Tribute to Tori Amos Various Artists - Precious Things The String Quartet Tribute to Tori Amos (13 tracks) +Album Reviews

Orchestral Bliss

Nadyne Mielke | Mountain View, CA USA | 02/09/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I always approach a tribute album with caution. Tribute albums tend to fall into one of two camps. In the first camp, we have the tributes that are well done. A successful tribute takes an eclectic mix of artists and lets them recraft the song into a new entity. One of my favourite examples of this would be the "Tower of Song" tribute to Leonard Cohen, which includes Tori's cover of "Famous Blue Raincoat". The second camp are the abject failures. "The Pretty Good Years" tribute to Tori has to be the most egregious failure of a tribute album that I have ever heard. With "The Pretty Good Years" in mind, I put "Precious Things: The String Quartet Tribute to Tori Amos" into my CD player with some trepidation. Can a string quartet do justice to Tori's work? The answer comes immediately upon listening to the first track, "Precious Things": yes, they can. Relying heavily on songs from the "Little Earthquakes" and "Under the Pink" eras, this tribute is a string quartet with a twist. Besides the quartet (violin, viola, cello, and sometimes bass), additional mixing and synth is provided by Transient. You won't find a heavy drumbeat on any of the tracks, but you will find atmospheric additions that underscore the string quartet's arrangements.Admittedly, the album doesn't contain any surprises for their choice of covers. Tori's first two solo albums handily lend themselves to rearrangement for strings. We are only treated to two girls from "Boys for Pele", and just one who calls the Choirgirl Hotel her home. The Choirgirl choice, "Cruel", is not interesting. Clocking in at a scant 2:24, it barely gives you a taste of the groove of the original. It isn't really bad; it is just lacking the depth of Tori's version.The rest of the tribute makes up for this one weak track. "Silent All These Years" is simply arresting. The melody is clear. Even when I have the album on in the background, it never fails to catch my attention. "Pretty Good Year" and "Flying Dutchman" are similarly captivating. None of the arrangements are surprising, but they are solid. Taken as a whole, the tribute album makes for very enjoyable background music. It has been a mainstay in my CD player at work for the past three months, and will likely retain that place for a long time."

Uninspired and Way Overrated

Dysk-Tonic | Singapore | 09/23/2002

(1 out of 5 stars)

"I was extremely disappointed. So in I walked out of Borders Bookstore, excited about my new purchase of this seemingly obscure CD, all about reinterpreting Tori Amos' music through some string quartet. I looked at the tracklist, and was pleased at the songs chosen, songs that the quartet eventually butchered and left to die a slow, uninspired, gut-wrenching death. Without Tori Amos' passion and verocity of piano playing and vocals, the re-interpreted songs are ignorable at best, and just plain painful to listen to at worst. 'Caught a Lite Sneeze', in particular, was horribly done. It was monotonous and unnecessarily loud. The rest of the CD, in general, was just as monotonous and it was so repetitive I might as well have been listening to the tick tick of my clock next to my bed. And at least then, I could make up my own melody.It seems as if the only redeeming quality of this CD lay in its gorgeous cover design.Well, that does Not save the music."

Nice Effort, But Not the Best Quality

Loren Fieldhouse | Texas, USA | 10/19/2001

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I really enjoyed the string arrangements created for this album, but I would not be honest if I did not mention that the musicians who performed on this CD were not completely on the ball. There are a few spots in which the violin is out of tune. Also, the background effects music can get a little annoying. If you are truly into Tori's music and want to hear something with a new "twist" on it, then this will probably make the fix."

Listen with an open mind

wingstofly87 | USA | 12/26/2003

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I became a fan of Tori Amos a few years ago, (My dance teacher played Tori's album, Little Earthquakes, during our warm-up one day, and I was hooked.) and have been slowly building my collection of Tori's music since then. I stumbled upon Precious Things: The String Quartet Tribute to Tori Amos while surfing the Internet and mentioned the CD to a friend who gave it to me as a gift. I was excited but nervous when I first slipped the CD into my player. Even now, I have conflicted feelings toward the album.Several of the tracks are absolutely perfect. "Pretty Good Year" shines above the rest with its emotion and beautiful, true to Tori, arrangement. "Silent All These Years" is also a gem; the arrangement is lovely, and its "subtle electronic flourishes" are a nice addition. "Precious Things" is interesting, though the emotion Tori infuses into the song is noticeably missing. "Past the Mission" was also nicely done, though, again, the feeling simply isn't there. As for the rest of the tracks, they're all fairly nice. The main problem seems to be a lack of emotion.For someone like me who enjoys classical music in addition to Tori's music, this album is ideal. Being a dancer, I can see how some of the songs might make for interesting contemporary ballet pieces. I'd imagine, however, for someone who was not a fan of classical music, this album might become a bit tedious. Really, you have to listen to the album with an open mind. The musicians are obviously very talented, and some of Tori's most beloved songs form the undertones for the music. However, don't listen to the album thinking you're going to find the raw passion and emotion of Tori's lyrics or the haunting strains of her voice. This album isn't Tori; maybe she's a phantom who haunts the album, but it certainly isn't the best representation of her music as she wrote it. However, I must say it is definitely worth a listen if you're interested in hearing a different interpretation of Tori's music. And for the fans of classical music out there, this album's unique sound is sure to delight."

Good...but not a huge departure from the original

Michael R. Quinn | Canada | 07/07/2004

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I found this album pleasant to listen to. The problem was that Tori allready uses a lot of classical themes in her music so while classical "interpretations" of hard rock type bands are interesting because they differ so much from the original, the result is a somewhat watered down version of her songs, slightly interesting but lacking much of the passion and original musical styling that make the originals so great. This would be good for serious Tori fans who want to hear a slightly different interpretation of some of her best songs. But listen to the originals first because they are in every way much better."

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	Tribute to Tori Amos, Various Artists Precious Things: The String Quartet Tribute to Tori Amos Genres: Pop, Rock, Classical Track Listings (13) - Disc #1 Precious Things Caught a Lite Sneeze Cruel Silent All These Years Cornflake Girl God - Amos, Tori Pretty Good Year Flying Dutchman - Amos, Tori Girl Crucity Muhammed My Friend Past the Mission Precious Things [Remix]
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