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Rating:
I will start with the conclusions...
Who might be interested in this collection? Fans? Naaa! A true EWF has already acquired all the material this (substantial) box set offers.
A non-Fan? Naa! Apart from the prohibitive price, even though the packaging is truly beautiful, I would honestly recommend a non-enthusiast to gradually acquire the various albums created by the Cornflake Girl in the '90s (including the controversial "To Venus and Back" from '99) to gradually enter the wonderful yet often cryptic world of the red-haired American singer-songwriter whom her fans even call the "Rock Goddess"!
So why 5 stars?
Let’s go back to the beginning: when this box set was released some time ago, I promised myself, "No! You won’t buy it! I said no!" and indeed for some time I found the inner strength to resist the temptation... then the inevitable happened, a forced listen to "Flying Dutchman" in the car of a friend of mine, a track present on the first of the 5 CDs of the set in a pirated version; I couldn't bear the thought that even Myra Ellen had to suffer the indignity of piracy and the next day I found myself 60 Euros lighter. The following days were spent trying to calm my fanaticism!
Five days for the first CD, a "Director's cut" version (I know it's a cinematic term but I haven't found a better one) of the first album "Little Earthquakes," with many songs presented in an alternative mix from the era (1992) and the addition of four songs excluded from the original and put as B-sides in various singles, including the beautiful "Upside Down" and "Take to the Sky". Three days for the second, an anthology of alternative mixes (always from the era) and other B-sides (highlighted by the moving "Honey") from the two subsequent albums: "Under the Pink" from '94 and "Boys for Pele" from '96. A week for the challenging third disc: a selection, according to the standards of the first two CDs, still of the second and third album but also the fifth "To Venus and Back", and here, unfortunately, the ugly dance remix of "Professional Widow" was included, though compensated by the live version of "Waitress".
I dedicated about five days to the fourth disc, mainly for the songs taken from "From the Choirgirl Hotel" from '98 rather than those from "Scarlet's Walk" (2002) and "The Beekeeper" (2005), which are her weakest albums. Here, one can be enchanted by the beautiful alternative version of "Playboy Mommy", truly delightful... The fifth, being a collection of only various B-sides, didn’t take me more than a day, though notable was the presence of "Sister Janet".
After three weeks, therefore, I was able to give a calm judgment on the product, and honestly, my impression was that on the whole, the box set did not significantly impact the Amos story, that as an ardent fan I would have expected something more, that I already had all the B-sides, and that very few of the alternative versions (all from the era) added anything new compared to the originals (such as those of "Crucify" and "Mother").
So why the highest rating? Simple, because even when she is not at her best, this splendid creature, who, to quote "Il Mucchio Selvaggio," was to the Lollapalooza generation what Mitchell was to the Woodstock generation, always manages to "corrupt me", her versatile and never predictable voice, her way of arranging music which is never banal and often minimalist, the incredible variety of styles she has offered (from authorial Pop to electronic songwriting, passing through baroque citations and furious piano ballads) lead me to not always be objective and evaluate this product, which nevertheless goes far beyond mere commercial speculation, with the naivety of a child who never tires of the same nursery rhyme...
She is the woman who searched for a Savior under dirty sheets, who masturbated listening to Robert Plant's voice, she is the woman who told me about girls who throw you to the sharks and others who are quick from the frying pan to the fire, she was not afraid to mourn her songs without making them appear grotesque, she spoke to me about God in the feminine form before it became a cliché and about spring breezes...
Every day I would like something new from her, for now, I will settle for her memories even if second-hand.
Tracklist and Lyrics
03 Silent All These Years (04:12)
Excuse me but can I be you for awhile?
My dog won't bite if you sit real still
I got the anti-Christ in the kitchen yellin' at me again
Yeah I can hear that
Been saved again by the garbage truck
I got something to say you know but nothing comes
Yes I know what you think of me--you never shut up
Yeah I can hear that
But what if I'm a mermaid
In these jeans of his with her name still on it
Hey, but I don't care 'cause sometimes
I said sometimes I hear my voice and it's been
Here... silent all these years
So you found a girl who thinks really deep thoughts
What's so amazing about really deep thoughts?
Boy you best pray that I bleed real soon
How's that thought for you?
My scream got lost in a paper cup
I think there's a heaven where the screams have gone
I got 25 bucks and a cracker, do you think it's enough
To get us there 'cause...
What if I'm a mermaid
In these jeans of his with her name still on it
Hey, but I don't care, 'cause sometimes
I said sometimes I hear my voice, and it's been
Here... silent all these years
Years go by, will I still be waiting
For somebody else to understand
Years go by, if I'm stripped of my beauty
And the orange clouds raining in my hand
Years go by, will I choke on my tears
'Till finally there is nothing left
One more casualty you know we're too easy, easy, easy
Well I love the way we communicate
Your eyes focus on my funny lip shape
Let's hear what you think of me now, but baby don't look up
The sky is falling
Your mother shows up in a nasty dress
And it's your turn now to stand where I stand
Everybody lookin' at you
Here, take hold of my hand
Yeah I can hear them...
But what if I'm a mermaid
In these jeans of yours with her name still on it
Hey, but I don't care 'cause sometimes
I said sometimes, I hear my voice
I hear my voice
I hear my voice
And it's been here... silent all these years
I've been here... silent all these years
Silent
All these
Silent all these years
04 Upside Down (04:22)
god I love to turn my
little blue world upside down
god I love to turn my little
blue world upside down
inside my head the noise
chatter chatter chatter
chatter chatter
you see I'm afraid I'll always be
still comin out of my mother
upside down
don't you lovee to turn this
little blue girl upside down
I know you love to turn this
little blue girl baby upside down
but my heart it says
you've been shatter shatter shatter
shatter shattered
and I know you're still a boy
still comin out of your mother
but when you gonna stand on your own
I say the world is sick you say
tell me what makes us darlin
You see you always find my faults
faster than you find you're own
you say the world is getting rid
of her demons I say
baby what have you been
smokin well I dreamed
I dreamed I Dreamed
I loved a black boy
my daddy would scream
don't you love to turn this
little Blue girl upside down
any kind of touch I think is
better than none even upside down
but you see I'm tangled up
got a kitten in my hair
Cincinnati - I like the word
it's the only thing we can't seem
to turn upside down
well I found the secret to life
I found the secret to life
I'm O.K. when everything is not O.K.
Don't we love to turn our
little Blue world upside down
don't we love to turn our little Blue world baby upside down
inside my head a voice
chatter chatter chatter chatter
chatter and it says Girl
you're all the same
Still comin out of your mothers
Still comin out of your mothers
upside down
06 Happy Phantom (03:15)
And if I die today I'll be the happy phantom
and I'll go chasin' the nuns out in the yard
and I'll run naked through the streets without my mask on
and I will never need umbrellas in the rain
I'll wake up in strawberry fields everyday
and the atrocities of school I can forgive
The happy phantom has no right to bitch
Oo who- The time is getting closer
Oo who- Time to be a ghost
Oo who- Everyday we're getting closer
The sun is getting dim
Will we pay for who we've been
So if I die today I'll be the happy phantom
And I'll go wearin' my naughties like a jewel
They'll be my ticket to the universal opera
There's Judy Garland taking Buddha by the hand
and then these seven little men get up to dance
They say Confucius does his crossword with a pen
I'm still the angel to the girl who hates to sin
Oo whoo- The time is gettin closer
Oo who- The time to be a ghost
Oo who- Everyday we're getting closer
The sun is getting dim
Will I pay for who I've been
Or will I see you dear and wish I could come back
You found a girl that you could truly love again
Will you still call for me when she falls asleep
or do we soon forget the things we cannot see
Oo who- The time is getting closer
Oo who- The time to be a ghost
Oo who- Everyday we're getting closer
The sun is getting dim
Will I pay for who I been
And if I die today
And if I die today
And if I die today
Chasin' nuns out in the yard
07 Me and a Gun (03:43)
5am friday morning, thursday night, far from sleep
I'm still up and driving, can't go home obviously
So I'll just change direction cause they'll soon know where I live
And I wanna live
Got a full tank and some chips
It was me and a gun and a man on my back
And I sang "holy holy" as he buttoned down his pants
You can laugh, It's kind of funny the things you think times like these
like I haven't seen Barbados so I must get out of this
Yes I wore a slinky red thing, does that mean I should spred
for you, your friends, your father, Mr. Ed
It was me and a gun and a man on my back
but I haven't seen Barbados so I must get out of this
And I know what this means, me and Jesus a few years back
Used to hang and he said "It's your choice babe, just remember
I don't think that you'll be back in 3 days time so you choose well"
Tell me what's right, Is it my right to be on my stomach of Fred's Seville
It was me and a gun and a man on my back
But I haven't seen Barbados so I must get out of this
And do you know Carolina where the biscuits are soft and sweet
These things go through you head when there's a man on your back
and you're pushed flat on your stomach, it's not a classic cadillac
Me and a gun and a man on my back
But I haven't seen Barbados so I must get out of this
I haven't seen Barbados so I must get out of this
10 Winter (05:43)
Snow can wait, I forgot my mittens
Wipe my nose, get my new boots on
I get a little warm in my heart when I think of winter
I put my hand in my father's glove
I run off where the drifts get deeper
Sleeping beauty trips me with a frown
I hear a voice "You must learn to stand up for yourself
cause I can't always be around"
He says when you gonna make up your mind
When you gonna love you as much as I do
When you gonna make up your mind
Cause things are gonna change so fast
All the white horses are still in bed
I tell you that I'll always want you near
You say that things change my dear
Boys get discovered as winter melts
Flowers competing for the sun
Years go by and I'm here still waiting
Withering where some snowman was
Mirror mirror where's the crystal palace
but I only can see myself
Skating around the truth who I am
but I know, dad, the ice is getting thin
When you gonna make up your mind
When you gonna love you as much as I do
When you gonna make up your mind
Cause things are gonna change so fast
All the white horses are still in bed
I tell you that I'll always want you near
You say that things change my dear
Hair is grey and the fires are burning
So many dreams on the shelf
You say I wanted you to be proud
I always wanted that myself
When you gonna make up your mind
When you gonna love you as much as I do
When you gonna make up your mind
Cause things are gonna change so fast
All the white horses have gone ahead
I tell you that I'll always want you near
You say that things change my dear
Never change
All the white horses
12 Tear in Your Hand (04:42)
All the world just stopped now
So you say you don't wanna stay together any more
Let me take a deep breath babe
If you need me, me and Neil'll be hangin' out with the Dream King
Neil says hi by the way
I don't believe you're leaving cause
me and Charles Manson like the same ice cream
I think it's that girl
and I think there're pieces of me you've never seen
Maybe she's just pieces of me you've never seen well
All the world is
All I am
The black of the the blackest ocean
and that tear in your hand
All the world is danglin' danglin' danglin' for me darlin
You don't know the power that you have with that
tear in your hand
that tear in your hand
Maybe I ain't used to
Maybes smashing in a cold room
Cutting my hands up
Everytime I touch you
Maybe it's time to wave goodbye now
Time to wave goodbye now
Caught a ride with the moon
I know I know you well
Well better than I used to
Haze all clouded up my mind
In the dazeof the why it could've never been
So you say and I say you know you're full of wish
and your "baby baby baby babies"
I tell you there's peices of me you've never seen
Maybe she's just pieces of me you've never seen well
All the world is
All I am
The black of the blackest ocean
and that tear in your hand
All the world is danglin' danglin' danglin' for me darlin'
You don't know the power that you have with that
tear in your hand
that tear in your hand
13 China (04:59)
China all the way to New York
I can feel the distance getting close
You're right next to me
but I need an airplane
I can feel the distance as you breathe
Sometimes I think you want me to touch you
How can I when you build the Great Wall around you
In your eyes I saw a future together
But you just look away in the distance
China decorates our table
Funny how the cracks don't seem to show
Pour the wine dear
You say we'll take a holiday
But we never can agree on where to go
Sometimes I think you want to me to touch you
But how can I when you build the Great Wall around you
In your eyes I saw a future together
But you just look away in the distance
China all the way to New York
Maybe you got lost in Mexico
You're right next to me
I think that you can hear me
Funny how the distance learns to grow
Sometimes I think you want me to touch you
But how can I when you build the Great Wall around you
I can feel the distance getting close
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