The year is 2001, one of the most important singer-songwriters of the '90s decides to release a cover album… Why?
Boh, we'll probably never know, in my view, after the emotional-intimate turbulences of the previous decade, Tori, newlywed and new mom, finds herself fulfilled and ideas are scarce. The following years, in a way, will give substance to this hypothesis not so much for the technical quality, which will remain indisputable, but in a certain sense for an inability to find a common thread between her ideas and genuine writing. We must admit, however, that albums like "Scarlet's Walk" and "The Beekeeper," if written by some trendy pianist now, would be hailed as masterpieces, but with people like Tori, we expect more…
However, in mid-2001, this "Strange Little Girls" is released: 12 tracks, 12 songs written by men, 12 themes dear to women. This is essentially the common thread that characterizes the work… A work that, to tell the truth, is difficult to classify as a Cover Album because Tori not only reproduces the songs but often takes them apart and then rearranges them according to purely subjective parameters, and this is the strength and also the weakness of this album: because as often happens, subjectivity brings both positive things and inevitable criticism, but as usual, the redhead goes straight along her path.
So, it happens to hear songs by Eminem or Slayer reinterpreted as poignant piano lullabies or others, as in the case of Depeche Mode, offered in their rawest form, but this is Tori… take it or leave it, a rather unusual operation often so minimal as to be oppressive and where the various fans of the mentioned artists might also be dissatisfied. A few years later, a similar work (speaking of deconstruction/reconstruction and not obviously of technique and use of instruments) will be proposed by A Perfect Circle in "Emotive," but that is another story…
Unfortunately, when discussing Covers, a track by track is inevitable. Be patient; I'll try to be brief:
New Age, Velvet Underground: one of the few quite faithful to the original, piano and minimal arrangement with Tori's voice excellently filling the voids.
97' Bonnie and Clyde, Eminem: Amos completely disrupts the rhythm and transforms a violent and misogynistic rap into an obsessive piano lullaby where her voice is only in the background. Eminem will not appreciate it.
Strange Little Girl, The Stranglers: a rock ballad transformed into a sweet piano pop song, one of the less somber of the album, very successful.
Enjoy the Silence, Depeche Mode: a symbol of '90s electronics presented in its piano framework, Tori swims here in her natural environment.
I'm not in Love, 10 cc.: similar discussion to the title track, but here there's an underlying bitterness in the decidedly spartan arrangement.
Rattlesnakes, Lloyd Cole: in my opinion, one of the most successful, with the piano prominent but the redhead does not give up on the underlying blues.
Time, Tom Waits: Tori performs an act of love here, I wouldn’t want to say anything, listen without prejudice.
Heart of Gold, Neil Young: the most faithful, but still offered in a more dramatic version.
I don't like Mondays, Boomtown Rats: Amos simply plays with the melody here and doesn't leave space for too many frills.
Happiness is a Warm Gun, The Beatles: Mentioning the fab four is always risky, but our gal isn't scared and completely deviates from the structure of the piece. Enriching the controversies are the voices of the two Bushes and those of the news of Lennon’s death in the central phase, none of which is coincidental.
Raining Blood, Slayer: Tori rewrites everything from scratch, and it was inevitable. Slayer thanked her personally by sending her a shirt of "God Hates us All"…
Real Men, Joe Jackson: both artists have the piano as their principal instrument, so the American singer-songwriter doesn’t change much, just a couple of verses. Jackson noticed and in a concert in Europe, he reproduced the piece as reinterpreted by Amos, wondering first if Tori had changed the words on purpose (rhetorical question?)
In conclusion, no conclusion and no rating for those who want to hear the definitive word.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
02 '97 Bonnie & Clyde (05:46)
Baby your da-da loves you
And I'm always gonna be here for you
No matter what happened
You're all I got in this world
I'd never give you up for nothin'
Nobody in this world is ever gonna keep you from me
I love you
C'mon Hai-Hai, we goin to the beach
Grab a couple of toys and let da-da strap you in the car seat
Where's mama? She's takin a little nap in the trunk
Oh that smell -- da-da musta runned over a skunk
Now I know what you're thinkin - it's kind of late to go swimmin
But you know your mama, she's one of those type of women
That do crazy things, and if she don't get her way, she'll throw a fit
Don't play with da-da's toy knife, honey, let go of it
And don't look so upset, why you actin bashful?
Don't you wanna help da-da build a sand castle?
And mama said she wants to show you how far she can float
Don't worry about that little boo-boo on her throat
It's just a little scratch - it don't hurt
her was eatin dinner while you were sleepin and spilled ketchup on her shirt
Mama's messy isn't she? We'll let her wash off in the water
Me and you can pway by ourselves, can't we?
Just the two of us
Just the two of us
Just the two of us
See honey -- there's a place called heaven and a place called hell
There's a place called prison and a place called jail
And da-da's probably on his way to all of em except one
Cause mama's got a new husband and a stepson
And you don't want a brother do ya?
Maybe when you're old enough to understand a little better I'll explain it to ya
But for now we'll just say mama was real real bad
She was bein mean to dad and made him real real mad
But I still feel sad that I put her on time-out
Sit back in your chair honey, quit tryin to climb out
I told you it's okay HaiHai wanna ba-ba take a night-night? Nan-a-boo, goo-goo ga-ga?
Her make goo-goo ca-ca? Da-da change your dia-dee
Clean the baby up so her can take a nighty-nighty
Your dad'll wake her up as soon as we get to the water
Ninety-seven Bonnie and Clyde, me and my daughter
Me and my daughter
Me and my daughter
Just the two of us
Just the two of us
Just the two of us
Wake up sweepy head we're here
Before we pway we're gonna take mama for a wittle walk along the pier
Baby, don't cry honey, don't get the wrong idea
Mama's too sweepy to hear you screamin in her ear
That's why you can't get her to wake, but don't worry
Da-da made a nice bed for mommy at the bottom of the lake
Here, you wanna help da-da tie a rope around this rock?
We'll tie it to her footsie then we'll roll her off the dock
Ready now, here we go, on the count of free
One.. two.. free.. oh-weeeeeee
There goes mama, splashin in the water
No more fightin with dad, no more restraining order
No more step-da-da, no more brother
Blow her kisses bye bye, tell mommy you love her
Now we'll go play in the sand, build a castle and junk
But first, just help dad with two more things out the trunk
Just -- the two - of us
04 Enjoy the Silence (04:09)
Words like violence
Break the silence
Come crashing in
Into my little world
Painful to me
Pierce right through me
Can't you understand
Oh my little girl
All I ever wanted
All I ever needed
Is here - in my arms
All I ever wanted
All I ever needed
Is here - in my arms
Vows are spoken
To be broken
Feelings are intense
Words are trivial
Pleasures remain
So does the pain
Words are meaningless
And unforgettable
All I ever wanted
All I ever needed
Is here - in my arms
All I ever wanted
All I ever needed
Is here - in my arms
Words are very unnecessary
They - can only do harm
Words like violence
Break the silence
Come crashing in
Into my little world
Painful to me
Pierce right through me
Can't you understand
Oh my little girl
All I ever wanted
All I ever needed
Is here - in my arms (x3)
Vows are spoken
To be broken
Feelings are intense
Words are trivial
Pleasures remain
So does the pain
Words are meaningless
And - forgettable
All I ever wanted
All I ever needed
Is here - in my arms (x3)
Words are very unnecessary
They - can only do harm
Can only do harm
06 Rattlesnakes (03:59)
Jodie wears a hat although it hasn't rained for six days
She says a girl needs a gun these days
Hey, on account of those rattlesnakes
She looks like Eve Marie Saint
In on the waterfront
She reads Simone de Beauvoir
In her American circumstance
She's less than sure if her heart has come to stay in San Jose
And her neverborn child still haunts her now as she speeds down the freeway
As she tries her luck with the traffic police out of boredom more than spite
She never finds no trouble, she tries too hard
She's oblivious despite herself
She looks like Eve Marie Saint
In on the waterfront
She says all she needs is therapy
All you need is, love is all you need
Jodie never sleeps 'cause
There are always needles in the hay, hey
She says that a girl needs a gun these days
Hey, on account of all the rattlesnakes
Hey, on account of the rattlesnakes
She looks like Eve Marie Saint
In on the waterfront
Ss she reads Simone de Beauvoir
In her American circumstance
Her heart's like crazy paving
Upside down and back to front
She says ooh, it's so hard to love
When love was your great disappointment
07 Time (05:22)
the smart money's on harlow
and the moon is in the street
and the shadow boys are breaking all the laws
you're east of east st. louis
and the wind is making speeches
and the rain sounds like a round of applause
and napoleon is weeping in a carnival saloon
his invisible fiance is in the mirror
the band is going home
it's raining hammers, it's raining nails
it's true, there's nothing left for him down here
and it's time time time
and it's time time time
and it's time time time
that you love
and it's time time time
well they all pretend they're orphans
and their memory's like a train
you can see it getting smaller as it pulls away
and the things you can't rememeber
tell the things you can't forget
that history puts a saint in every dream
well she said she'd stick around
until the bandages came off
but these mama boys just don't know when to quit
matilda asks the sailors, are those dreams
or are those prayers
so just close your eyes, son
this won't hurt a bit
and it's time time time
and it's time time time
and it's time time time
that you love
and it's time time time
well, things are pretty lousy for a calendar girl
the boys just dive right off the cars
and splash into the street
and when they're on a roll
she pulls a razor from her boot
and a thousand pigeons fall around her feet
so put a candle in the window
and a kiss upon his lips
as the dish outside the window fills with rain
just like a stranger with the weeds in your heart
and pay the fiddler off till i come back again
and it's time time time
and it's time time time
and it's time time time
that you love
and it's time time time
it's time time time
and it's time time time
and it's time time time
that you love
and it's time time...time
09 I Don't Like Mondays (04:20)
The silicon chip inside her head
Gets switched to overload.
And nobody's gonna go to school today;
She gonna make them stay at home.
Daddy doesn't understand it;
He always said she was good as gold.
And he can see no reasons
'Cause there are no reasons
What reasons do you need to be shown?
Tell me why
I dont like mondays.
Tell me why
I dont like mondays.
I dont like, I don't like, I don't like mondays.
Tell me why I don't like mondays.
I want to shoot the whole day down.
Down, down, shoot it all down.
And all the playing's stopped in the playground now;
She wants to play with her toys a while.
And school's out early and soon we'll be learning
And the lesson today is how to die.
And then the bullhorn crackles
And the captain tackles
With the problems and the how's and why's.
And he can see no reasons
'Cause there are no reasons
What reason do you need to die?
Tell me why
I dont like mondays.
Tell me why
I dont like mondays.
I dont like, I don't like, I don't like mondays.
Tell me why I don't like mondays.
I want to shoot the whole day down.
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