Well this was very unexpected.
listening to the clips and definitely getting The Ninth Wave vibes.
listening to the clips and definitely getting The Ninth Wave vibes.
I noticed no Tash on BVs. Also Ash does the drums on a couple of these!
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If anybody is reading through this thread and thinking, "Eh it's a kid's album, I'm good" - you're not good, you need to listen.
This little 37 minute collection is probably the most interesting she's been compositionally since Night of Hunters. Not that it sounds like that album per se, but that the music leans on more classical structures and movements. The piano playing is absolutely stunning. Much of the music has the same vibe as the Ocean to Ocean improvs she'd do on tour.
The first two tracks, Knocking and Day and Night, work well together to set the stage. They're actually hooky with some beautiful melodies! I compared them to improvs she might do before Cloud On My Tongue. Then Building a Mountain swoops in and becomes instantly thrilling. It's a JOURNEY at 6 minutes and has such a gorgeous, haunting energy. Insect Lament features all sorts of twists and turns, acting as a centerpiece and collection of the record's motifs. Spike's Lament and Rain Brings Change with small changes could be on any modern Tori record.
Lyrically, it's not as childlike as you might expect? I mean she sings about faeries, baking, muses, pianos as it is.
The atmosphere! Distorted speaking in tongues? The sounds of percussion mirroring faeries working? Synth and reverberated bass? I think it's the best sounding record she's done in a while. If she maintains this for the next proper adult album, we're in for a treat.
This little 37 minute collection is probably the most interesting she's been compositionally since Night of Hunters. Not that it sounds like that album per se, but that the music leans on more classical structures and movements. The piano playing is absolutely stunning. Much of the music has the same vibe as the Ocean to Ocean improvs she'd do on tour.
The first two tracks, Knocking and Day and Night, work well together to set the stage. They're actually hooky with some beautiful melodies! I compared them to improvs she might do before Cloud On My Tongue. Then Building a Mountain swoops in and becomes instantly thrilling. It's a JOURNEY at 6 minutes and has such a gorgeous, haunting energy. Insect Lament features all sorts of twists and turns, acting as a centerpiece and collection of the record's motifs. Spike's Lament and Rain Brings Change with small changes could be on any modern Tori record.
Lyrically, it's not as childlike as you might expect? I mean she sings about faeries, baking, muses, pianos as it is.
The atmosphere! Distorted speaking in tongues? The sounds of percussion mirroring faeries working? Synth and reverberated bass? I think it's the best sounding record she's done in a while. If she maintains this for the next proper adult album, we're in for a treat.
he/him
It's a valid question, and I think it's both dddd. Based on what we've heard from her in the past 5 years on record and on tour, her voice has lost considerable range. For these songs, she stays in this soft middle part, sometimes almost a whisper. I think it works for these whimsical songs. I hope on her next album, there's more range. I know she can go lower and higher, just not with the same power she used to.
Lyrically at times it's a bit reductive, but that can be forgiven because she is writing to fit the narrative and keep it child-friendly. Vocally it's very warm and comforting I mean there is no getting away from it her voice has weakened but how can you listen to 'S'Magic Day' and not smile.
That’s a question I’ve been wondering since the opening night of the OTO tour when she was visibly and audibly out of breath throughout a lot of songs and had to have very long, extended arrangements to take breaks
Update from Tori on the Choirgirl reissue. She was asked yesterday at the first of the signings for Tori & The Muses about it. She said the Choirgirl masters were not stored correctly and are now badly damaged, so they have to mix the album all over again, which is a longer process than a remaster, but confirmed it is in the works
So happy to hear this. Having Choirgirl on vinyl has been top of my list since I started collecting all those years ago.
I did some digging. Bear in mind this is third hand info. Friend of a friend.
Choirgirl was recorded on a Sony 3224 24 track recorder, then those mix downs were used to create the master. The master tape has got “sticky shed”, which is where a chemical used on those old tape reels reacts with moisture and makes the tape shed a sticky white dust that makes it unplayable. It can be temporarily resolved by “baking” the tape, which then means it can be digitised, but this can only be done once. If the baking goes wrong, isn’t done for long enough or is done for too long, it’s fucked. And that’s what has apparently happened to the Choirgirl master.
Now, from her comment yesterday, it sounds like the original 24 track mix-downs are fine so all is not lost. Also explains why we got remixes for Tales and A Piano.
Now, from her comment yesterday, it sounds like the original 24 track mix-downs are fine so all is not lost. Also explains why we got remixes for Tales and A Piano.
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Thrilled to hear about Choirgirl and Venus being in the works. I imagine Beekeeper is too.
...but also, don't forget about Strange Little Girls aka one of her best mixed records! Even though it doesn't *need* a remaster, a vinyl remaster + expanded edition with the b-sides and any other scraps she'd throw our way would be great.
...but also, don't forget about Strange Little Girls aka one of her best mixed records! Even though it doesn't *need* a remaster, a vinyl remaster + expanded edition with the b-sides and any other scraps she'd throw our way would be great.
Possibly just speculation since it turned 20 this year
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