The Unrepentant Geraldines Pre-Order Sweepstakes

Today, ToriAmos.com announced The Unrepentant Geraldines Pre-Order Sweepstakes that, if you win, could net you front row tickets to one of the shows on the North American leg of the tour and the opportunity to meet her in person at that show!

To enter the sweepstakes, you’ll need to pre-order a copy of Unrepentant Geraldines, take a photo or a screenshot of the order confirmation, fill out the form on the sweepstakes page and upload the order confirmation image. Finally, you’ll also have to pick a stop on the tour that you would like to win tickets for or, if you are outside one of the markets she is playing and you are unable to travel to one, select vinyl to be in the draw for a personally signed vinyl copy of the album.

All entries must be received by 11:59 PM Pacific time on June 20, 2014.

Note: the sweepstakes page indicates that Unrepentant Geraldines will be available for pre-order on iTunes on April 15th so if you’ve been holding out for it there, you’ll just have to wait a wee bit longer…

There will be 1 winner picked for each of the concerts on the North American leg of the tour. Each winner will get 2 front row tickets and a meet and greet with Tori at the show. Additionally, there will be 20 winners selected for the personally signed copies of the Unrepentant Geraldines vinyl.

Note: as the contest rules state, you must be 18 or older and a legal resident of the United States to enter. You can also enter the contest without pre-ordering the album by sending a postcard with your name, address, birth year and phone number to Josh Levien C/O Tori Amos Pre Order Sweepstakes Universal Music Classics | 1755 Broadway, 2nd Floor | New York, NY 10019 .

Make sure to check out the rest of the fine print for other exciting legalese too!

Good luck to all who enter!

Amazon Drops Details And Dishes Deluxe

Amazon.com has updated the product description for Unrepentant Geraldines, including details about the album’s deluxe edition and dropping several more hints about the record and some tantalizing specifics about a few of its songs.

Described as a collection of “fairy-tale soul-poems,” the record continues the collaboration between Tori, Mark Hawley, and Marcel van Limbeek although no mention of studio musicians involved in the recording is made. “Trouble’s Lament” is referenced as an “eerie Southern blues song,” and two other tracks are singled out as well: “Giant’s Rolling Pin” is described as “a pithy, spry, jig-like satire on the NSA/Edward Snowden affair,” while “Oysters” is “a classic Amos piano ballad,” that name-checks the pie-making prowess of three women who work at a café near Tori’s home in Florida.

As for the deluxe edition details, packaged as a hard-cover book with lyrics to every song, it will contain a bonus track, “Forest of Glass” (which we forgot to mention was added to Amazon.fr’s track listing this past weekend), and includes a DVD that features video footage from the album photo shoot, studio work and interviews with the Tori — so, as one would have guessed yesterday following the appearance of the making-of video clip, the complete video from which that was culled.

Thanks to Dylan for the tip!

The Making of Unrepentant Geraldines

In what we hope is just the first of a series, a new video has just been posted on the Tori Amos Youtube channel in which Tori discusses the making of Unrepentant Geraldines.

Not much is revealed about the record itself, though Tori mentions the repentant Magdalene and Geraldine. Snippets of several songs from the record make up the backing track so this is our first taste of the music beyond “Trouble’s Lament.” So, if you’re holding out for the whole record before listening to any music from it, you might not want to watch this. However, it is pretty interesting to see video taken during the photo shoots for the album spliced in with Tori discussing about the inspirations and directions for this record.

Certainly there is more to this video than the 3 minutes included here so we’re looking forward to more segments being shared soon. We’d guess, too, that this video will be on the DVD included in the album’s deluxe edition.

Trouble's Lament Digital Single Released

Following a small case of premature release last week, “Trouble’s Lament,” the lead track from Tori’s forthcoming album Unrepentant Geraldines, is now available for purchase as a digital download from iTunes, Amazon, Google Play, Spotify, and probably several other digital download stores and streaming services as well. We’ve checked and most of the major markets have the single available from at least one service. Not all though — didn’t see it on iTunes Japan or Australia, but maybe that’s just a case of trying to access the store from outside of those markets. In any case, check your preferred source for digital music and hopefully the tune will be available!

Relatedly, the Unrepentant Playlist appeared on Spotify today. This playlist, created by the Tori Amos Spotify profile’s curator, is described as, “a collection of songs that are favorites of Tori’s which she has been listening to over the years.” It includes some of the usual suspects such as Led Zeppelin and Peter Gabriel but also a few surprises such as John Martyn and Cocteau Twins. Oh and a new song called “Trouble’s Lament,” by a new singer/songwriter we just heard of last week named Tori Amos, leads it off. ;-)

Next time we need something to listen to and can’t decide on an album, we’ll be giving it a, um, spin…or stream…or whatever it is one does with playlists. (Click?)

Thanks to @SywakSays, Kevin, Baxter, Erica, and Melanie for the tips!

Trouble's Lament Premieres At The Noisey!

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, come one, come all!

“Trouble’s Lament,” the lead track from Unrepentant Geraldines, is now available for your listening pleasure courtesy of the fine folks over at The Noisey!

Hopefully we will see it return to iTunes and added to other digital retailers so you can get your very own copy!

Update: Oh all right, every other music news site and blog has embedded the unlisted YouTube video so we might as well too. It’s not like no one knows it’s there!

Update: A little digging turned up the Girlie Action press release that accompanied the premiere of “Trouble’s Lament” earlier today. It includes several quotes about the single from Tori which were used in many of the music media’s reporting on the single as well as a more complete version of the rather striking new promotional photo of Tori taken by Amarpaul Kalirai used on The Noisey’s blog post about the single.

“Trouble’s Lament” is an eerie Southern blues song in which Amos’s matchless voice conjures up images of how the “flames from Satan’s tongue are charged and licking at her heels…”“Having been born in North Carolina, the South walks with me wherever I am in the world,” says Amos. “I can’t get it out of my DNA. I don’t know if it’s a genetic thing, because my mother’s side, so far back, is from the Eastern Cherokee nation. So it’s really in the blood. It’s almost like you listen to the land speaking to you. And wherever I am I can hear the South calling me. I really like the idea that trouble was a young woman….I see her on my travels a lot. And maybe I knew her many years ago when I was in my twenties.”

Unrepentant Geraldines is a return to the inspiring and personal music that Amos is known for the world over. She explains, “After 2009 I walked into three records that are sort of a period of writing that was a different stylistic choice. I needed to walk away from contemporary songwriting. I needed to do something different as a writer.” But those three diverse album projects (Midwinter Graces, Night of Hunters, Gold Dust) followed by her first full-bore theatrical project (The Light Princess) alchemized something anew within. Out of the flux of ambition and distraction and imagination came Amos’ fourteenth studio album, Unrepentant Geraldines. It’s an album on which Amos once more zeroes in on the writing of brightly melodic, deftly evocative chamber-pop.

And here’s that complete photo in all its glory!

Trouble's Lament Is Coming!

Over on the official Facebook page, a little message from Tori has been posted announcing that “Trouble’s Lament,” the first song from Unrepentant Geraldines, will be made available tomorrow, Friday, March 28th. The post also includes this photo so we’re guessing digital single of some sort or another…but we shall see!

Update: If you are in Australia, “Trouble’s Lament” is already here on iTunes for purchase as a digital download. There’s a 30 second preview clip on the web that anyone should be able to listen to, as well as a minute and a half clip in iTunes itself if you access it there. Or maybe not…

Additionally, the track listing for the album was announced — coincidentally, not too long after it appeared on Barnes & Noble’s listing for the standard edition of the record. Check it out below!

1. America
2. Trouble’s Lament
3. Wild Way
4. Wedding Day
5. Weatherman
6. 16 Shades of Blue
7. Maids of Elfen-mere
8. Promise
9. Giant’s Rolling Pin
10. Selkie
11. Unrepentant Geraldines
12. Oysters
13. Rose Dover
14. Invisible Boy

Tour Dates And Pre-Sales And Pre-Orders Oh My!

A little while after we posted about the Rolling Stone article earlier today, ToriAmos.com received a wee facelift. Banished is the stark black and white tone of the temporary theme put in place a few months ago and visitors are now greeted by the new album artwork and the new publicity photo which graces this article. The North American dates, including on-sales dates, were added as well, albeit on a separate page from the European dates. Go figger.

There will be pre-sales for all but one of the North American shows. This time around, those who pre-order the album from The Tori Store will be sent a code to participate in the pre-sale for a single concert. For each pre-order, you select the show that you want to purchase pre-sale tickets for and the code will be delivered via e-mail to you 24 hours prior to the pre-sale. It’s a little convoluted but, having just pre-ordered the album on vinyl, the process wasn’t too bad. The only show that is NOT having pre-order pre-sales is the first New York City show.

That said, having just gone through and adding all the new dates to our tour section, it turns out that there will be the usual assortment of venue, promoter, Live Nation and other miscellaneous pre-sales on top of the pre-order pre-sale. All the details that we could find from either venue, promoter or ticket agency websites have been added to our listing. We’ll keep those as updated as we can but please do contact us if you come across a detail we don’t have or find any incorrect information. We’re running on fumes here so we’d be disappointed if there weren’t at least a few typos to fix!

Finally, UK residents, there is a pre-order deal for you too! If you pre-order the deluxe edition from Universal Music, you will be entered into a drawing to win a pair of front row tickets for the May 15th show at London’s Royal Albert Hall and a meet and greet with Tori after the show. Not too shabby! All the legal terms and conditions for the contest are there for your reading pleasure if you’re suffering from insomnia.

Phew. Okay, enough excitement for tonight! Back on our heads!

A Rolling Geraldine Gathers No Paint

I’ve always been inspired by visual artists of all mediums because, as with music, art is not a job you can go to and leave from, but it is something that defines who and what you are. Visual artists shake up our brains and force us to look at everything, from objects we don’t normally think twice about to people we might not have cared about. In one image, they can remind us of nature’s power to enchant, as well as humankind’s fruitless attempt to overpower her or simply second-guess her. Through the visual artist’s application of tone, shape, pattern and pigment, I not only begin to see, but I can honestly say I begin to hear.

Rolling Stone’s report about yesterday’s unveiling of the cover for Unrepentant Geraldines includes dates for the North American leg of the 2014 tour and confirmation of the album’s release on May 13th, as Amazon indicated when they added a listing for the record to the store. The article also mentions that the European leg “culminates” in Bucharest, Romania on June 19th.

The North American dates are listed below. We’ll get them All dates have been added to our tour section! as soon as we can!

Thanks to MAT and ToriAmosJP for the tip!

7/16 – Vancouver, BC – Orpheum
7/17 – Seattle, WA – Paramount Theatre
7/18 – Portland, OR – Oregon Zoo Amphitheatre
7/21 – Oakland, CA – Paramount Theatre
7/23 – Los Angeles, CA – Greek Theatre
7/24 – San Diego, CA – Humphrey’s
7/25 – Mesa, AZ – Mesa Arts Center
7/27 – Denver, CO – Paramount Theatre
7/29 – Dallas, TX – Winspear Opera House
7/30 – Austin, TX – Long Center
8/1 – St. Louis, MO – Peabody Opera House
8/2 – Kansas City, MO – Midland Theatre
8/3 – St. Paul, MN – O’Shaughnessy Auditorium
8/5 – Chicago, IL – Chicago Theatre
8/6 – Detroit, MI – Fox Theatre
8/7 – Cleveland, OH – Cain Park
8/8 – Toronto, ON – Massey Hall
8/10 – Philadelphia, PA – Verizon Hall
8/12 – New York, NY – Beacon Theatre
8/13 – New York, NY – Beacon Theatre
8/15 – Boston, MA – Opera House
8/16 – Washington, DC – DAR Constitution Hall
8/18 – Nashville, TN – Ryman Auditorium
8/19 – Atlanta, GA – Cobb-Energy PAC
8/20 – Durham, NC – Durham PAC
8/22 – Clearwater, FL – Ruth Eckerd Hall
8/23 – Orlando, FL – Bob Carr PAC
8/24 – Miami, FL – Fillmore at The Jackie Gleason Theatre

Lo! The Unrepentant Geraldines Album Cover!

We’ll be honest.

We were expecting another segment of the mystery photograph today and the complete image tomorrow — but that turns out not to be the case! Instead, Tori Amos threw us a curve ball: the complete album cover for Unrepentant Geraldines (yup, Universal Music Classics didn’t fib), as unveiled on PerezHilton.com. The photography, in case you are wondering, is by Amarpaul Kalirai.

So that leaves one more day of the countdown (unless you are a rocket scientist who counts down to zero…hmmmm.) This is very convenient as the article on PerezHilton.com promises a big announcement tomorrow. That could be any one of a number of things: the release date and details for the album, additional dates for the tour, perhaps even a lead song from the album. We’ll just have to wait and see what Wednesday brings…besides hump day. (Shut up, camel.)

Oh, if you are looking for an unwatermarked copy of the cover artwork, there is one on the official Instagram feed. It is slightly cropped from the version on PerezHilton.com though.

Thanks kyle alex howard, cliff, and Dylan for the alert!

Gimme Three

The fourth fragment of the new photograph for Unrepentant Geraldines has been posted. Honestly, this doesn’t really feel like an album cover to us but, as always, we’re willing to be wrong!