Chatter, Chatter, Chatter, Chatter, Chatter

Some of y’all have been Tweeting/asking us today about rumors that the name and tracklist for Tori’s 20th-anniversary album have been released. At this point, that’s all they are — rumors. We haven’t heard anything from official channels so far. When we do, of course, you’ll be the first to know!

Happy 20th Birthday Little Earthquakes!

Twenty years ago today, Little Earthquakes, Tori’s debut solo album, was released in the United Kingdom. (It would be another month until the record was available in North America.) For more than a few Toriphiles, these songs were the ones that introduced us to Tori, whether we were lucky enough to hear then them or it was some time afterwards that the record came into our lives. Whether because of the lyrical, emotional or musical components — or some combination thereof — this record enchanted us then and continues to do so today and the songs from it always seem to produce the biggest cheers at her shows.

After its release, Little Earthquakes peaked at #14 in the UK charts, and remained on the charts for 23 weeks. It was certified gold in January 1993, platinum in January 1995, and double platinum in March 1999.

A couple of months after Little Earthquakes made its UK debut, Tori spent an hour chatting with MTV’s John Norris about the album, her decision to move to London to record it, and everything that followed. Here’s a snippet:

The rest of the interview is available over on YouTube, for those who want to spend more time in the Wayback Machine.

As she’s mentioned in several interviews over the past few months, Tori will be observing the anniversary of Little Earthquakes with a collection of her songs recorded with The Metropole Orkest. The career retrospective will revisit songs from throughout her career. At this time, the exact release date is not known but the rumor mill seems to point to it being available in Autumn. (The rumor mill also grinds about the possibility of some tour dates but we’ll have to see how that pans out!)

So, if you have a chance, pull Little Earthquakes out today and give her a spin. It’s a safe bet you’ll both enjoy it!

Update: We weren’t the only folks to observe the 20th anniversary of Little Earthquakes last Friday. NME, one of those everyone-loves-to-hate UK music magazines, featured a look-back at the album on their Popwatch blog while Stereogum cast a reflective eye on the album that puts our little piece on the event to shame. Friend-of-the-Undent Trent Vanegas also put in his two cents about the record’s historical and personal significance over on Pink Is the New Blog. Thanks to Oliver and Chris for the links!

Silencing the Screams

More than a few people have written to ask about Screaming in Silence, a CD slated to be released at the end of January 2012 on the All Access label. As reported by several music publications and described on several UK retailers’ websites, it is a recording of a 1992 concert at The Phoenix in Toronto, Canada that was broadcast on the CBC radio program Hot Ticket along with a six bonus tracks from two radio appearances Tori made in early 1993 as well as two b-sides: “Upside Down” and “Sugar.”

While it would be wonderful if such a recording was officially released and it’s comforting to find out that some folks feel there is a market for such material, we have been told that this is not a sanctioned release and is completely illegitimate.

That said, this radio broadcast was widely bootlegged and traded by Toriphiles back in the day so one shouldn’t have too much trouble tracking down a copy if one puts their mind to it…

Sin Palabras Released Today

Don’t forget: Sin Palabras, the instrumental version of Night of Hunters, is released digitally in North America. It’s on iTunes, Amazon.com and, undoubtedly, other digital retailers as well.

There is a listing on Amazon.co.uk for the release as well, but the listing says the album has an “original release date” of December 19, 2011 but will not be avaialble until April 13, 2012. One assumes this is an error and that it will be corrected sooner or later…

Hopefully, Sin Palabras will be available in other markets as well!

Note: with a copy of the Night of Hunters CD, you can still download a free copy of “Night of Hunters” (the instrumental track, not the whole album) from the Tori Amos Facebook page to get a taste of the instrumental version of the record.

Listen to Sin Palabras Clips On Amazon

Even though we’re all pretty familiar with the music on Night of Hunters, it is interesting to give it a listen without the vocal tracks and Amazon is now allowing you to do that via the samples they’ve added to their listing for Sin Palabras, the instrumental version of Night of Hunters. It’ll be released on December 13th so the wait to hear the full version won’t be much longer…

Thanks to mario for the tip!

Introducing...Sin Palabras!

Per a press release sent out through Tori’s promotional agency, Sin Palabras, an instrumental version of Night of Hunters, will be released on December 13th!

Like the original version of the work, Sin Palabras is being released on Deutsche Grammaphon. However, it appears that it will only be for download-only as the press release indicates it will be sold, “at all digital retailers.”

To get a taste of what this will sound like, check out the Tori Amos Facebook page tomorrow, Friday, December 2nd to download the instrumental version of “Night of Hunters.” The press release indicates the download will be available to “fans who have already or will purchase Night of Hunters,” which we take to mean one of those share-to-download deals.

Update: The “Night of Hunters” instrumental is already available to download! You will need your copy of the album — whether the CD or an iTunes download — as proof of purchase to be able to download the track. If you bought the album on vinyl or via another digital retailer, you will have to send proof of purchase to get a download code for the song.

Update: Also, it seems that the “Night of Hunters” instrumental download is only available in the US and UK.

Thanks to the several folks, including Bobby who was the first, who sent this news our way! We appreciate it!

Q&A: Did Tori write the music for the other instruments on Night Of Hunters?

Question: Other than loving it, I have no knowledge of music. I’ve been listening to a lot of the Night of Hunters original inspiration pieces, and I’ve noticed how much feeling the non-piano instrumentals — particularly the strings, as on “Shattering Sea” — have imbued into the Tori Amos versions. Did she write the music for the other instruments, or “just” the piano and vocals (which alone is a tremendous accomplishment)? I know Shenale arranged the compositions, but I don’t know if that means he wrote the parts for the other instruments or set the tempo or…? I’m very curious! — dmc

Answer: We’ll let John Philip Shenale answer this one for you:

As an arranger and orchestrator, that is what I must do: write what the octet+ plays. The emotion, the dynamics, style — these things and more are my responsibility. And they must be notated, then played by this fantastic group of musicians. The scores that are offered through iTunes are my production scores. My map. As I have from the very beginning of my working with T, we listen, we talk. I send her a mock-up of what I think it would be, make any changes, and I finish the score and parts for the instruments. Piano and vocals were brilliantly composed and performed by T. She provides the tempo, the unity, the center, harmonic base, raison d’être. I hope that’s clear.

Very. Thanks, John!

The CNN Interview (October 5, 2011)

Some people say, I’d give anything to be 30 again. Well, I really wouldn’t. I didn’t enjoy being 30. Making ‘Little Earthquakes’ was great, but I didn’t have a calm and I didn’t know how to laugh. I think becoming a mom is the greatest gift that ever happened to me.

Tori sat down with Abbey Goodman for this CNN interview, which treads the familiar Night of Hunters terrain but also touches on the changes she made to The Light Princess in the process of making a musical, mothering Tash as a tween, and being desirable at (almost) 50. Thanks to the many of you who sent this in, including mkgtweety and Marie. Click through to read the whole thing.

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History-Making Chart Action

Night of Hunters is doing well in its second week on the charts — so well, in fact, that it has made history by being the first album ever to hit the top 10 in Billboard’s classical, alternative, and rock charts at the same time. Thanks to mode for letting us know!

The Pride Source Interview

If anybody calls themselves a Christian, I don’t see how you can ban consenting adults. I just don’t understand how you can see yourself as Christian and have no compassion for another person’s path. It goes against the Christ-like energy and light that I was brought up with.

Tori recently chatted with Pride Source’s Chris Azzopardi for a fun interview about Night of Hunters, working with classical music and having The Talk (about sexual orientation) with Tash. You can check it out here or click beyond the cut to see the whole thing. Thanks to Chris for the link!

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