Little Earthquakes

Not my cup of tea, and likely not something I'll revisit, but I can certainly appreciate some of the powerful lyricism here.

4+ Stars (12/15)

I don't think I could name a single Tori Amos song before this, but I loved this album. The lyrics are powerful and the arrangements are beautiful. Kind of a dark, haunting sound throughout.

Very strong first offering from Tori Amos. While occasionally cheesy, she largely sticks the landing with swelling ballads of love, loss, and self-image. “Crucify” had an immediate, catchy, repetitive chorus that had me super hopeful. My hopes were not let down. “Girl” had an instrumental that hooked me in, though this one is very clearly a Kate Bush homage. Not a bad one, but it’s hard to ignore. My favorite moment might be the crescendo of “Winter”. What a nice way to ramp up the tension over 5 minutes. Fantastic ballad, even if the subject matter is a little corny. I also love the macabre, parlor-style sound of “Leather”. Great storytelling with just the piano alone. A fantastic voice and a great group of songs that vary nicely in energy and composition. 4/5!

Spox. Taki popik, ale nie taki głupi. 4

This is a really good alt rock/pop album. Her voice and the piano were beautiful and impressive. China and Winter were definitely two of my favorites.

Surprisingly beautiful music, reminds me a bit of Kate Bush

interesting

Yearner vibes loved the album very heartfelt tho I could fell influences from other artist so îți didn’t feel that authentic other from that is was amazing

33/1089 3.6227* This was a nice contrast from the grunge and dying hair metal (rip) genres when it was released in '92. She had a place among the soft rockers and appealed to the ladies with her powerful voice and piano accompaniment. The album grew on me after a second listen and I had no choice but to bump it up by .2932* and achieve my coveted 4* rating. If you went home with a girl after the bars and she put this album on you were about to either be a) dominated and used like a toy or b) relegated to a shoulder for crying and hearing about the ex-bf she was trying to make jealous by hitting on you at the bar. There was no middle ground and you may just wake to you future wife in the morning. Me and a Gun was a capella and difficult to get through. Hits...silent all these years, leather, crucify, happy phantom

The first album in a long time that I didn’t dislike! Is the draught finally over? I was sure this wouldn’t be my style, but it was. The piano arrangements were very good, and you could tell that Tori Amos is a very skilled pianist. “Precious Things” and “Winter” stood out the first time around. Her vocals and piano playing are top tier. I can even forgive the edgy (slightly cringe) 90s lyrics in Precious Things: “So you make me come, that doesn’t make you Jesus”. It certainly gives off Alanis Morisette vibes. Punky feminist lyrics seem to have been in vogue in the early 90s. A mix of Kate Bush, Regina Spector and Patti Smith. The album dragged a bit towards the end, although I appreciated the whimsical Happy Phantom. Strong 3 star. Actually. After all the garbage, have a weak 4 stars on me.

singer songwriter é realmente uma loteria. a voz da tori é uma lindeza e ela consegue exprimir tanta emoção na voz... é uma coisa linda de se ver. as letras também são ótimas, algumas bem ambíguas e livre para interpretações. não é meu estilo de música, mas esses fatores mencionados acima me fizeram gostar do álbum mais do que imaginei. hoje vou ser boazinha!!!

This is a really good piano driven rock/pop record. She has a lovely voice and she's a terrific songwriter. Favourite tracks were Girl and Winter. I'm feeling a 4 after first listen. It's one I feel I will revisit.

3.5

Gorgeous voice.

Some great tracks here

Not my vibe, but great! Some of it sounded almost show tunes-y to me, but her voice and the lyricism were impressive

Outstanding songwriting

No. 46 Didn't know her before and am happy I heard this album before I died.

I liked this. I feel it’s pretty similar to Fiona Apple. It’s that piano female songwriter stuff with interesting harmonies and lyrics. Precious Things was my favorite

Never been a new wave, post-punk guy but this one is probably the closest to getting me there. Not overly produced or awash in synth, not totally whiny, and some cool melodies. I’ll come back to this one and explore more. This is a great avenue into the genre.

In my country she didn't get popular until her next album, so I was surprised to only see this one in the book. I like most of the songs. The good ones are really good. Favorite song: silent all these years

34/1089 хороший, правда очень затянутый и от этого нудный

Very solid album, really enjoyed it. Great vocals, and the piano was really captivating. Just a few songs that overstayed their welcome or were generally a little weaker.

8/10 The first thing that hit me about this album was how much it reminded me of Kate Bush. She has a similar tone to her voice, and makes some similar melodic decisions now and then during her songwriting. There’s also a depth to the production and a nuance to the vocal delivery that is reminiscent of Kate’s work. Good job I’m a big Kate Bush fan! This album has tremendous range to it, while at its core being the product of one woman and a piano. The instrumentation that is used to build around that core is fantastic, but never overwhelms what Tori is trying to bring across with each song. Her vocal delivery is exquisitely nuanced, ranging from delicate to fierce, and even throwing in some twists of humour here and there. She doesn’t often let her compositions settle into anything too basic, and even when the core structure presents something more simple, the orchestration creates a real dynamic shift across the tracks that keeps things moving in an interesting way. I love the very sparing use of heavy distorted guitars to add grit and texture to various sections, but she never allows them to become permanent fixtures of the sound. Likewise, there’s some full orchestral sections on a couple of tracks, but the sparing use of those elements really allows them to have a fresh impact when they are used. The dynamic depth of this record is so, so good. It goes from whispering, stripped back quiet to full-bodied, almost hammered piano lines with a cacophony of sound behind them. A lot of music, particularly in the modern era, really does a lot to strip out dynamic range, but this kind of depth really brings life and emotion to music in a really evocative way. There were a couple of places where I felt things either got a tiny bit haphazard, or perhaps lulled a tiny bit, and the echoes of Kate Bush did make me inclined to head of in that direction after this finished, but it was certainly an intriguing work and I suspect I’ll be giving this another few spins in the not too distant future, and probably checking out a few more of her albums. This has the feel of a grower to me, so we’ll see where I sit on it in a few month’s time. Crucify - This is a nice start. She’s got a very Kate Bush-esque vocal tone and delivery style. The piano roams about in a really nice way, and has some quality dynamic control to it. There are some really nice vocal blends across various sections too. It’s maybe a bit too heavy on the reverb, particularly on the drums, but theres a lightness to some of the piano and guitar parts that offsets that a little to my ear. Girl - There’s a nice distribution of different instrumental parts through this that make it feel like it’s in constant motion. It builds into a cluttered cacophony at one point, but it all feels purposeful and then falls away into a more sparse arrangement. It feels a bit more structurally confused in places, but it’s a decent and interesting song nonetheless. Silent All These Years - This treads a really fine line between being really beautiful and absolutely heartbreaking, both profound and flippant. It’s very stripped back for the most part, but the delicate ebb and flow of the instrumentation really adds depth. I love the way the track modulates between the different sections, and the recording of the vocal feels very intimate. What a great track. Precious Things - It’s an interesting, if slightly off-putting start with the breathy rhythm, but when it settles into the rest of the track, it works really well. There’s some really deep and unnerving sound design here, and the reluctance to ever let this pin itself into a standard structure of rhythmic flow is really, really nice. It soars, dives, broods and pulses. Winter - She’s got great control of her voice, and the little touches of vibrato during this intro are great. It builds a falls really beautifully and the arrangements and dynamic range are so good. It’s more of a straightforward structure than some of the other tracks, but the arrangement, particularly of the orchestra as it builds to its dramatic peak is just exceptional. It’s a fine example of dragging absolutely every ounce of range out of a fairly straightforward underlying composition. Happy Phantom - This is much more of a quirky little number. Again, there are huge echoes of Kate Bush here, but I’m here for it. It’s obviously a bit more piano focused, but she’s not afraid to be a little bit weird with her production and composition approach. It’s almost got an edge of jazz to her approach in places, and this is a really nice little diversion after the more dramatic Winter. China - She’s found her reverb control again. It’s very pretty but feels a bit more safe than the better tracks on the album. She does inject a little bit of extra depth in a couple of places, but I find this to be nice, rather than special. Leather - Another one with a bit of a jazz edge to it. It fells wonderfully exposed, and she uses a little bit of distorted guitar to add some really interesting texture, as she has done previously. Again, the dynamic range of this record is superb, and she does it again here. The vocal delivery is great, and she adds some great little moments like the ‘fat cigar’ line. Mother - This one roams about the same central premise for most of its length. It still has that great dynamic range to it, her vocal is excellent again, and it’s another emotional and evocative performance. It's perhaps a little unfocused to my ear, as it gets a little lost in its own musings. That being said, it generally finds its way back eventually, so it’s not exactly bad, just didn’t connect with me quite as well as others. Tear In Your Hand - This has got a bit more drive and groove to it. It feels like more of a straightforward pop-rocker, but it’s got undeniable quality and feel to it. It’s hooky enough to engage the ear and while it lacks a little of the dynamic nuance of other tracks, it’s still really engaging. Me And A Gun - The intimate, close-mic’d nature of this is so effective. It’s a truly harrowing song about a real, lived experience and the production choices are so exposing and serve the song and its subject matter so well. The decision to leave the lyrics completely exposed in acapella also feels very important. Little Earthquakes - There’s a lovely depth to this. It’s back to being a bit heavy on the reverb, but the doubled vocal lines are great. The way it changes tone as it modulates up and down her vocal range is really nice. The thrusting rhythm that sits at the heart of this is great too. It’s another where the dynamic range and increasing intensity of the instrumentation works so well to deliver feeling into the song. It’s a journey of a song, moving through a range of tonally distinct sections. A really great way to wrap up the album.

This is a very pretty record. Tori has great pipes. It does feel very derivative of Kate Bush, but then again, that's high praise!

Engaging, beautiful, and evocative, with wonderful melodies and strong songwriting throughout. ‘Little Earthquakes’ is an emotional, powerful record, and a reminder that Tori Amos is totally underrated as an artist and deserves far greater celebration. This really is an essential listen.

Own this album, several great songs and an overall solid concept.

A not hidden gem. I get it.

Utterly ridiculous that this is Amos' debut album Lyrics are often the last thing I think about when I listen to music - if the music behind the words isn't good enough, then I don't bother - but here the lyrics are incredibly poetic, often complex, always moving in one way or the other. Her piano playing is superb and her singing even better. The one that hit me the most was Me and a Gun. That song alone could have its own entry on this list. I'm not giving it a 5 because it's not something I would enjoy all the time and there are a couple songs I think are weaker than the rest. It was tough to decide between a 4 or 5 with this one

I really liked some of these songs. Considered five stars initially but didn't feel like it kept up the same level throughout. Finished strongly.

A bit meandering, but I do love her overall sound and her creativity. It just lacks bangers.

In 1992 PJ Harvey and Tori Amos both released their debut albums. Meanwhile, there I was in rural Canada picking out my first ever compact disc. Celine Dion's self titled album. Time may not heal all injustice but at least love can move mountains.

This is my first time listening to a full Tori Amos album. Crucify, Tear in your Heart and Little Earthquakes were standouts. She was another trailblazer in a musical world filled with of male musicians. Although not totally my style, it is an incredible first album from a very talented musician. The lyrics still hit hard - especially crucify.

Tori gonna Amos

she's good, I'll have to listen again when I'm sadder

I didn't expect anything from this album, but it's awesome. There's a bit of Broadway/musical vibe, but the songs are all so interesting that I want to listen to it again and again. Even though it's not my favorite music, it reminds me of Florence and the Machine in style, very good. Best tracks imho: Crucify and Happy Phantom

I saw on Spotify in the “Fans also like” section that Suzanne Vega was listed as a similar artist and I feel like that’s a very apt comparison. This album has a similar sound to the eponymous album by Vega from what I remember. My favourite tracks were Winter, Me and a Gun (although not one to listen to on a shuffle given it’s quite dark and not really a song), and Little Earthquakes

I spent a lot of time as a teenager talking shit about this album, but I can admit I was wrong. This is great. Beautiful piano, haunting lyrics and the voice is jsut perfect for it all. Really enjoyed this one.

Tori fucking rules and why am I not listening to her every day?

Kind of like a slow pop album. Pretty good.

Ahh, Tori … how I’ve missed you. Listening to this was like opening an old love letter to look back at something special from so long ago. I’m still struck by the brilliant songwriting, the piano-tinged edginess which landed perfectly between my love of Billy Joel and Ben Folds and the fierce independence of her voice. Admitting this bias, the album is full of powerful songs to me, which seem to have gotten better with time. Crucify, Girl, Silent All These Years, Winter, Happy Phantom, China, Leather - I’ve known and loved these songs for decades. I’m fine without the final third of the album, which drones and gets self indulgent, as Tori does, but the opening run is so solid I can forgive it. This is a great debut and core to the explosion of 90s folk rock and the wave of female singer/songwriters.

I purchased the singles Silent all these years (incredible) and China at the time of release, but was scared off by some of the harsher bleaker stark tracks (like Mother) and didn't get the album. Tori also looked gorgeous and somewhat like my girlfriend at the time. Listening today the album is very impressive (the first half in particular) but is still hard work to take it all in one go, with the aforementioned Mother still being a long tough challenge. I'm still pleased to see how well thought of it is on review sites like rateyourmusic.

I can’t think of anything to add that hasn’t already been said.

Wasn’t really expecting to like this as I had (probably incorrectly) associated her with angsty balladry. However, was a really strong album. The confidence to strip it all back to the voice in one of the later tracks was impressive and highlighted how strong her voice is. I will listen to it again, which is an endorsement in itself.

What a voice. Takes the reins from Kate Bush but also does her own thing. Due to the piano being so front and centre, the album loses momentum by the end and could have benefitted from branching out and being a bit less MOR but the front half has some really catchy songs. ‘Winter’ in particular is up there with my favourite ballads.

The album gives me Emma Ruth Rundle vibes but a bit lighter in tone, which I can totally get behind. Will listen to more Tori Amos.

This was a surprisingly enjoyable album. Not a close listen, but I really enjoyed Silent All These Years and some of the later tracks that were playing in the background. I'd say this strattles a 3 / 4 line for me.

This is still as different and fresh to me as it was when it came out. Tori Amos was absolutely not the kind of music I was listening to in the early 90s, but she still somehow always made it into my rotation. This is the first time I have listened to this particular album on good equipment, and I'm very impressed. It's very well-recorded, and her unique stylistic choices make this an album I regret not paying more attention to. I love the singer/songwriter with a piano combination, generally sparse arrangements with such changes to more dense segments, the occasional soaring strings run, and her her unique voice. Great album, and honestly a bit unexpected to see here

Not what I expected. Excellent

Pure power

4/5

Great album

Good album.

Beautiful voice, great piano and overall composition. Probably wouldn’t listen to any of it again except for “Happy Phantom” but that’s just because of my taste.

*1992. *I've never been a fan of Tori Amos - this took me a few listens to appreciate. *The lyrics, melodies, and her voice are all haunting and beautiful throughout. *Wintry vibes throughout. *Tori sounds more like Ani DiFranco (who I really like) than I realized. *I'm really surprised I liked this, and that I'll definitely be listening to this one again. RATING - 7.5/10

🗯 Tori’s debut and she arrives fully formed — a whole world, not just an album. Little Earthquakes isn’t just a set of songs, it’s a Tori-flavoured universe: raw, sensual, smart, and beautifully devastating. Like Kate Bush before her, Amos balances intimacy and theatricality with a rare gift for making the personal sound mythic. The piano isn’t just accompaniment, it’s weapon, shield, and confessional all at once, but surprisingly, I don’t feel she overuses it to the point of polarising. It’s compelling from start to finish — confessional without indulgence, vulnerable but razor-sharp. You don’t just listen to Little Earthquakes; you step inside it and let it rearrange you. Verdict: Essential (a universe conjured, fully formed) For fans of: Kate Bush, PJ Harvey, Fiona Apple, piano confessions that cut deep but not of the legion of over-eccentric singer/songwriters it spurred forward.

This was heat

Deeply poetic lyrics, this album demands study. Phenomenal.

Not for me but it’s good

Best Song: Happy Phantom. Playful melodies and a great interplay between her vocals and the piano. Close second to "Leather". Worst Song: Silent All These Years. A little too "Hallmark movie". Overall: What seemed at first glance to be a collection of relatively ordinary pop songs in actuality turned out to be a diverse set of unique and wonderful glimpses of originality. She is clearly very talented, both in vocal ability and songwriting prowess.

Genre: Piano Rock (Singer/Songwriter) An album that surprised me big time, with big sounds, confident vocals, and lush production, Tori Amos crushed it here. A woman who knows what she’s talkin’ about, and doing it in a way that’s introspective, but is full of confident, bold sounds. I loved this listen, and it’s an album I’ll definitely look to come back to. 4/5

235/1089 - It's a bit too low energy throughout for my taste and I'm not a fan of her vocal fry but she's a fantastic piano player and a good songwriter too.

My college roommate was obsessed with Tori. I never really got it. Good nostalgia though.

Really enjoyed. Excellent vocals.

One thing that I love about this challenge is rediscovering albums that I was exposed to many years ago and had completely forgotten about. I vaguely remember someone playing me a Tori Amos album when I was young. It didn't click at the time (I was probably too young for either the music or the lyrics). But 1 minute into "Little Earthquakes" and I knew I was in for something special. I remember many of these songs but I didn't remember how powerful they were. Tori Amos is understandably throw in somewhere in between Kate Bush and Fiona Apple. But listening now, I feel something very different. There's a rawness, and a pain that's been channeled into power. Nowhere is that more obvious than "Me and a Gun" which is a shocking and brutally honest account her real life trauma. But the entire album is incredible. The opening track "Crucify" is an immediate stand out for me, and instantly attention grabbing. Tracks like "Precious Things" make the ground feel unstable under you. Other tracks, like "Winter" feel bleak and isolated. In short, compared to other women singer-songwriters, Amos feels more angsty and uneasy. I hate that I sat on this one for so many years but truthfully, this was the time in my life when I was ready to appreciate this album.

I only had a limited knowledge of Tori Amos prior to listening to this album, largely her 90s hit Cornflake Girl. Some impressive piano work, slightly discordant but fitting with the slightly crazed vocals (shades of Kate Bush). All in all, a decent album

Increible

Wow can Tori sing! I listened to the Deluxe version of this album and it was a lot of fun. Definitely started to get repetitive, but this was solid. The piano parts were super catchy. Her cover of "Smells Like Teen Spirit" was HAUNTING Liked Songs: "Crucify" , "Girl" , "Silent All These Years" , "Precious Things" , "Happy Phantom" , "Leather" , "Tear in Your Hand" , "Little Earthquakes" , "Upside Down" , "Take to the Sky" , "Sweet Dreams" , "Flying Dutchman" , "Smells Like Teen Spirit"

Reminds me of an earlier Chappell Roan who I also quite enjoy. Loved the raw songwriting too. Surprise album for me.

Winter! I like her voice. Kinda Alanis Moriset ish. Lyrics are good to. Interesting instrumentation

While I liked this a lot more than expected (I did not expect to like it), it's not a record that I will likely listen to often - maybe some of the songs. I had not much exposure to Tori Amos going it, just "Cornflake Girl" (not on this record), and "Crucify Myself." Some tunes on this I really enjoyed... rounding up to 4, it's really a 3.5 / 6 out 10 for me.

I would generally listen to her but not loop her. 4.25 stars

This takes me back to the Nineties. I enjoyed it. Four stars.

Veldig mye bra låter. Liker albumet godt.

Love the vibe, didn’t get through the whole thing so can’t accurately judge it

honestly, i was going to give this one a three… and then i heard “me and a gun”. in order for art to be truly effective, it needs to affect you in some way. few songs have affected me to the point of getting goosebumps quite like this song. the rest of the album was good, but “me and a gun”, the song she wrote about the time that she was raped, left a lasting impression.

The album had a nice flow overall. It had some standout songs like “Leather” and “Me and A Gun”, which I really enjoyed. Tori. Amos captures the nitty-gritty aspects of life very well in her songs. They remind me of a street in New York City lined with old coffee, shops, and little boutique stores. It was definitely a good listen 🥰

Was really surprised, what a beautiful at times haunting record. Me and a Gun hits like a truck - can't find words. Enjoyable album, which reveals more layers with each listen. Strong 4.

The Good: For once little is better than much! The Bad: Much Earthquakes does not sound correct… The Ugly: Earthquakes… If my memory is correct, than many moons ago Rick Beato mentioned this album in one of his hour and a half talk about something or another. If I am not mistaken, while Rick and a friend were doing something or other, one of the songs off of this album came on the radio—because people still listened to the radio back in the ‘90s—and they knew that they were listening to something special… Me, I probably heard the same song around that time, also via the radio, but it was not something that my ear was ready to listen to as I was more into rock and grunge and roadhouse blues at the time… Today, marking roughly 3 weeks since this album showed up on my 1001 list, I can understand how this album is something special. I’ve listened to it 4 times in the past weeks, and upon each listen I am starting to like the album more and more. For now, 4* easily granted to Tori! Maybe, just maybe, I will have to come back and numb it up to 5* at some point...

Great album. Tori Amos’ vulnerability on songs like Me and a Gun and Silent After All These Years are highlights of this album.

nice album. i don't have a lot of experience with tori's music, but i found this album to live in a comfortable place between kate bush and ben folds. her voice is quite nice and i love that the production feels sparse, yet big at times. the songs here are pretty good, with a lot of seemingly personal lyrics about some tough subjects. i think overall, the package is pretty good and i could see it growing on me with subsequent listens.

Lovely

For my money, Little Earthquakes is one of the most remarkable debut albums of all time. Copy/paste to read the rest: https://tinyurl.com/bdfexm49

Powerful songs and performances.

Enjoyed.

Awesome debut album.. loved it

A favorite when it came out, and it was definitely her best. I hadn't listened to it in years...still loved it. Great voice, great writing, and no doubt influenced countless female singer songwriters.

Excellent material. Album structure and pacing is slightly off but the ending is perfect

First real listen to Tori Amos. Nice. Bit Kate Bush-y here and there.

Solid album, couple of weaker tracks near the end.

This has always been a decent album for whenever I’m in the mood for something more chill and laid back. It’s perfect for those times when you want piano-driven music from a strong singer-songwriter aspect.

Very interesting album great lyrics also very melodic

Hits just as hard now as it did in 1992

Tori had a lot of comparisons to Kate Bush when she was first around, but if it's a crime to like Kate we would all be in prison, right? This is an album that reeks of Tori herself, dark, honest, melodic and absolutely stunning.

Tori has a great voice and the songs are catchy and easy to listen to. I haven't heard her before but I will definitely listen again!

Enjoyed: Girl, Silent all these years (love her voice, great piano with a very interesting minor 7 arpeggio on chorus outro), Precious Things (Oh okay, there's range here!), Leather, Me and a Gun (whoah)

I love her piano work, and her songwriting is lovely

Listening to this was like visiting an old friend from high school. This was Tori’s solo debut album, but she had been playing since she was a child prodigy who earned a Peabody scholarship at age five, which she lost at age 11 for being too rebellious and wanting to rock out like her heroes Led Zepplin instead of focusing on classical styles. When she was a teenager, her church minister father took her to local gay bars where she was allowed to perform by singing and playing piano. Eventually she headed to L.A. and fronted an ill-fated hair-rock band. But this album was her finally finding and solidifying her voice as a performer, developing styles and themes that are her hallmarks: confessional lyrics, emotional intensity, and an unabashed (sometimes veering slightly into cringe) exploration of the female experience including girlhood, relationships, even her own sexual assault. As always, there’s a thread throughout that deals with the tension of her fiery personality and sexuality versus her religious upbringing. Compared to later albums of hers, this one is more raw and personal and also more conventionally structured and less abstract in themes. 4.5

Quite soft yet quite intense. She’s pretty good at mining darkness and negative emotions without overwhelming you or coming off as whiny. I’m impressed. Best song: Winter

One of those albums that I could see becoming 5 stars at another point in my life. It’s bombastic and beautiful. Winter is one of my favorite songs I’ve heard in this list. But it’s missing something to drag it over the top

I’ve spent my entire life thinking Tori Amos is Tori Spelling, and the thought of Tori Spelling having an album on here gave me an aneurysm so I skipped it for a while. Imagine my surprise when I started this and found the bridge between Kate Bush and Fiona Apple’s careers! Good stuff!!

I loved this album as an angsty teen - 14-year-old me really thought she'd been silent all these years. I hadn't listened to Little Earthquakes in a long time, and while I found a couple of tracks a bit overwrought this time around, angsty 40something me really enjoyed revisiting it.

a whole journey

My wife described this album as a bridge between Kate Bush and Fiona Apple, I think that's a perfect description. The first half has the dramatic, stringy, Bushy stuff, while the latter half has the more rock out with your piano cock out like Fiona Apple. The lyrics throughout are sharp.

I remember when this album dropped and it was unlike anything. I bought it immediately, but it was a bit esoteric for my taste at the time and it hit the back burner. Reading more about how she sees music in color makes A LOT of sense. Her songs are not very straightforward, but are very rewarding with multiple listens--I think she will one day be up there with the Dylan's and Springsteen's of the world, but she'll need to be discovered over and over again. That said, I think Under The Pink and Boys For Pele are true 5's. This one is amazing, but it's like a blueprint ... probably a 4.5 for me, dropping to 4 out of respect for the next 2 albums. Also, I went down a rabbit hole and Y Kant Tori Read is an 80s timecapsule, but it's still some great Tori stuff!

a little bit poundshop kate bush but i really enjoyed it

Beautiful harmonies in some of the songs.

Little Earthquakes was definitely a really darn good album. This album gave me a lot of the same vibes that Fiona Apple's Tidal gave despite that album coming out a whole 4 years after this one. This album still hits a lot of the same beats Tidal did with similar sounding vocals and also heavily relying on the piano in nearly all the songs. Said piano was easily the best part of the whole album as it could be really beautiful at points in the songs that did use it. The vocals were a bit more hit or miss but were mostly hits when Amos did her typical singing style and didn't try anything too weird. This is a quite a nice surprise of an album. Best Song: Winter Worst Song: Me and a Gun

Un p’tit goût de Kate bush

I wasn’t expecting this to be so good

This has always been a decent album for whenever I’m in the mood for something more chill and laid back. It’s perfect for those times when you want piano-driven music with a strong singer-songwriter aspect.

I think id have loved this when I was 19 and full of angst and a superiority complex. Its not bad, but doesn't fit my tastes anymore.

I couldn’t have named a single track by Tori Amos or recognised her, but recognised a couple of tracks. After one listen it was inoffensive but not hugely memorable, but it’s grown on me too nudging it up to a 4 so I come back to it.

surprisingly enjoyable

This was a beautiful album. Tori has a lovely voice and the instrumental elements are all amazing, especially her piano work. Favourite was definitely Crucify!

Really enjoyable, very 90s. Quite 'heavy' in a sense of the word. I like the piano playing and the overall atmosphere. Glad to have discovered this.

Up until today, I think that Tori Amos occupied the same mental pigeon hole as Alannis Morrisette in my head. However, as seems to be a regular occurrence with this list I was pleasantly surprised again. I found out that she started out in a short lived and not very successful 80’s electro pop band before pivoting into being a singer/songwriter in the vein of Joni Mitchell with a large helping of Kate Bush. The crucial aspect for this album is that the songs are really rather good, ranging from the confessional to strong messages about the empowerment of women in the face of oppression, set to a mostly piano led accompaniment. I hesitate to call it a highlight, but the song Me and a Gun about her experience of being raped is utterly devastating.

Classic: Silent all These Years, Crucify What a unique style. Rating: 4.5

With the exception of a couple of more chaotic songs, this is a really solid album — music is good, lyrics are intensely personal. Piano-forward arrangements are unique for the time.

Absolutely loved this. I have only ever heard Cornflake girl and her Nirvana cover. This was great! Definitely will be listening again and exploring the back catalog.

A little Tori Amos goes a long way. A full album is a tad much for me, but most of the songs hit pretty hard on their own

Fairy tale vibes

This should be a Broadway show. Tori Amos’s songwriting is stellar and definitely gives show tune vibes.

This isn’t a tangent, I swear: I was a teenager in the late 2000s, and I was very, very, very emo. I was also very, very, very into the post-hardcore scene, and all that entailed, as you can expect. As a result, I was very, very, very into Glassjaw. For a few years there, I would’ve told you their first 2 albums were some of my favorite records of all time. Now, being 16 in 2009 meant I was ever so slightly too young to be into nü metal proper; sure, I had older cousins and had a pair of ears, so I got down with Limp Bizkit and Korn, and owned copies of Linkin Park CDs myself, especially since they were a gateway into the emo pipeline anyway and came a bit later on, but like, the Nü Metal Proper™️ wasn’t really something I got into until I started to do my own mini cultural re-evaluation of the music of my youth, generally speaking. That means I didn’t come across Deftones until I was 23 or 24, which feels especially crazy now when Around the Fur has become canonized by Gen Z. Still, I was late to the party, which is fine, because when you’re a kid, you gravitates towards what is around you, and the things around me were post-hardcore, and post-hardcore leads you down the hardcore pipeline, not the metal pipeline. But even still, the first time I heard Deftones, I was gobsmacked, because the first thought I had was, “Holy shit, Glassjaw was just ripping off Deftones the entire fucking time!” From that day forward, I couldn’t listen to Glassjaw the same way, and now that I’m even older (and also a woman), the Christian misogyny doesn’t do it any additional favors, especially when Deftones do it all so much better. But I digress, because I promised this wouldn’t a tangent. To me, while still good in her own right, I think it’s hard to praise Tori Amos when you have Kate Bush sitting right there. I’ll say this: Little Earthquakes is a very good album. Even a great album! I like the arrangements, I like the playing, I love the lyricism. “Girl,” “Winter,” “China,' and “Mother” are all incredible, immaculate songs. “Crucify” is really important to understanding the ‘90s alt-girl/weird-girl/Lilith Fair scene. I think there’s only two moments that pull Little Earthquakes down on face value, and they’re all in the back half, with the weird off-kilter “Leather” (although that may be a personal taste issue), and the bold choice of a fully acapella song with “Me and My Gun,” which is just a hard song to sit through due to its conceit, and which also doesn’t feel like it was developed beyond said conceit. Otherwise, on face value, Little Earthquake is a very great album. It’s piano art rock for weird girls, and that’s something I can typically stand behind. But unlike the later spokeswomen for this non-genre, like Regina Spektor, Kate Nash, or even Lorde, Tori Amos has committed a fatal flaw, at least on her debut. On Little Earthquakes, she just straight up ripping off the original Queen of this non-genre herself, Kate Bush. Every single instance on this record can be traced directly back to a Kate Bush song that does it better, more artfully, or more thoughtfully. The most emotional moments like the choir on “Crucify” can be found in “The Big Sky,” the themes of “Mother” are on “Mother Stands for Comfort,” “Silent All These Years” feels like a song off Never for Ever, “Girl” like a song off Lionheart, etc. etc. Now, sure, these doesn’t mean she’s literally ripping off Kate Bush song for song, but the je ne sais quoi, the spirit, and the sentiment are all there. There’s obvious value to an artist like this, especially prior to the advent of the internet and the easily accessible mp3 file. Artists that so heavily copied style and sometimes substance from the less ✨commercially viable✨ were gateway drugs down a path that kids otherwise may have never seen underneath the forest bush. I think Tori Amos was literally that for tens of thousands of weirdo girls in the ’90s, and probably lead them directly to Kate Bush. Much like my anecdote up top, I’m late to this party, although now the result is the other way around, because I was pointed first to Kate Bush thanks to the internet and older weird girls who came before me, and largely got to skip over Tori Amos beyond a passing comment about how she’s “great,” with no follow-up that I absolutely needed to check her out. Having now heard her debut, I see why that played out the way it did; she *is* great, this album *is* great, but it wasn’t a need. I get all my fill from a less-essential Kate Bush album. In fact, knowing that, I find it almost difficult to fully let myself go while listening to Little Earthquakes. It just feels soured, like Glassjaw now that I’ve heard Deftones. It’s not as blatant, and I do think you can find some inherent value in Little Earthquakes that I can’t really find any more in Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Silence, but the rate of exchange still leaves me paying more here. Am I glad I finally listened to this record? Sure, I like this non-genre a lot, and I think it’s a solid album. I personally enjoy it, and it’s well-realized. That settles that. Is it essential? That one I’m having a harder time pinning down my thoughts on, but I guess it depends on your own thoughts on artists being derivative versus being ✨inspired✨, and your overall tolerance for the latter, especially if the latter instance is an important gateway artist and influential in their own right. It also depends on whether you think there needed to be another Kate Bush album in the book or not, and if you’d sacrifice this for that. Mileage may vary. I have my own thoughts, and it directly impacts my face-value listening experience when I try to sit through Little Earthquakes. And yet, despite these complications, still, I end up enjoying this record on face value. Maybe that’s all there is to it.

I never got into Tori Amos during her heyday and only knew a couple of her songs going into this. I enjoyed this album more than I was expecting to. I'm not sure I would have appreciated it as much a few years ago, but after getting more into post punk it makes more sense to me. This is definitely an eclectic and "quirky" album. I was prepared for a lot of slow piano ballads, and there are plenty of those. But I wasn't expecting it to be as dark and as heavy as a lot of it was — not just in terms on lyrics, but in terms of sound. A lot of this album reminds me of Kate Bush, but several songs also remind me of Siouxsie and the Banshees ("Girl", "Precious Girl," Little Earthquakes") which I would not have guessed. Even the songs that are mostly piano and vocals are very atmospheric, using odd chord progressions, eerie-sounding high notes, and choppy playing to great effect. Lyrically, Amos is really talented. The themes are pretty dark, with lots of deeply personal songs about bad relationships, loss of innocence, feeling lost, etc. "Me and a Gun" is especially harrowing, as it's essentially a retelling of a terrifying and horrific rape she experienced. Because of the themes and the heaviness, it might be worth breaking up into a few listening sessions. But it's also one of those albums that benefits from multiple listens to properly absorb the lyrics and narratives. I'll be checking this one out again and probably exploring more of her catalog. 4/5

I had obviously heard of Tori Amos before but had never listened to her. This album was pretty cool. Good song writing, and piano playing. Really honest.

A favorite album of mine. I love the way the lyrics are heavy and the instrumentation is light. The writing, while hitting very uncomfortable topics come over so authentic and honest. A very brave debut album

I don’t know, I like it. I like that the lyrics are a little nonsensical at times. I like the minimalism of piano, vocals, and percussion. I like that it’s not trying to do anything more than what it is, it really works staying in this lane. Kind of has this dreamyness to it, and I’d go so far as to say a timelessness to it as well.

powerful woman 90's

It's really not what people think it is. You don't have to listen to the lyrics or be personally involved with what Tori is writing/singing about (although it's deep and meaningful). To me the arrangements, tempo changes and fearlessness in the instruments other than piano make it glimmer. The piano is obviously the star, but it's more than just a sad girl shrieking and singing loudly.

Favorite Track: Crucify

Hauntingly beautiful.

90’s essential

This album of confessionals feels a different proposition to 'Jagged Little Pill' though, which it clearly heavily influenced, down to even the a cappella track. For a start, the piano playing is excellent throughout, finding new refrains and hooks every minute. At least the first half of this album is superb. She went on to cover Chas n Dave, and suckle a pig, and write Cornflake Girl. I cannot argue with any of that.

This was really pretty good, and I had really never listened to this artist before. At times her voice is a little too “poppy” sounding for my liking, but I still think she is really talented, and I enjoyed this album. It’s probably a 3.5 for me, but I will round it up to a four, and will listen to it again. I really, really liked the song “China” except for a short annoying few seconds about 2/3 of the way through.

Piano-driven emotional singer-songwriter.

Very cool voice and some weird soundscapes, this is not the usual singer-songwriter mush I had expected - much more like a transatlantic PJ Harvey. Definitely of its time! There's a quiet power here, it's a clever and thematically strong album which makes an appealing noise. Favourite tracks: Girl, Precious Things, Leather, Mother, Little Earthquakes

I went in figuring this wouldn't be my kind of music but really enjoyed it. Winter was my favorite track and it's an amazing one. Bonus star for that alone

- This music is not written for me. But I appreciate it for giving me a glimpse into an experience decidedly not my own. - Beautifully haunting, both in lyrics and tone. - First few tracks are extremely solid, though I think the album takes a definite downturn with "Happy Phantoms" and "China." But "Me and a Gun" is so transcendentally devastating that I excuse those missteps.

fave song: winter fave vocal melody: the way she sings “chains” on crucify honorary mention to the bravery it took to write “me and my gun” and release it to the public. i couldn’t listen to it because it’s too heavy and way too triggering for me. but i admire her strength greatly!

This album really has a timeless quality about it. It could have been made in the last 10 years, and I wouldn't have thought it out of place. A lot of her lyrical subject matter feels more modern than 1992 as well. Just a really beautiful album that balances the soft moments and the intense ones really well. 4/5

Pre-listening thoughts: hallelujah praise the lord it’s a woman songwriter of the 90s which means it won’t be nearly as godawful as the bullshit electronica album we got yesterday! Post/during listening thoughts: there is something very Kate Bush about this. It’s sort of Kate Bush meets Fiona Apple meets k.d. lang meets old Marina and the Diamonds. There is really lush instrumentation (I love strings sorry) and her lyricism is pretty great. I really like this and it could easily become a 5 upon relistens. 8/10 DID I NEED TO HEAR THIS BEFORE I DIE: no Fav tracks: Crucify, Silent All These Years, Precious Things, Happy Phantom, Leather, Tear in Your Hand Least fav tracks: Me and a Gun

I'm often not the biggest singer-songwriter fan but this album is very good. Her voice is fantastic and the lyrics hit a lot of very powerful topics. Instrumentation is varied and complements her voice well.

I like it. The vocals are good and the kick drum quite punchy which I enjoyed. I also enjoyed the varied piano play and buildup and such. 'Me and a Gun' is a haunting track and the choice of a capella means that there's nothing to hide behind Standouts Crucify Winter Me and a Gun 4/5

7.2/10

kinda reminds me of fiona apple :>

Solid album. Me and a Gun is devastating. Everyone should listen to that song. The rest is very good albeit not perfect. This is a proper singer-songwriter album filled with strength and vulnerability.

My first concert

this was how i imagined all music by cool, mysterious, older women would sound when i was about 8 years old. this is not a bad thing.

i only really knew tori amos from her cover of smells like teen spirit before this, so i'm glad i listened to this album. the front half is great - interesting, impactful, and beautiful. her piano playing is both impressive and expressive (sidenote, why aren't those words opposites) and the lyrics are very poetic and moving. the rest of the tracks are pretty underwhelming, just more of the same. i did laugh during leather at the voice she used for the cigar line, but otherwise nothing really stuck out to me. this album may have been more impactful in 1992 when there was a dearth of piano-forward female artists but it's still really solid overall in 2025, and a great debut. favorites: crucify, silent all these years, precious things, winter

Classic

indy rock with nice vocalist

Happy Phantom is a great song. Almost Kate Bush vibes.

Pretty pleasant. Low 4/5

Very good album. When this album came out, I seemed like Amos was oversharing. I had read that she'd been raped and this album felt like a therapy session that I accidentally overheard. It was uncomfortable. Her pain was evident. In retrospective, I can see how this was probably cathartic for her and others who suffered through sexual assault. This album really is a masterpiece of sorts. To be able to put your feelings out there and make an album that people can relate to really is something special.

The American Kate Bush with significant echoes appearing later in the work of Alanis Morissette. Entertaining and some good tunes ('China' in particular). I like it.

High 4. Could be 4.5— I understand why folks have this at 5.

Good songwriting, singing is too theatrical. 4 stars

Good tunes

Sad girl pop over piano. Right now my alley

Weird but i think i like it

The opener Crucify is a pretty good song. Precious Things is neat. Happy Phantom is good too. Leather is pretty and has a nice piano solo. Mother is very good too. Me and a Gun is quite something. Better than I was expecting.

yay! this seems very Kate Bush-ish but all the good bits. Quite simple instrumentation. Really good singer. some songs drag on a bit... Favorite songs: Crucify, girl, precious things, tear in your hand. Overall around 7/10

Really good Really enjoyable Fantastic voice

I had heard of Tori Amos, but never really listened to any of her work. A shame, because this is really good stuff.

Definitely sounds like a 90s record and definitely dig it.

Ja nice Kende de naam wel al maar nog nooit geluisterd Leuk album

There’s lots to enjoy here but it’s also true that there’s a certain lack of variety when the same piano sound and singing style is stretched over an album When it works (China, Winter) it’s really great though And the thing is I’ve largely changed my mind about the album the more I’ve listened and it’s really grown on me. Me and a Gun in particular is incredible I was leaning towards a 3 but then the album had a strong back end and I think it’s a 4 really

Les pièces de Tori Amos sont tumultueuses et fluides comme l'eau. Je pourrais réécouter sans arrêt.

Classic Tori Amos.

I liked this

Impressive album. Good lyricism, definitely making it one that I'll come back to. Vocals are also nice.

Great album

Amazing album, I was only aware of the reputation Tori Amos has built since the 90s, and this record helped me understand it.

8/10…singer-songwriter / piano rock

🎧Thoroughly enjoyed this. Stellar debut from Amos. Traces of Joni Mitchell and Kate Bush. Couple moments that reminded me of Joanna Newsom, I wonder if Amos influenced her.

Great lyrics, strong vocals that pair well with her piano style. Haunting and powerful. I'm surprised how timeless it sounds over 30 years later. I like the next 2 albums a bit more but a great choice for the list. 4.5

Lyrically bold, strong vocals, dynamic piano that blends pop and classics elements. Highlight: Crucify (obviously), Silent All These Years

Definitely giving off Kate Bush vibes. A great opening 1 2. It doesn't ever really shift a gear for me though, most of the way through.

Very good. I think a lot of female artists are unfairly compared to Kate Bush, but I do admit I hear some similarities here - while still being a distinct and original songwriter. There are powerful moments in almost all the songs. Favorite tracks: Winter, Precious Things, Me and a Gun

great debut

This is not really my kind of music, but it is clearly very well made. The album was a little longer than I would have liked but I still really enjoyed it. Favorite songs were the opener and closer.

Приятный альбом, хороший голос

I saw some reviews comparing Tori Amos to Kate Bush, but I prefer to keep them apart. I liked this album. Certainly I had heard of Tori Amos but had not given her a serious listen.

Was quite nice! A nice surprise

It’s ok, unique voice but also a bit trill like a bird.

4 - I wish I could have given this a second listen. not a 5 but I think there's some genius behind this. I loved Silent All These Years, and tracks like Girl and Me and a Gun show there's a complex story behind the somber songs.

Excellent music. I recall my introduction to Tori: I was still a teenager, and I had a local music station on, very, very faint, and Tori's version of "Smells Like Teen Spirit" was playing, and it was so strange -- I kept thinking "Wait, what? Am I imagining things? Sounds like Nirvana", but the volume was so faint it was almost like I was being haunted. I finally figured it out, turned up the volume, and enjoyed the song very much. A very similar, but actually more intense experience happened with Tori's cover of Led Zeppelin's "Thank You", but that's more personal and another story. Anyway, Tori is very good, and I like her, but... (I'm going to give this album 4 stars, easy) but her music tends to be emotionally intense. This is not pop music. This isn't something you put on to relax or feel peppy. I like her, and appreciate her, but it's also a bit of a knock. It's like saying "No one captures my mood better when I'm down." That's impressive, yet I am hoping to not be down a lot.

Winter is a stunner

The album cover was a bit controversial at the time due to the phallic mushrooms it depicted. The obvious comparison is with Kate Bush, but Tori Amos comes across as less pop and more serious. I'm still a fan of the album.

This seemed very... artsy. Like it's probably really genius but you have to squint with your ears. It took me like 5 tries to get through it bc of work. But it was good.

Great piano, great voice. Yeah yeah, very Kate Bush. Yes, Joni Mitchell. Sure. Great though. And she has her own voice. Influential in turn on people like Fiona Apple. For ages only really knew Cornflake Girl, the real shit is here. Always found her fascinating in the music press even though I knew little of her work then. I love that she is an inspiration for Delirium in The Sandman. Precious Things is epic, a song I only knew for the Sasha + Digweed remix on Northern Exposure which worked SO well. Those high keys and that cry. Many songs here really develop, swirl and crash to and fro like tidal waves.

How one feels about this record might come down to how one feels about chamber pop, and chanson-ier side of the singer-songwriter street. That said, one doesn't remember this record having such quality or being quite so satisfying (perhaps because one's relationships with several Tori super-fans back in the day were neither quality nor satisfying). But it is good, full-on so in fact, or, as was said back in the day, way good, declaring itself as something sharp and different right from the opening note. Yes, it’s overwrought and perhsaps self-absorbed; certainly, there is an excess of strings (to telegraph the serious emotional stakes), highlighting that TA probably had high-art aspirations. A criticism would be that it gets a little too voice-and-piano through the middle – indeed, the more she expands the palette ("Tear in Your Hand," "Crucify," "Girl") the more compelling the results. And like every other '90s record, it's too long by more than a shout (the a cappella closer seems an obvious candidate for addition by subtraction). At its best (e.g., "China," Silent After All These Years"), it's sheer loveliness with just the right touch of offbeat to make it new. Such intensity is also a hallmark of many quality records, and of fully committed and passionate artists. Speaking of, this record compares favorably with Joni Mitchell (which seems slightly obvious to say) and there might even be days or hours when one would consider seriously the question of whether one prefers this to any of Joni Mitchell albums. Other notable comps (benefitting from the hindsight of many years): about as arty but more stylistically raw than Kate Bush; cooler/sexier than Judy Collins; less overbearing/in-one's-face/insufferable than Fiona Apple; much more substantive but packaging similar to that of Harry Connick, Jr, a contemporary trying to mainstream a pop-adjacent genre; perhaps a godmother of emo-inflected pop stars (one wonders how Taylor might feel about TA?)

Alanis without guitar. The melodies are a little tougher to get on an early listen than Alanis, but your efforts will be rewarded. If you are a Fiona Apple fan, I highly recommend giving Tori a listen.

Until I listened to this album what I had heard from Tori Amos is her mid-90's albums because my college roommate really liked her music. This was a surprisingly great album and much less "weird" than I had anticipated that it would be. The first five songs are absolutely great and I think I enjoyed this album more than I enjoyed albums by Kate Bush (who she is compared to...and rightfully so). Definite recommend, even for people who don't like Tori Amos but have not heard this album.

Hadn’t listened to this album in years. It holds up quite well.

Elska þessa!

Easily one of the best folk singer/songwriter album so far. Beautiful voice, nice composition, interesting lyrics, full package. Pretty good record.

Pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed this.

Once, before I'd sold most of my CDs, I owned a Tori Amos album and was looking forward to this, a kind of reunification with the music from a past. Well, it wasn't "Little Earthquakes", I now realise, as most of these tracks I've never heard before. And I don't feel like I've missed out, tbh. Crucify is great, but many song structures, their arrangements with the wind and string instruments, there's something theatrical about it, Music For Music Videos. And those videos are all set in a mystical castle, enchanted forest or the fields in between. Or something. Bit cutesy. I don't know, not a fan. Not at all bad, however. A weak 4. Going to listen to "Under The Pink" instead. That was the one.

This is the album from Springsteen that I know the least so it was nice to rediscover it.

Reminded me of kate bush, really enjoyable stuff

Hade aldrig hört Tori Amos tidigare, men gillar! Pianodriven poprock, mycket svällande och bombastiska ljudbilder. Låtarna är dramatiska utan att bli för smöriga. Även om texterna är lite för övertydliga ibland. Får Kate Bush-vibes, med lite Regina Spektor i 'Happy Phantom'. Väldigt vackra ballader, som 'Silent All These Years' och 'Winter', och låtar med mer kraft, som 'Crucify'. 'Me and a Gun', en låt i a cappella om en våldtäkt Amos upplevt, är väldigt kraftfull. Albumet tappar litegrann under andra halvan, men första är så bra att det blir förtjänt av ett högt betyg ändå! Bästa låt: Svårt. 'Crucify' eller 'Winter'.

Ridiculous at times but I love it.

This was actually very good for a genre I don’t like very much. I still found a couple of songs a bit much but I think she is talented and this album deserves a 4 rating. Listens: 2 Fave Track: Crucify Rating: 4

Of course, the elephant in this room is the circumstances through which a great piece of music came about. Unnerving and a difficult, whilst brilliant listen, this launched an intriguing career.

Great sound. Kate-Bush-esque

Step 2 in the soft girl timeline after Kate Bush and before Bjork, after bjork is Fiona Apple

3.5/5

A profound album of sadness and pain and resilience and power. Tori Amos is some writer, and this album is her vision fully realized - a dark story that gets the full treatment of an orchestra, soaring vocals, intense breaks and an uncompromising commitment to a sonic landscape that hosts her story. She sings with her full body and full heart. All the comparisons that were trotted out to pigeon hole her when this album was realized are only critics trying to make sense of this offering. All men. They only saw her as a more intense Kate Bush. She was and is a singular presence and this album was a singularly powerful piece of art.

What a statement of a first record! It is inspiring to see someone burst on the scene this way, fully formed as an artist, unapologetic in her power and her choices. Everything about this record feels bold and in your face. It is lush, epic, dramatic and raw. A masterclass in authenticity and storytelling.

Loved this! A WOMAN favs: crucify, girl, leather

Listened to it before. Owned it before. Still like it

Are the little earthquakes the bass? This is a very fun album every song has something to offer. I had not listened to this album in full before. Silent All These Years was all I had heard. Crucify was good and the bass in all tracks was fun.

This album seemed to be in every woman’s dorm room on our college campus in the early 90s and for good reason. Her songs spoke to a lot of the female experience that went unrepresented in a lot of 80s music, and 90s men trying to prove themselves sensitive to that paid attention. Love it or hate it, you couldn’t ignore it. But are the songs any good? Yes.

Worth listening to again. Strong, interesting vocals; impassioned lyrics; balanced instrumentation. Not sure why I avoided her music in the past.

a mix of kate bush and disney songs. a bit like fiona apple. doesnt bode well that the only thing i can say about her is that shes like other people.

This was a mixed bag. The first two and last two tracks were fucking awesome. Crucify and girl began the album great but then it was a bit boring going through it. Me and a gun was very interesting then the title track was a great way to end it. I can see what people mean when they say she’s a wanna be Kate bush but I love it honestly.

a great jolt on a Tuesday- Tori's songwriting skills are on excellent display in this album

Good james for listening to stuff while working. 3 or 4 stars especially after the music it pulls.

Nice.

I don't know. Maybe I love Tori Amos now but this went down real easy today.

Opening track grabs your attention. Her vocal style is making choices. The production is crisp and a big part of this album. I get why this earned her a large fan following in the 1990s. A confidence in her craft comes through on all of these tracks. Me and a Gun so haunting. Again the production, her voice and piano playing build a solid album. There are some awkward tracks.

Catchy i guess

This was a pretty interesting album - I can understand where the comparisons to Kate Bush come from, but I think Tori Amos carves out enough of an original sound to make this a unique artistic statement. I’m giving this 4 stars because I liked it and want to revisit at some point. But I should note it was raining today, and my cat died yesterday, so I might have been more susceptible to this kind of emotional dramatic music.

not a fan of her singing style on this album, but the pianos and lyrics are the tops.

Joni Mitchel sound alike

Amazing & unique voice. Great songwriting. Refreshing arrangements for the times. 3.5/5

Tori Amos has a great calm and haunting quality to her voice. I enjoyed this album and will listen to it again.

Okay, can see the appeal but not something I would seek out.

A lovely and very ambitious debut but not as strong as some of her later work in my opinion

It's a sweet album. She has a nice voice. It's inoffensive. But it doesn't necessarily make me feel anything. Which is ok if you're looking for atmosphere/background music.

yea idk its like cool. least ive been annoyed w singer songwriter type shit maybe. hits more than i expected for me. cool she pushed for the piano instead of guitar on this i think it makes it more fun to me and works well w w/e the fuck she's doing on this album

Excellent, powerful, personal.

Great record.

Indie girl singularity- less indufferable than much of what followd

Jeg har lyttet sindssygt meget til alle Tori Amos' albums fra 1992-2001, men den her er ikke lige den jeg er kommet mest tilbage til - synes hendes arrangementer blev mere barokke og interessante senere, hvor den her falder på den mere simple ende af adult-alternative skalaen. Stadig nogle verdensklasse numre på den! Da jeg så hende i april lukkede hun med Precious Things, det var fantastisk

Helt ait

EXCELENTE VOZ.......

SUCH AMAZING LYRICS!

tori amos' debut album can be hard to describe. pop doesn't quite describe her music, but i find it closer to folk than others might expect. she's creating epic songs that don't perfectly fit the folk genre either. learning that amos is a classically trained musician wasn't terribly surprising. i'm impressed period, but after hearing her carry the song "me and a gun" with only her voice, i'm gobsmacked. she's alone without any backing; it's almost spoken word but she follows a melody. the song recounts a traumatic incident, but amos wields the song to bring her the power back. if her voice wasn't nearly so controlled, the song couldn't work. there are plenty of other songs here that showcase amos' voice too, but none omit instruments like "me and a gun" and force your attention to her vocals and the lyrics. "me and a gun" brings me to amos' songwriting abilities. the way she's able to describe the situation in a non-sexual manner but in a hopeful manner with her desire to live through this encounter--it's nothing but brilliance. "crucify" was also written in a creative way. feeling heavy disdain toward yourself isn't exactly new, but using christianity to drive the point home is striking. those are only two examples, but gosh her lyrics are not sloppy but instead well crafted!

Another artist that I wish I was more familiar with. I really love all of the intensity throughout this album. Her influences on some of my favorite artists are clear. Definitely one that I want to revisit frequently. 4/5

This album is pretty great. I didn't love every song on it, but for the most part all of the quirky vocal melodies, key modulations and sprinkled in discordance that I love about Tori Amos is here.

This album is great. My wife listened to this a lot in high school so I knew quite a bit of it, but still, it's very good. 4/5

I really like this album but I know none of Tori Amos’ other stuff. Wild, but I recall picking this up at the request of Dan Harmon of all people, and he’s right. Incredible songwriting throughout. B+

J emets un tout petit 4 parce que c'était mieux que très moyen ce qui assure une place de choix dans ce générateur.

Great one. But I don't like all songs.

В целом не особо цепляет или вдохновляет, но звучит красиво и лирично.

Listen to her often

I love piano based music. There's also some lovely harmonies. I just wasn't a fan of the last 2 songs. Me and a Gun would have benefitted from some instrumentation, I think.

Lovely dark little lullabies.

Enjoying this!

At times a little rambling and freeform… sometimes this can make everything seem a little too loose but mostly it sounds like a work of some genius. Great stuff.

A nice little album. Not earth shattering, but close to it.

Very unique sound with powerful lyrics and powerful emotive singing

Really high-quality pop album Quite reminiscent of Kate Bush

This album has clean, chill production with a kind of lightly ethereal atmosphere. The singing is fantastic and the choice of instruments is on-point. Piano and string arrangements work beautifully with Tori's vocals. The only things preventing this from being 5 stars are a lack of obvious "hit" tracks and the absence of guitar and (active) drums. Favourite tracks: Silent All These Years, Winter, Happy Phantom, Tear in Your Hand

One of my favourite albums from the early nineties, and has weathered incredibly well. Not sure she ever got the balance between restraint and expression quite as right as she did here.

Surprisingly nice. I found a 2h version, probably some remastered deluxe edition, still cool

Vrouwelijke gesofisticeerde popmuziek is een klein hoekje waar Tori 1 van de prominente madammen is. Zonder Tori misschien geen Fiona Apple, geen Joanna Newsom en geen Belgische grote madam An Pierlé. Die 3 netgenoemde madammen ken ik relatief goed en volg ik al jaren. Zonder die Belgische grootheid ooit live een zaal zien plat te spelen had ik dit 'genre' misschien wel gelaten voor wat het was. Tori Amos haar werk ken ik eigenlijk enkel van een handjevol iets bekendere songs en die staan blijkbaar niet op haar debuut (de Nirvana-cover op de deluxeversie even niet meegeteld). Het was tijd om deze eens op te zetten. Deze plaat snijdt op tekstueel vlak van de oprechtheid, de eerlijkheid. Het wordt soms zo intiem dat je het er een beetje warm van krijgt. Ze onderbouwt haar teksten dan ook erg mooi met haar pianospel en melancholieke arrangementen. En dan snijdende teksten zingen met overgave en emotie, het komt binnen. Ge zijt daarvoor of ge zijt het ni. Ik ben nu eenmaal een slet voor rauwe emotie. De muziekwereld heeft iets mysogyns, waar vrouwen die iets te zeggen hebben te weinig van de spotlight krijgen. Ik vond het een zeer fijne plaat om te ontdekken, al denk ik dat ze in de winter nog meer tot zijn recht zal komen, zoals het gelijknamige lied al weggeeft. Graag meer vrouwen met een mooie ziel in de spotlight, er is meer dan (de overigens geweldige) Phoebe Bridgers of Sharon Van Etten. Muzikaal gebeuren er wel soms wat gedateerde dingen (Tear in your Hand had een langere houdbaarheidsdatum gehad zonder de kleffe drums/gitaar combo, ook de titeltrack heeft er last van), maar ik kan er mij vlot overzetten. Een 4 voor deze aangename kennismaking, en een oproep aan mezelf om haar verdere discografie eens te gaan ontdekken. Waarschijnlijk richting de 5 tijdens een blijtbeurt onder de douche. *Insert Tobias gif*

Very intense topics in these songs. Stunning piano playing and production. Not something you can listen to very often, as it's real emotional territory. But majestic.

4.5 really enjoyed!

Really good job! The tracks combine different genres to create a very nice and chill experience. Highly recommend.(82%)

Agréablement surpris, je m'attendais à m'endormir dessus mais ça a passé quand même vite considérant la durée de l'album. Je pense pas que tout était parfait, mais la voix est vraiment bonne et les compositions son rafraîchissantes. 8/10

Front half of the album was a little better than the back half, but a good album overall. Enjoyed a lot of the piano work.

Really enjoyed this album. Not what I would normally listen to, but I love her lyrics and emotions the album goes through. Standouts for me are the title track and Precious Things.

Very curious! It reminds me of a mix of eccentric female vocalists - at times Kate Bush, at times PJ Harvey, at times Fiona Apple, and a few others. It does generally speaking, to me, feel not quite as compelling as each of those - not as virtuosic as Kate, not as moody or atmospheric as PJ, not as potent or esoteric as Fiona (could make other comparisons to Alanis Morissete etc). But, it's got some very nice stuff, with quite a bunch of really surprising and interesting moments! The singing doesn't always land for me, but sometimes it sounds awesome. Leather! On balance, I dig it quite a bit.

Wow, another banger! I know Tori Amos' name, but don't think I could name a song, probably a "me" problem. But this is a great album, apparently her debut too and it's all introspective piano singer-songwriter stuff, which seems incredibly bold. Not a style that many can pull off, but damn she nailed it here. Very heavily reminds me of Kate Bush, and that's definitely a compliment. Will be returning to a quite a few tracks on here, and I wouldn't mind some more from Tori if she's bringing heat like this. Favorite tracks: Girl, Silent All These Years, Winter, Leather, Mother, Tear in Your Hand. Album art: A tiny Tori crouched inside a wooden box, I can't tell if she's trying to or scared to get out. Simple but striking. I like it. 4.5/5

How did I miss this back in 1992. Too busy with life I guess. Really unique. Reminds me of Joni Mitchell. Variety of styles, very unique melodies and arrangements. Plus this was a debut album. Amazing.

Very good. A bit too long and some songs sound similar.

Primarily anchored by vocals and piano, but with enough musical diversity here that it never gets wearisome. Though I recently saw her described as a "more generic, less talented Fiona Apple", a devastating insult that my brain won't seem to shake, I think her lyricism is quite complex and powerful indeed -- even when the music doesn't reach that level. This album is a very good listen, if not a revolutionary one.

Some really good songs, some average, but then there's Me and a Gun.... I don't think I know any song alike, goes deep.

A beautiful album with complex lyrics, and a voice that would make an angel go from six to midnight. thought of many artists while listening such as Regina Spector, Kate bush and Florence and the machine which isn't a bad group to be in with. I will come back again to gain further appreciation.

Really enjoyed this, very lyrical and Kate bush like

awesome

She sounds like a Disney princess

-tori amos like the name sounds so familiar -but i honestly don’t think i have listened to her before -crucify is already such an interesting song -her voice is really beautiful -i definitely hear some kate bush and fiona apple -precious things is such an epic song -it should be in a magical fairy movie -these songs are really good but idk if i would necessarily ever listen to them again -happy phantom is definitely my favorite

I really enjoyed this. She is more than just a Cornflake Girl to me now.

First 5 songs were SO good. Like Joni blended up with Zevon. Then the rest was real self indulgent and kinda awful. Was thinking 3, then went back and listened to the beginning again. 4 stars it is.

I was very impressed with this - I really haven't given Tori the requisite amount of time, and I should, and I will.

Tori Amos is not an artist that is in my go-to, top favourites but I do respect her work. Phenomenal voice, composing skills, and musical talent. This first album is full of raw emotion, melody, melancholy, and heart.

- Never heard a Tori Amos album before - Really enjoyed it, better than I'd expected - Kind of Kate Bush-lite but that's not necessarily a bad thing - Fav songs: Silent All These Years, Crucify, Winter

Rating: 7/10 Best songs: Crucify, Winter

4.0

I’ve come across Tori Amos a few times but always disregarded it because I thought she was a country artist. I don’t know why I thought this, because a quick Google says she’s comparable to Joni Mitchell, who I love! I’m very interested to listen to this today, because it sounds like my expectations were all wrong! Songs I already knew: none Favourites: Precious Things, Happy Phantom This was pretty great! I was certainly wrong with my expectations as this is piano driven folk pop. The singing was beautiful throughout, and the lyrics were interesting. I read online that her label tried to push this into being guitar driven, but I’m glad that she stuck with it being on piano because it sounded so pleasant. I can understand the comparison to Joni Mitchell, and I was very impressed with this album.

A fantastic pop album based around piano, emotion, and great singing. This should be an example on strong serious pop writing. It’s not as upbeat, but it’s effective. Only its length and weaker songs in the second half hold it back.

Overall pretty music! Piano and vocals, I liked Winter the best (most popular song on Spotify, go figure). I'd listed to this again, so 4 it is. Kind of too long for me overall.

I liked this a lot. Art poppy piano ballads. Maybe less eclectic and perhaps harder than say Kate Bush. I guess that's who her voice makes me think of the most. I love the mostly just piano based songs but I think she uses just the right amount of late type 80s/early 90s production on the full band stuff. Obviously can get out-there lyrically but also just very real. I think it gets a four from me until I listen more.

The beginning of the album wasn't the strongest IMO. Nevertheless, this is one of the more emotional albums I think I've ever heard, and Tori Amos seems to be (despite her top-flight piano skills) a songwriter and lyricist at heart.

Great! I loved the vocals.

Didn't put in as much time as I should have with this. She's a beautiful singer

First 2/3 are brilliant

Enjoyed as background music. Her voice reminds me a little of Madonna. I can't say I love it and would seek out to listen to it, but wouldn't mind if it were playing. 7/10

Great songwriting and singing

Oooh deze vond ik zo leuk, rustig maar zo genieten

Really enjoyable. Had me from the opening track.

Tremor-endous

I prefer "From the Choirgirl Hotel", albums-wise, but this is still pretty great. Love the melodrama. Skipped "Me and A Gun" on the second listen because it's too powerful of a gut punch to enjoy, really. Fave tracks - "Precious Things", for sure. "Little Earthquakes" is also great....

So much melodrama. 90s kids know the score.