Scarlet's Walk

About

With 2002’s <i>Scarlet’s Walk</i>, Tori Amos calms down. She’s still plenty freaky, reveling in character and indulging her wordplay and imagery with a preciousness that’s pure Tori, but she’s also streamlining her music. The avant-garde twists of <i>Boys For Pele</i>, the rock-aggression of <i>From the Choirgirl Hotel</i>, the eclectic and varied approach of the cover tune collection <i>Strange Little Girls</i>, and her always present piano ballads are thrown together to meld as one. From the gorgeous, ultimately catchy, opener “Amber Waves,” Amos is on a journey through America to find herself. However, while her music has a clear determination here to resolve itself on addictive melodies, Amos is content to observe and detail the journey with her various voices exploring the edges. She can purr (“Crazy”), she can rage (“Taxi Ride”), and she can write a pop song (“A Sorta Fairytale”) all without losing herself. She can be elliptical on her piano (“Wednesday”), dark and funky with her rhythm section (“Don’t Make Me Come to Vegas”), or ethereal (“Pancake”), reflecting on everything from Led Zeppelin to Joni Mitchell while remaining clearly Tori.

via Apple Music

The Clerk says

Start your shelf to read the full take →