Tori Amos—Little Earthquakes

Release info:

1991, 1992—East West, Atlantic—7567-82358-2

Availability:

in print

Ecto priority:

Essential

Group members:

Tori Amos

Guest artists:

Will McGregor, Mathew Seligman, Jef Scott, Ed Green, Carlo Nuccio, Chris Hughes, Paulinho DaCosta, John Chamberlain, Eric Williams, Nancy Shanks (Beene), Tina Gullickson, Eric Rosse, Steve Caton, Philly, Jake Freeze, Phil Shenale, David Rhodes, Stewart Gordon, Will Gregory. Orchestra arranged and conducted by Nick DeCaro. String arrangement by David Lord.

Produced by:

Davitt Sigerson, Ian Stanley, Tori Amos, Eric Rosse

Comments:

Tori is one of those amazing songwriters who can take you right into her own experience. Music and lyrics are both interesting—and hold up well to repeated play over the years. Almost the whole album is a classic and appears on many people's lifetime top ten. The kind of songs that shake you up. I can vaguely remember how it affected me when I first got it—I thought the songs were intriguing and I liked her voice, but I found her breathiness irritating. Later those same gasps for breath seemed integral parts of the songs. That's how Tori's music grows into you. People criticize her for being over the top and emotional and (gasp) confessional but to my mind (and ears) these are strengths not detriments to her art. This album is a true groundbreaker—exploring real emotions, honestly, and creating beauty and strength from them. (Neile)

A Desert Island Disc. In my modest opinion the best record of all time. All right then, maybe not the best, but certainly one that affected me the most. (afries@zip.com.au)

little earthquakes seemed much more like an album for everybody. not that it's not an intensely personal record, but it's (—beware i'm going to get a wee bit new-agey on y'all, mark yer calendars, this doesn't happen often—) a record that opens itself to its listeners. its accessability is immediate. it's not the least bit hard to feel the emotional impact of the songs. i remember vividly the first time i listened to it; i was just jaw-drop stunned. (dmw@mwmw.com))

For me Little Earthquakes will always be the seminal Tori album, both for its emotional directness and the relative simplicity of the "girl & piano" format. I suppose that overall when it comes to music I tend to be of the "less is more" mindset and my preference for Little Earthquakes is a reflection of that. (mcurry@io.com)

"Tear in Your Hand" is my favorite Tori song! (jjhanson@att.net)

"Tear in Your Hand" is a totally overlooked gem. I bought Little Earthquakes the week it was released. And ya know what? It took me a good 3 or 4 YEARS before I even noticed "Tear in Your Hand"!! Can you believe that?! I don't understand it—it just got buried for me amongst "Crucify", "Girl", "Winter", "Mother", and "Precious Things". But now.... well. It seems like something I had felt but had never heard articulated before. The whole song, but especially when she gets to "maybe it's time to wave goodbye now...". Wow. What could be simpler, quieter, more beautiful? It's a moment where the listener can really feel the heaviness of resignation. (loefflep@mis.finchcms.edu)

"Tear in Your Hand" is my absolute FAVORITE Tori song ever. one of her songs that is SO underappreciated. i never see anyone cite it as a favorite, but to me, it spoke volumns when i first heard it. more than anything on Little Earthquakes (well, i mean everything on Little Earthquakes spoke to me, but that one stood out the most). (iflin@speakeasy.net)

Tori Amos' other recordings:

• Little Earthquakes (1991)
• Under the Pink + More Pink (1994)
• Boys for Pele (1996)
• from the choirgirl hotel (1998)
• to venus and back (1999)
• Strange Little Girls (2001)
• Scarlet's Walk (2002)
• Tales of a Librarian (2003)
• The Beekeeper (2005)
• Original Bootlegs (live set, 2006)
• A Piano: The Collection (compilation, 2006)
• American Doll Posse (2007)
• Live at Montreux (CD/DVD, 2008)
• Abnormally Attracted to Sin (2009)
• Midwinter Graces (seasonal, 2009)
• Night of Hunters (2011)
• Gold Dust (re-recording compilation, 2012)
• Unrepentant Geraldines (2014)
• The Light Princess (Original Cast Recording, Tori Amos's music and lyrics and two bonus tracks by her, 2 CDs, 2015)
• Native Invader (2017)
• Christmastide (seasonal EP, 2020)

• The Little Earthquakes singles
• The full singles page

The main Tori Amos page

Thanks to Art Liestman for work on this entry.