by Candleman at 10:53 PM on September 11, 2019 [4 favorites]
There is no better version of "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" than Tori's.
posted by CheesesOfBrazil at 2:21 AM on September 12, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by CheesesOfBrazil at 2:21 AM on September 12, 2019 [1 favorite]
Loves me some Tori! Thank you hippybear.
posted by Thorzdad at 3:17 AM on September 12, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by Thorzdad at 3:17 AM on September 12, 2019 [1 favorite]
Her cover of Joni Mitchell's "A Case of You" makes me tingle.
(Prince does a pretty great one, too.)
posted by AgentRocket at 4:35 AM on September 12, 2019 [7 favorites]
(Prince does a pretty great one, too.)
posted by AgentRocket at 4:35 AM on September 12, 2019 [7 favorites]
I was a right-wing ditto-head teenager in 1992, when a friend popped in the "Crucify" single in the tape deck of my parents' Pontiac 6000 they let me drive.
Transfixed. By that voice, by that total ownership of those covers. Wore out the "Little Earthquakes" tape. Honestly, that album was probably key in in turning me away from the misogynist, proto-alt-right path I was headed down.
So, sooooo good. Thanks for the reminder!
posted by notsnot at 5:27 AM on September 12, 2019 [9 favorites]
Transfixed. By that voice, by that total ownership of those covers. Wore out the "Little Earthquakes" tape. Honestly, that album was probably key in in turning me away from the misogynist, proto-alt-right path I was headed down.
So, sooooo good. Thanks for the reminder!
posted by notsnot at 5:27 AM on September 12, 2019 [9 favorites]
Happy Workers should get more play. I always wondered what kind of song-rights hole the Toys album fell into.
posted by cowcowgrasstree at 5:59 AM on September 12, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by cowcowgrasstree at 5:59 AM on September 12, 2019 [2 favorites]
Oh, see, I used to go hunting for all of these! Great post, hb!
My very very favorite of all of them, the one I wore out on repeat, was Here in my Head. So pretty. There's a remastered version on Tori's YouTube, but somehow it feels quick and a little clipped. The original version lingers.
posted by mochapickle at 6:36 AM on September 12, 2019 [2 favorites]
My very very favorite of all of them, the one I wore out on repeat, was Here in my Head. So pretty. There's a remastered version on Tori's YouTube, but somehow it feels quick and a little clipped. The original version lingers.
posted by mochapickle at 6:36 AM on September 12, 2019 [2 favorites]
Purple People is my favorite, if you could wear out a CD by playing it I'd have gone through half a dozen Spark singles.
posted by jason_steakums at 6:43 AM on September 12, 2019 [3 favorites]
posted by jason_steakums at 6:43 AM on September 12, 2019 [3 favorites]
Take to The Sky is probably my favourite Tori song, and when her Teen Spirit cover came up on my dad's playlist I knew I had done at least one thing right.
posted by yellowbinder at 7:07 AM on September 12, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by yellowbinder at 7:07 AM on September 12, 2019 [1 favorite]
Also I'd like to throw some love at Napster and Limewire for introducing me to a lot of these (and other artists who played in the same space). I would put my favorite Tori songs into search, see who had torrents up, and then scan those peoples' libraries for tracks I hadn't heard of or singers whose names I saw repeated frequently. I mean, um, someone I knew did. A friend. Definitely not me.
posted by Mchelly at 7:31 AM on September 12, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by Mchelly at 7:31 AM on September 12, 2019 [2 favorites]
Ambient Raspberry Swirl has been on every music device I've owned since it was released.
posted by Molesome at 7:33 AM on September 12, 2019 [3 favorites]
posted by Molesome at 7:33 AM on September 12, 2019 [3 favorites]
Same here Mchelly. I had the Crucify & Winter discs, but wouldn't have known about stuff like "A Case of You" without discovering it on Napster.
posted by Ben Trismegistus at 7:34 AM on September 12, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by Ben Trismegistus at 7:34 AM on September 12, 2019 [1 favorite]
Also also if we're doing extra tracks in general, Siren from the Great Expectations soundtrack is killer.
posted by Mchelly at 7:44 AM on September 12, 2019 [4 favorites]
posted by Mchelly at 7:44 AM on September 12, 2019 [4 favorites]
Tori's covers are amazing. Favourites of mine are Lovesong and Famous Blue Raincoat.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 7:57 AM on September 12, 2019 [4 favorites]
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 7:57 AM on September 12, 2019 [4 favorites]
Always a pleasure to hear Tori cover something interesting. There's also her version of Joe Jackson's gender piece 'Real Men'.
posted by ovvl at 8:58 AM on September 12, 2019
posted by ovvl at 8:58 AM on September 12, 2019
I will get nothing done today, i e e e, I am overwrought with it all, and I will do nothing but hide in the pope's rubber robe and thank you profusely hippybear!!
posted by riverlife at 9:01 AM on September 12, 2019
posted by riverlife at 9:01 AM on September 12, 2019
More Baltimore .Oh man, what is the story behind that song [ googling now]? I'd never heard about it! I was hoping/longing for a cover of Randy Newman's ode to my hometown.
I love all the Tori Amos love, thanks hippybear.
posted by missmobtown at 9:11 AM on September 12, 2019
Sugar is among my favorite of Tori's B-sides. Appeared on the UK version of the China single, and the "More Pink" double CD release, which is how I originally came to know most of the songs in this post. Still get chills listening to these like the thousandth time.
posted by tonycpsu at 9:20 AM on September 12, 2019 [5 favorites]
posted by tonycpsu at 9:20 AM on September 12, 2019 [5 favorites]
I own some of these singles, was introduced to some others by Audiogalaxy, and others from this The Bee Sides: Tori Amos piano book.
Ode to the Banana King! From the "Silent All These Years" UK Limited Edition CD single in August 1992.
And I prefer the original 1992 version of Mary to the one that's on Tales of a Librarian.
Also also if we're doing extra tracks in general, Siren from the Great Expectations soundtrack is killer.
Another one is Butterfly from the Higher Learning soundtrack.
posted by bananana at 10:29 AM on September 12, 2019 [2 favorites]
Ode to the Banana King! From the "Silent All These Years" UK Limited Edition CD single in August 1992.
And I prefer the original 1992 version of Mary to the one that's on Tales of a Librarian.
Also also if we're doing extra tracks in general, Siren from the Great Expectations soundtrack is killer.
Another one is Butterfly from the Higher Learning soundtrack.
posted by bananana at 10:29 AM on September 12, 2019 [2 favorites]
In, 2015, I sold my entire collection of Tori Amos singles and albums that I've been collecting since the 90s. While I had ripped all of those CDs, it was bittersweet selling them off. Lots of memories hunting them all down, especially the hard to find imports and bootlegs.
posted by vivzan at 1:18 PM on September 12, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by vivzan at 1:18 PM on September 12, 2019 [1 favorite]
This rare, haunting take on Professional Widow will never get old to me. There's a better version on Rarities For Pele (where she jokes that singing it this way makes her feel like she's giving herself a brain aneurysm) but I can't find it online.
Thank you for this post. Tori Amos was the soundtrack of my teenage life. I remember being a pretty angry 15 year old, recently moved to Texas, whose (ever patient) mom took her to the mall in a freak snowstorm to spend ALL of my babysitting money on a stack of Tori b-sides. I still have every one. I remember breaking up with a very sweet boy who came to my house very sheepishly the next week to give me a copy of Y Kant Tori Read because it was Valentine's day and he worked very hard to get it. I felt like such an asshole. I remember seeing her live at Majestic Theater in downtown San Antonio, before cell phones, and waiting outside the back door near the tour bus to meet Tori Amos and give her a hug... and actually meeting Tori Amos and giving her a hug. O_o My parents were so mad when we finally made our way to their van, where they'd been circling the theater for hours, watching the crowd thin to nothing and wondering where the fuck I was. I was so starstruck that I had no idea how long it had been or how much trouble I was in, so I just climbed into the van and burst into the biggest, most heartfelt teenage tears and gushed about how amazing it was to meet Tori Amos (she was so nice) and they told me later that they just had to let me get away with it that time.
posted by juliplease at 5:31 PM on September 12, 2019 [8 favorites]
Thank you for this post. Tori Amos was the soundtrack of my teenage life. I remember being a pretty angry 15 year old, recently moved to Texas, whose (ever patient) mom took her to the mall in a freak snowstorm to spend ALL of my babysitting money on a stack of Tori b-sides. I still have every one. I remember breaking up with a very sweet boy who came to my house very sheepishly the next week to give me a copy of Y Kant Tori Read because it was Valentine's day and he worked very hard to get it. I felt like such an asshole. I remember seeing her live at Majestic Theater in downtown San Antonio, before cell phones, and waiting outside the back door near the tour bus to meet Tori Amos and give her a hug... and actually meeting Tori Amos and giving her a hug. O_o My parents were so mad when we finally made our way to their van, where they'd been circling the theater for hours, watching the crowd thin to nothing and wondering where the fuck I was. I was so starstruck that I had no idea how long it had been or how much trouble I was in, so I just climbed into the van and burst into the biggest, most heartfelt teenage tears and gushed about how amazing it was to meet Tori Amos (she was so nice) and they told me later that they just had to let me get away with it that time.
posted by juliplease at 5:31 PM on September 12, 2019 [8 favorites]
Juliplease, it's the "Merry Widow" version, and it was also released as a B side on the Hey Jupiter EP.
It's my favorite, and I cannot tell you a. how loud I would play this when home from college and b. how much my parents hated it.:)
posted by pixiecrinkle at 9:21 AM on September 13, 2019 [3 favorites]
It's my favorite, and I cannot tell you a. how loud I would play this when home from college and b. how much my parents hated it.:)
posted by pixiecrinkle at 9:21 AM on September 13, 2019 [3 favorites]
Well, I wasn't a huge Tori fan, but I do like her music and performance. Thus, I always thought this was a B-side because I hadn't really heard of it. I give you (apparently from a concert video that was released) Muhammad My Friend feat. Maynard. Always loved this most from her!
posted by Snowishberlin at 2:08 PM on September 13, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by Snowishberlin at 2:08 PM on September 13, 2019 [1 favorite]
Perfect timing, I was listening to Strange Little Girls this morning, probably for the first time since college.
It's not a b-side, but I do treasure my Boys For Pele CD with the original version of Talula (before it got remixed for the movie Twister of all things).
posted by toastedcheese at 8:59 PM on September 13, 2019 [1 favorite]
It's not a b-side, but I do treasure my Boys For Pele CD with the original version of Talula (before it got remixed for the movie Twister of all things).
posted by toastedcheese at 8:59 PM on September 13, 2019 [1 favorite]
For me, her Total Eclipse of the Heart cover is so much better than the original.
posted by nnethercote at 4:20 PM on September 14, 2019
posted by nnethercote at 4:20 PM on September 14, 2019
Ugh, let me try that link again: Total Eclipse of the Heart.
posted by nnethercote at 4:35 PM on September 14, 2019
posted by nnethercote at 4:35 PM on September 14, 2019
As always, your posts bring me joy and throw be back down the rabbit-hole. Thanks Hippybear.
posted by nenequesadilla at 5:58 PM on September 16, 2019
posted by nenequesadilla at 5:58 PM on September 16, 2019
Also, I hope I didn't overlook someone already linking this version (SoundCloud) of Amazing Grace, which leads into a track called 'Til the Chicken, and is performed with George Porter, Jr. of The Meters. It is a delight.
"If the angels's gonna come in, we should sing a song the angels know, George. They don't know this song!"
posted by juliplease at 6:56 PM on September 18, 2019
"If the angels's gonna come in, we should sing a song the angels know, George. They don't know this song!"
posted by juliplease at 6:56 PM on September 18, 2019
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This was part of my personal soundtrack for most of the 90’s. Like, anything that was a Tori Amos B-Side was just my jam.
Thank you for this.
posted by daq at 10:18 PM on September 11, 2019 [6 favorites]