Customer Reviews

Hey Jupiter

5 star:		(48)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I bought "Hey Jupiter EP" a few years ago when I was on my Tori binge. I think it was just shortly before I got to see her live for the first time and right around when I started getting heavily into her music. One day at a local record shop, I bought a slew of singles and EPs by Tori Amos, "Hey Jupiter EP" was one of those purchases. I haven't listened to the EP in a long time so I decided to throw it in. I always loved the song "Hey Jupiter" from a very difficult album to listen to "Boys For Pele". After listening to the Dakota version of "Hey Jupiter", I am quickly reminded which version I love more and that is the Dakota version. I still love the "Boys For Pele" version but I do believe that the Dakota version is vastly superior. The primary reason I bought this EP was to hear Tori's interpretation of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow". It is a breathtaking cover. I was simply blown away the fragile, delicate vocals and melodies. Tori Amos is one of the few artists who I love when she covers a particular song. She makes the song her own. I also enjoyed the live tracks of "Sugar", "Honey", and "Professional Widow". I particular enjoyed Tori's brief explaination of "Sugar". I found that rather humorous. Her little anctedotes during her concert performances are one of the reasons why I love seeing Tori perform live. "Hey Jupiter EP" is a brief reminder of my concert experiences of seeing Tori Amos perform live.

Tori Amos' singles/EPs are usually good treats because they feature interesting remixes of the eponymous album versions, and sometimes some great covers and superb b-sides. Hey Jupiter is no exception, making it an inviting disc for the collection. "Hey Jupiter" from Boys For Pele is an utterly gorgeous song, and I thought it was inappropriate to remix something so...perfect. The EP version doesn't surpass the original -- it adds some harrowing drum programming and almost an industrial vibe. Yes, it's cool, but it overwhelms the simple intimacy of the original, which was basically just piano and voice. The four live cuts are very worthwhile: both "Sugar" and "Honey" are great songs (it's truly a shame that "Honey" didn't make it on Under The Pink). "Professional Widow" is considerably more delicate until the end, but it retains that weirdly lovable vitriol. This little disc culminates in a beautiful (and I mean BEAUTIFUL) rendition of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow." Judy Garland would be quite humbled to hear this. Tori's graceful fragility and shimmering emotional precision just kill me on this song. Heck, the EP's worth the 8 bucks just for this song.

The first time I heard the album version of "Hey Jupiter" on 1996's BOYS FOR PELE, I thought it was the most beautiful song singer-songwriter Tori Amos had created. When I learned of a remix of the song, I was rather weary, since the LP version seemed so flawless; but upon listening to the "Dakota Version" included in this EP, I was blown away by Amos's ability to take a perfect song and make it perfect in a completely new light, in an alternate universe, if you will. The added strings and bass in the remix take away the quiet stillness of the original version, while maintaining some sort of softness and darkness, and utter desperation. More often than not, when I want to hear this song, it's the remix that I tend to listen to as it entails much more complex emotions.

The rest of the tracks included in the EP are live renditions of "Sugar" (a b-side from 1992's LITTLE EARTHQUAKES), "Honey" (a b-side from 1994's UNDER THE PINK), "Professional Widow" (an album track from BOYS FOR PELE), and "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" (a cover of Judy Garland's classic tune from the film THE WIZARD OF OZ). The live tracks are great in and of themselves, but we're also treated to Amos's humorous and insightful anecdotes between songs, which is one of the best parts of her live shows. Her fragile, stunning rendition of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" displays Amos's amazing talent as a musician.

If you are looking to add some EP's and CD singles to your Tori collection, be sure to add this one. In fact, you may want to start with this one to give you a taste of what you're in for. Dim the lights, open your mind, and take it all in...

Tori Amos does it once again. I don't know how, but she did. I must admit I don't like remixes - you know, those ones with throbbing bass, computerized drums, and vocals that sound like they were sung through a toilet paper roll - the ones that Homey G's listen to outside my school every morning. But the Dakota version of "Hey Jupiter" is even BETTER than the album version (which is hard to believe, the album version is awesome!) The live b-sides are also delicious treats. "Sugar" (from the 'China' single) is sung by Tori with raw emotion and explodes out of your CD player. "Honey" (from several singles) is done so well, I thought it was the original version. The Merry Widow version of "Professional Widow" (played on an organ and very different from original) is very dark, a wonderful contrast to "Over The Rainbow". It's also funny to hear Tori joking around before she plays. I give this album the top rating.

This right here is some great tori music. The Dakota version is a GREAT version of Hey Jupiter, and the live songs are the best. It's cool because she talks before Honey and Sugar and explains the songs. And the merry widow version (live) of Professional Widow is just plain the bomb. I loved the way she screamed in it. It was cool at the end because everyone in the audience was screaming different songs by her they wanted to hear.. and then she sang somewhere over the rainbow and everyone cheered. It was a real treat. Definitely worth every penny.

Tori's single from 'Boys For Pele' is simply and utterly beautiful. This CD single contains 2 of the tracks from BFP in a little different style. 'Sugar' is a beautiful song while 'Honey' is a harsh song about a failing relationship. The last track, the cover of 'Somewhere Over The Rainbow' is stunning. A must for ANY Tori fan, you will not regret it.

Even though I cannot stress how different Tori Amos' albums are from each other, this particular EP captured her musical attributes--lyrical prose, soothing piano, and imagination--excellently. If you want to try her out in baby steps, this EP or the Winter EP would be it!

This EP shows how much Tori Amos loves her fans, for this is truly a magical collection of songs. The Dakota version of "Hey Jupiter" somehow manages to be even more beautiful and powerful than the original version from the Boys For Pele CD. Then we have four live performances that really highlight Tori's personal interaction with her audience. She personally introduces the first three, while audience members chaotically shout out one song request after another. "Sugar" is a marvelous song that inexplicably never appeared on a full album. Another live performance of "Sugar" made its way on to her later To Venus and Back release, but that does nothing to take away from the classic performance offered here. Next is "Honey," which Tori describes as her favorite song from the Under the Pink album--however, the song was inexplicably cut from the final release of that CD (because, Tori admits, she was a "ding-a-ling"). "Honey" deserves its place among Tori's very best songs. The most interesting (and weird) track on this EP is the Merry Widow version of "Professional Widow." The song begins rather slowly and darkly, accompanied by a Gothic-style organ, and the essence of the song continually builds up toward a raucous ending. This live version is quite unlike what you will hear on Boys For Pele. Finally, Tori delivers a soft, mellifluous rendition of Judy Garland's trademark song. I consider Judy Garland to be the greatest singer to ever live, and I would normally endorse jail time for any performer covering one of her songs, but Tori's version of "Over the Rainbow" is a sensitive, respectful, and perfectly acceptable rendition. In this case, EP stands for essentially perfect.

I have no idea what the editorial reviewer is talking about, Hey Jupiter written and performed by Tori Amos is one of the most inspired songs ever. It is also one of the saddest songs ever recorded. I challenge the editorial reviewer to write a song like this, and remember Jewel tried to cash in on the whole mythos of Jupiter too, and could only write half a good verse. So transfixed was Jewel that she even imitated the way Tori Amos sings the word "Jupiter". I would also put Amos' cover of Somewhere Over the Rainbow way above Judy Garland's, light years away in reality not on some Hollywood soundstage, Amos turns this song into your heart like a broken bottle, breaking her own, open, just to sing it. The classic songs Sugar and Honey here performed live are hugely more powerful than their originals and are completely gripping as all Amos' live performances always are. And Widow is gentler, even soothing, but still romantically and explicitly poisonous.

it's hard to find words to describe what this single means to me. it really is A WHOLE WORLD, a universe. it's all in there: tori-the-girl-with-her-piano ("sugar" and "rainbow"), the boys-for-pele-style (organ on "widow"), the "band" (guitar on "honey") and even a little taste of "to venus and back" ("the dakota version" of "hey jupiter"). i think this cd would be very good for "tori-beginners" (me myself started with "under the pink"), cause it's pure tori. nothing else. not like the remixes on other singles.... "hey jupiter - dakota version" is SO SO WONDERFUL.... the beginning reminds me a little bit of wolfsheim, a german gothic band. it's the dark side of tori. and i simply love this site of her.