Customer Reviews

Tori Amos: Complete Videos: 1991-1998 [VHS]

5 star:		(50)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Beautiful. Creative. Black & White. Sad. Mesmerizing. Lustrous.
That, folks, is Tori Amos. And a heck of a lot more. Just don't call her boring.

1. Silent All These Years - Little Earthquakes
2. Cornflake Girl (European Version) - Under The Pink
2. Past The Mission - Under The Pink
4. China - Little Earthquakes
5. Raspberry Swirl - From The Choirgirl Hotel
6. Hey Jupiter (The Dakota Version) - Hey Jupiter EP
7. Spark - From The Choirgirl Hotel
8. Caught A Lite Sneeze - Boys For Pele
9. Winter - Little Earthquakes
10. Talula (The Tornado Mix) - Boys For Pele
11. God - Under The Pink
12. Crucify - Little Earthquakes
13. Jackie's Strength - From The Choirgirl Hotel
14. Cornflake Girl (US Version) - Under The Pink
15. Pretty Good Year - Under The Pink

Duration: A little over an hour.

This 1998 release gives us 15 Tori Amos videos, spanning material from her first four albums. I don't watch a lot of videos these days, but Tori's almost demand to be watched, studied, and enjoyed. I can't pretend to understand all of these videos, but I love to watch them. Forgive me if I go on and on about this, but Tori is just stunningly gorgeous, possessing a natural beauty that rivals the beauty of her music.

These videos are not in chronological order, and I don't know if there is a meaning behind the arrangement. We begin with "Silent All These Years," which is marked by stop-gap photography and highly contrasting white colors toward the end, all of which gives Tori an ethereal look. The European version of Cornflake Girl is next, and I find it much superior to the American version found later in this collection. It begins and ends with Tori lying among fallen leaves, looking stunning in a white dress; the heart of the video is in black and white, and it contains a hint of a Wizard of Oz motif among a number of visual images. Past the Mission is one of those videos I don't understand very well; Tori leads two girls, a teenager and a younger girl, Spanish-type village; the women of the town follow her until they meet a priest, at which point all of the women lie prostrate on the ground for the priest to make his way past them; the village men follow the priest, and the women all walk outside of the town, seeming much happier after doing so. China is an interesting visual treat, with Tori wearing a dress made to look like the rocks of the beach she is on.

I absolutely love Raspberry Swirl. It features a dark-haired Tori in a low-cut dark dress following a young lad through a dance club, ending with a meal wherein young Tori-like girls turn into pigs. I love the part where Tori starts jerking and flopping around inside an elevator. I think one secret behind Tori's beauty is the fact that she does not try to look beautiful. In the video for the hauntingly beautiful song Hey Jupiter, she appears in a trancelike state, with black mascara smeared all around her eyes. Caught a Lite Breeze features a more sophisticated Tori look which somehow reminds me of the 50s--full of imagery, it is a drama played out by Tori's ghost. Tori makes a dazzlingly beautiful ghost, I must say. Winter is a rather simple video that matches perfectly with this incredible song from Little Earthquakes. Talula is another favorite of mine. If I am not mistaken, there is one quick shot of Tori doing something interesting with her hands, and there is a certain look she gives in the midpoint of the powerful bridge that drives me crazy--that look lasts only a fraction of a second, but it says volumes. Tori is always able to convey great emotion through her expressions.

God and Crucify are fittingly ordered consecutively. I love the God video because that is where I discovered Tori Amos. It's a video hard not to notice, with all of its religious symbolism, snakes, and rats. Something about the way Tori let all those rats crawl all over her convinced me that this was a female singer I had to hear more from. The green dress Tori wears while playing the piano in Crucify dazzles my eyes, and I can't say I mind seeing her wet, either. Jackie's Strength is a lovely song. The video features Tori in a wedding dress riding around town in a cab on her wedding day, and it opens with a number of shots of Jackie Kennedy. The US version of Cornflake Girl is the only video I don't really care for, largely because it seems rather nonsensical to me. Pretty Good Year is a minimalistic video featuring Tori piled up in a big chair surrounded by an empty room; it's not bad but it's also not a spectacular way to end the tape.

I skipped Spark because this particular video deserves special mention. The song is Tori's best and most powerful one ever, in my opinion, and the video more than lives up to the challenge of representing that masterpiece. Some may find it disturbing, though. It opens with Tori lying on the ground in a forest, bound and blindfolded; she had obviously just been removed from a car trunk, and the man responsible for it lies prostrate beside the car. Tori runs away through the woods, soon followed by the man, submerges herself in a stream to remove her blindfold, and finally reaches the safety of a road, where two girls stop but drive off without helping her. This video is incredibly powerful, giving me goosebumps every time I watch it.

I have used a lot of words to describe the videos included here, but words are really inadequate when it comes to explaining Tori's musical vision. All I can say to Tori fans out there is that this video collection is a vital part of the complete Tori experience.

The collection includes all her videos from 91-98.

From the Little Earthquakes Era: Silent All These Years and Winter are simple videos with children, personal touches and many close-ups of Tori's face. Crucify was done very well. It starts off with Tori just wearing a bath towel and goes into Tori playing the piano and taking a bath fully clothed. I thought that video fit the song well. The only video I did not like was China. It was basically just a man piling rocks and Tori singing/playing piano.

From Under the Pink: Past the Mission seems to take place in Italy following a death (people wearing black, priests). Cornflake Girl has two versions, European and American. European video has Tori floating around with a Wizard of Oz theme. Caught A Light Sneeze is a much better video showing Tori floating around and different images. The American video has Tori driving a truck with a bunch of her girlfriends. God shows a religious festival with people playing with rats and snakes. I burst out laughing when I saw the `dance' scene in Pretty Good Year.

Boys for Pele: Talula has people `studying' Tori. Hey Jupiter has a young girl saving Tori from a burning building. Caught A Light Sneeze is a very surreal interesting video. That video makes you feel like you are floating right along with it.

From the Choirgirl Hotel: Jackie's Strength shows Tori in a taxi on her way to get married. Raspberry Swirl has a dance pit in an art gallery. Spark shows Tori blindfolded trying to escape from her abductor. It has a good twist in the end.

If you are a Tori fan, you should buy this. It's nice to have all her videos on one video.

Here is a small review for each of Tori's beautiful videos.

Silent All These Years - Tori's first video. It's very a simple video with a white background. The majority of the video is Tori with a young girl, but there is also some footage of the Litte Earthquakes lyric book pictures in full motion.

Cornflake Girl (European Version) - A very strange video. The video begins in color, but most of it is shot in black and white. This video seems to be in refernce to the Wizard of Oz. Tori is whisked away in a tornado and caught in a spider web, amoung other things.

Past the Mission - A very picturesque video. Tori is with a large group of women in a small, Spanish village. Everyone is wearing black, so a recent death is presumed. Tori and the women confront a preist, then lie down and cross their arms, as if dead. They then get up, and walk into a field.

China - Similiar to Silent All These Years in style. Tori crawls over rocks on a beach as a man builds various things from rock. Tori also plays a piano made from rock. There is also various shots of waves and China falling and breaking onto the rocks.

Raspberry Swirl - Another strange video. Tori chases a young boy through a childrens room, then out into a field. Tori gets inside a "magic" elevator and dances, then crawls through a tunnel into a dance pit. Tori meets up with the boy at a dinner table where a food fight ensues.

Hey Jupiter - A very sad video, it is my favorite, though. Tori is seen singing in a rocking chair as her apartment burns around her. A young girl pulls Tori from the room and into a police car. I believe Tori dies in this video, as she is seen back inside the burning building at the end.

Spark - This video is somewhat disturbing. Tori is blindfolded and has her arms tied behind her back as she races through the woods, trying to escape her abductor. The ending is very sad, as Tori nearly finds safety, but is left behind.

Caught a Lite Sneeze - Perhaps Tori's strangest video. I believe Tori is a ghost in this video, as she continually appears and disappears and floats around various places. The way the camera moves produces a very surreal effect.

Winter - Another simple video. Tori dances with children and plays the piano for the majority of the video, but there is some beautiful shots of flowers, ice, etc.

Talula - Probably my least favorite of Tori's video. Tori is placed inside a large plastic box while scientists study her. The video is pretty uninteresting, but has some great shots of Tori against a luminescant background.

God - Tori is seen playing with rats and dancing with snakes. If you have a weak stomach, or just don't like rats/snakes, you probably better fast-forward this one.

Crucify - Another of my favorites. Tori plays the piano and takes a bath fully clothed then dances. Multiples of Tori show up dressed as maids and dance and sing as well.

Jackie's Strength - This video seems to be set in the 1970's. Tori rides around in a cab in her wedding dress. She passes a wedding procession and ducks down, as if hiding. She also meets up with her younger self at the end of the video.

Cornflake Girl (US Version) - Tori drives a truck while a group of women in the back fight/play. Tori spins on a merry-go-round, and appears to be having a lot of fun. Tori also uses herself as a piano in this video!

Pretty Good Year - Tori lounges in a recliner and lies next to a sleeping man. There is some strange backwards motion footage. I really hope that dance sequence wasn't meant to be taken seriously...

In closing, I'd like to say... buy it! Tori's videos are very beautiful, and I don't think you'll be disappointed!

WOW! The first time I saw this video, I was totally confused. Too many images, too many meanings in the video...my brain couldn't process it all at once. But then I watched it several times, and it helped me gain a deeper insight into the songs. For instance, the video for Spark has very little to do with the song, on the surface. It seems to be a restaging of the events following Tori's rape...while Spark is about her miscarriage. But if you consider all the elements of helplessness in the video, they really relate to the powerlessness she felt about her miscarriage, as shown in the lyrics of the song. The lyrics were there, but I didn't understand it until I had the visual image to help.

Just an example.

From The Little Earthquakes Era: The videos are all quite similar is this era, very stark and minimalist, almost like they were shot in the late 70s. Think of Abba's 'Mumma Mia' or Pretenders' 'Stop Yoru Sobbing' and it pretty much sums up 'Silent All These Years' and 'Winter.' I guess the minimalism suits the music I guess...'Crucify' is similar but much more Dynamic (gotta love it when she takes a bath fully clothed) and 'China' set on a rocky beach is very picturesque

From Under The Pink: In my opinion of much better quality than LE. Even though everybody loves the american version of 'Cornflake Girl' which suits the theme of the song more and is extremely halarious with the group carrying around a girl in a lasoo and cooking up a guy, i prefer the European version. Dunno, it's less cheap looking for a start, and i like weird cosmic videos I guess, its sort of a precursor to 'Caught A Lite Sneeze.' 'Past The Mission' is a very picteresque take off the pied piper set in an Italian village (methinks.) Highlight when Tori gives the priest a dirty look before keeling over and faking death. She's a fascinating woman...

'Boys For Pele' my favorite videos are from this era. 'Hey Jupiter' is heart wrenching and gorgeous...my absolute favorite. A girl rescues an emotionally torn Tori from a burning apartment building into a police car. Tori just looks so devastated and almost zombie like...plus the visual effects are superb. 'Caught a lite Sneeze' comes a close second and is just a visual feast for the eyes. A roller coaster ride into a land of autumn leaves, swans, waterfalls, and a funeral gathering and tori meanders ghost like in and out of all the locations. 'Talula' has an interesting concept with Tori as a subject for a scientific experiment but unfortunately gets boring really quickly.

'Choirgirl era- 'Spark' is picturesque, panoramic and wonderful as Tori escapes from a kidnapping vehicle, blindfolded and tied up. The ending tears your heart. 'Raspberry Swirl' is very interesting....she chases a boy through various locations ending up in a dancefloor and a food table taken over by pigs. 'Jackie's Strength' I find a little boring, probably because black and white bores me for some reason (then why the hell did I like the euro version of cornflake? I'm full of inconsistencies)

As a footnote the videos she released after the video also are a treat. Namely 'Glory Of The 80s' where she looks ABSOLUTELY STUNNING and 'Strange Little Girl' (keep watching MTV.)

and received by distant aliens a million years from now, what would this artifact convey to them about humanity? Would they understand that Tori Amos had been a singular phenomenon, or would they generalize and suppose that an entire race of incomparably musical, poetic and ravishing beings had once existed?

Since I had only seen three of Tori's music videos before I bought this video, I was so excited when I finally was able to buy it. And I absolutely love it! Tori's music is wonderful on its own, but the videos give her a chance to get the messages of the songs across even more. My favorites are Silent All These Years (absolutely magical); Winter (very pretty); God (a bit disturbing yet extremely interesting); Spark (shot almost like a movie, and has a really sad story line); the European version of Cornflake Girl (I love the references to The Wizard Of Oz); and last but not least, Jackie's Strength (in my opinion her most emotionally touching video ever). That's a lot of favorites allready, but the rest of them are great too. Believe me, if you love Tori Amos, you HAVE to have this video!

First came the video collection for "Little Earthquakes" and now this one. This one includes some live versions of songs that didn't have videos made for them - which is a HUGE plus. One of the most artistic videos on this VHS is "China". You'll love it. I wholly recommend this to any Toriphile out there. Whenever I'm in a quick fix for Tori, I pop this in and turn my volume on full blast. Afterall, Tori is Tori. 'Nuff said.

Taken from Little Earthquakes, Under The Pink, Boys For Pele, the Hey Jupiter EP, and From The Choirgirl Hotel, Tori Amos's videos prove that like her music, her images and style are also an acquired taste. And most of the time, one will end up asking, "What's the message in this video?"

"Silent All These Years" is in grainy, static-like shots, with Tori rotating in a square box, and of course playing her piano. This is her face singing through a square hole video. That bright red hair of hers is a remarkable contrast to the white background of the video.

There are two videos for "Cornflake Girl", of which the European one, a b&w collage of images and objects, including a tornado swirling around, Tori superimposed as if caught within the maelstrom, and a burning house flying up. As for the American, it's merely Tori driving a pickup through the desert while her girlfriends are horsing around in the back. The action switches to Tori swinging by her lonesome on a merry-go-round.

"Past The Mission" appears to be set in a tiny Mexican village and Tori and two younger women walk down the narrow streets, soon followed by a crowd of women, and eliciting curiosity from the men. There's a scene involving a priest, then the women walk merrily on their way.

In "China" Tori wears a gray and white lame suit that matches the gravelly beach shore. She even plays on a piano made out of flat rocks. There's also a guy making a mound and sculptures.

"Raspberry Swirl" involves a weird party scene, with a young boy Tori has followed. Tori moves jerkily in an elevator at one point, and there's a scene reminiscent of Circe and Odysseus's men, only this time, the roles have been reversed.

"Hey Jupiter" is one of the more haunting ones, as Tori is singing in a burning room. A little girl leads her outside, down the burning hallway, and inside a car to safety. This is the Dakota version played in the video.

In "Spark" the story is less vague, but the imagery is provoking. Tori plays a kidnapped woman who has been blindfolded and tied, and walks through the woods. In fact she sings for nearly the entire video blindfolded.

"Caught A Lite Sneeze" has as a high point some bald heads surrealistically emerging from the ocean.

"Winter" has Tori at the piano again and climbing through that "Silent All These Years" square again.

"Talula" has Tori quarantined in a plastic enclosure and being examined by two doctors while her piano is similarly quarantined.

Rat and snake-haters will want to fast-forward past "God", which is not only set in a church, but has people dancing with snakes around them, rats crawling over Tori, and people handling both animals liberally.

"Crucify" isn't too notable except for the two Toris and the theme of water.

"Jackie's Strength" has Tori as a bride in a taxi and looking around her. The various faces of women is theme here, including a shot of a young girl doing a home pregnancy test. The ending has Tori meeting her old self, who wishes her luck.

"Pretty Good Year" has Tori lounging in an armchair, lying next to her man, and crashing through a window among other things.

Tori's videos are not known to be totally comprehensible, but they are fascinating. They focus more on imagery and impact on the viewer, to make them go, "Now what was THAT all about?" And then there's Tori herself, who's always at her prettiest when she appears in them. Nature, animals, children, pianos, swirling images are all hallmarks of her videos, and you'll find them here.