Customer Reviews

Sorta Fairytale

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

tori amos seems to pour the best of her nectar in CD singles. this one makes no exception -- despite it being simply one album track edit (two versions, the 101 Mix and the Single Version) plus a 1'45'' b-side.

the title song 'a sorta fairytale' is definitely convincing, the kind of tune that gets stuck in your head and will. not. go. away. note that neither the 101 Mix nor the Single version are the same as the (Scalet's Walk) album track, which includes a full new verse.

the b-side 'operation peter pan' is an extremely fair &sweet little song, with only tori vocals and (surprise!) acoustic guitar (yes, no piano), &if it sounds like a lullaby to you, that's because it is. (take a careful peek at the liner-notes for an official "tori statement").

finally, the multimedia track is a short 320x240 quicktime clip, with a polaroid-styled slide-show going on while you can listen to tori talking about the album/song concept, with ASF as the background music: a pretty thing, overall, and I guess you shouldn't expect much from a CD single multimedia component -- however, I would've preferred something better conspicuous, like the full ASF video, for instance.

I love Tori Amos and I was never disappointed with any CD of hers I purchased...until now. This single contains three musical selections: two versions of "a sorta fairytale" and a non-album track called "Operation Peter Pan." The non-album song (which is an okay song and the only reason to buy this single) runs about a minute and a half--so it's not really worth the money.

The versions of "a sorta fairytale" on this CD are both subpar. Both songs are trimmed down versions of the album version of the song, with the 101 mix varying only slightly in instrumentation from the regular single version. The worst part of these edited versions is that important lyrics and moods are altered or completely eliminated, therefore undercutting the beautiful meaning of the song. To boot, the edit is so bad that the listener can actually tell where the song was sliced and diced...it's so painfully obvious that there is more to the song than was is delivered on this CD. I have my doubts that Tori Amos ever approved of these versions of "a sorta fairytale." She is such a perfectionist, and this single just stinks. It's tough to imagine Tori lowering her standards to this level.

The CD "Scarlet's Walk" is a wonderful CD and I recommend that whole-heartedly. But you can skip this CD altogether. You are not missing a thing.

Very good single. I can't wait to get her latest release. The 101 is an exceptionally good mix and surpasses the album version. A type of song that gets stuck in your head and can be played over and over. This single has a potential for mainstream play on the radio. So far, Tori has enjoyed a very loyal, almost cult-like following. If this single hits the top ten, I hope long time fans will not change their opinion about her. Moreover, if she does get a long overdue recognition for this release, I hope it won't change the way she approaches music. Tori fans (fanatics): BUY this single for 101 version, even if you have the original album.

I just received my copy from Amazon on Thursday and I really like it. I love "A Sorta Fairytale" (3:58) but wish that the edit hadn't been so poorly done. You can tell where the track has been chopped. The "101 Mix" (3:58) is good and has more of an echoing voice sound as well as different instrumentation. The track "Operation Peter Pan" (1:45) is a very good song though it is rather short. On the back sleeve of the single, where the track listing would normally be, there is this little note from Tori:

"Operation Peter Pan spanned from 1960-1962 whereby over 14,000 children were sent away from their families in Cuba, some never to reunite again. Pan Am took the children to Miami, Florida, "Never-Never Land", and the children became known as the "Peter Pans". I wrote this song for my daughter, and it is sung for all the daughters and mothers, fathers and brothers who felt this pain of separation all because of governments and their politics."

The multimedia track "A Scarlet Story" (1:45) is Tori's Voice talking over a slide show of the pictures from her album while "A Sorta Fairytale" plays in the background. I have both versions of "Scarlet's Walk", the limited edition box set and the standard CD.

I read ...that the next single will be "Taxi Ride" and I'm very happy about that. I absolutely love that song and feel it is one of the best from the album. The site said that the song would have a "radio edit" and I downloaded that version from there but can't tell any difference. It's the same length as the original. That's good too because the original is 4:00 and that's prety normal for radio play anyways.

"A Sorta Fairytale" is a great single and is worth having for the multimedia track and "Operation Peter Pan". Order your copy today and don't forget that the DVD single of "A Sorta Fairytale" will become available April 8, 2003!

I don't really even consider buying CD-Singles for any artist other than Tori Amos. A Sorta Fairytale is another in a long line of incredible Amos singles. Strange Little Girls was an interesting album, but what I continually yearn for are brand new Tori Amos songs, and it has been awhile since any were available. A Sorta Fairytale is like an old friend, reflecting the kind of sound and emotion I equate with the early Tori Amos music I fell in love with. The song is a little more snazzy than her earliest Little Earthquakes masterpieces, but it feels like a song I have known and loved for years, a comfortable old friend who communicates with me in much more than mere words. We have two versions of the song here-the original album version and "The 101 Mix." I have to be honest and say that I often cannot really notice the difference between two different mixes of the same song, and that is the case here, but the song's so enjoyable that you want to listen to it more than once, anyway. The extra song included here is Operation Peter Pan; despite its relatively short length (1:45), it's pure Tori and a great song to have in your music library. Finally, we also get a little vignette in pictures of the story behind the title song accompanied by Tori's typically deep and guru-like summation of what the song really means and how it came into being. As a dedicated Tori fan, I am thrilled with the material making up this CD-single.

The 101 mix of "A Sorta Fairytale" isn't *too* different from the original, it feels more bare and stripped down if anything. The drum sounds have been replaced: instead of a crisp, tinny drum it's been replaced with a dull thuddy drum sound, which adds to the sparse feel. You can hear the acoustic guitar loud and clear in this mix.

"Operation Peter Pan" is probably the reason to buy this single, even though the song's just short of two minutes in length. It's odd to hear Tori singing with only a guitar accompaniment; there's no piano to be heard on this track. It's a fairly happy-sounding song, and the guitar sound has sort of a "ren faire" feel to it, if that makes sense. The most interesting thing about this song is the paragraph about it that's included on the liner notes:

"Operation Peter Pan spanned from 1960-62 whereby over 14,000 children were sent away from their families in Cuba, some never to reunite again. Pan Am flights took the children to Miami, FL, 'Never-Never Land,' and the children became known as the 'Peter Pans.' I wrote this song for my daughter, and it is sung for all the children and mothers, fathers, and brothers who felt this pain of separation all because of governments and their politics."

The last "track" on the CD, "A Scarlet Story," isn't a song at all, it's a video of sorts. Images of Tori pass by on the screen while she discusses the album for a few minutes. I'm 95% positive that her words are a composite from the 40 minute "Scarlet Stories" promo CD that some people received when they bought "Scarlet's Walk." This video, while neat, is slightly annoying because it required that I run Mac OS9 ("Classic") on my computer that normally operates on OSX. Besides that however it's a fun little single that's worth picking up eventually.

I love them both. And this new single is nothing short of what I'd expect from Tori, but I am surprise (and pleased) to hear her step back into a more mellowed approach, reminiscent of her work from her first 3 albums: Little Earthquakes, Under the Pink, and Boys for Pele. a sorta fairytale has that wonderful melodic, lyrical, overlapping use of vocals in its chorus that makes this song quite enjoyable and catchy. It's a really feel good song. And I can't help noticing another comparison between Tori and Kate Bush -- both have written songs with Peter Pan in it. Here, we have Operation Peter Pan. Kate has "In Search of Peter Pan" in her 1978 album, Lionheart. These two are truly the goddesses of alternative rock music as we know it!

For some odd reason, Sony Canada decided to give us, Canadians, this single (which is the exact same format as the overseas single). This rarely happens! Our singles market is like the UK's, but our singles are usually different than the Brits' singles. Anyhow, I saw this cd in a music store in my home city for a good price, so I decided to give it a chance. I'm sure glad I did! I had heard of Tori before, but her music never really grabbed my attention. For no clear reason, this single seemed interesting to me. When I listened to it at home, I was almost put into a trance. This heavenly voice sang to me with such grace and ease, I began to regret not exploring Tori's music a long time ago. There's an undeniable purity about Tori's voice and music. The way she sings and composes a song is done with simplicity and a lot of soul. No frills, just music that is beautiful and delivered with ease. As you may have already guessed, "Scarlet's Walk" is on my wish list!

I love Tori Amos. She is by far my favorite artist of all time. Her music is a constant source of inspiration for me. No one writes like Tori and no one can play the piano like her (eat your heart out Vanessa Carlton). Tori is also one of the few artists who puts out consistent material (contrary to what some of her rabid fans who wants her to put out clones of "Little Earthquakes" and "Under the Pink", has to say). I particularly love her last two studio albums of original material. I have been waiting for what seems like an eternity for Tori's new album "Scarlet's Walk" but for now I have had to settle for the single for "Sorta Fairytale". I absolutely love this song, and I think fans of "Little Earthquakes" and "Under the Pink" would really love this song because the song hearkens back to Tori's first two solo albums. The video for the song is incredible, it has a Salvador Dali feel to the video. The song itself is a gorgeous lush ballad that reminds me a bit of "Silent All These Years" with "Pretty Good Year". Although brief, I adored "Operation Peter Pan". As sad as the lyrics are, the song itself is breathtaking to listen to. Probably one of my favorite b-sides from Tori Amos. I love it when Tori adds a couple of non-album tracks on her singles. After listening to "Sorta Fairytale", I am even more excited to pick up Tori's new album.

I actually have the import version of this, which has the same B sudes, but no regular version of "A Sorta Fairytale" or ultimeadia. However, I quite enjoy the B sides.
The 101 Mix of "A Sorta Fairytale" sounds almost identical to the orginal addition of the songs, but it adds some extra beats which change the sound of the song a little, but not dramatically.
"Operation Peter Pan" is really a gem. It has no piano unfortunately, but still features Tori's beautiful voice and the soothing aucoustic guitar. The back cover tells you what the song is about. Although this B side is short, it's still great.
I'd say go on ebay to find this single. The price is very high here for only two B-sides and a multi-media and should be easier to find on ebay for less cash.