Customer Reviews

Tori Amos: Welcome to Sunny Florida (DVD with Bonus CD in Jewel Case)

5 star:		(45)
4 star:		(24)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The worst that can be said about Tori Amos's live concert DVD, Welcome To Sunny Florida, is that the packaging is somewhat lackluster for a Tori Amos production. Otherwise and more importantly, Welcome To Sunny Florida, which also includes an extensive and remarkably balanced interview with Amos, a briefer backstage interview with her mother, and Scarlet's Hidden Treasures, a bonus CD of six unreleased Scarlet's Walk - era songs, fulfills itself impressively in every way. With Amos's best - of package, Tales Of A Librarian, released as recently as the autumn of 2003, the current collection only strengthens Amos's reputation as an unstoppable artistic juggernaut and workhorse. Amos is among the most prolific recording artists of her generation, and has reached the kind of elevated position today that musicians like Joni Mitchell and Patti Smith enjoyed in the seventies.

The concert footage, culled from the last show in the 2002-2003 Scarlet's Walk tour, represents Amos at her straightforward and ungrandiose best. Unlike some of the earlier such footage the artist has made available, Amos's vocals here are well recorded, high notes are reached with apparent effortlessness, the songs closely resemble the studio originals, and, above all, Amos appears happy, comfortable, and fully in command of the wide range of her talents.

The real importance of the collection, however, is found not on the DVD but on Scarlet's Hidden Treasures; three of the songs-'Seaside,' 'Tombigbee,' and 'Indian Summer'-were made available on the internet after the release of Scarlet's Walk (2002), but 'Ruby Through The Looking - Glass,' 'Bug A Martini,' and 'Apollo's Frock' are entirely new. With the exception of the likable, jazz - based "Bug A Martini," these songs represent Amos at the very height of her creative power. The meditative, somnolent 'Indian Summer' approaches the beauty of 'Cooling,' while the deceptively simplistic 'Seaside,' a fantasia on war that may or may not reference the attack on Pearl Harbor, has the restrained emotional fatalism of 'Playboy Mommy.' Wars both personal and collective underpin these songs thematically.

In the Seventies, songwriters Carole King, Joni Mitchell and Carly Simon mapped out the battleground in the war between the sexes from positions of fairness, self - assurance, and personal power. In many ways, however, Amos's spiritual and lyrical antecedent is really the perpetually combative, confrontational, and caustic Pretenders frontwoman Chrissie Hynde, as a study of Amos' hostility-laden song catalogue attests. Like Hynde, Amos's themes largely reflect emotional and spiritual crisis, chronic dissatisfaction with the state of the world, the victimization of the weak by the powerful, personal disillusionment, and the general failure of communication; like Hynde, Amos often responds with straightforward, finger - pointing accusations of blame, open sarcasm, and abrasive mockery.

But Amos is a more openly feminist and women - centered artist than Hynde, something readily apparent throughout the songs on Scarlet's Hidden Treasures. 'Ruby Through The Looking - Glass' describes the emotional and perhaps physical battles between a man and a pregnant woman; the vulnerable unborn child is, not surprisingly, referred to as "she." The children killed while playing innocently by the ocean in 'Seaside' are "girls dancing." 'Apollo's Frock,' which lyrically resembles the early Imagist poetry of Hilda Doolittle, may be Amos's most overt feminist statement yet; lofty Apollo, and men generally, are reminded that "Apollo, your frock...was always as beautiful as your sister's that your light shined on." The rousing, combustible 'Tombigbee' finds Amos hoping to be cleansed by the river after a volatile romantic encounter, and 'Indian Summer,' which begins with an image of "girls in the attic," finds Amos advocating for "another way" of life in the West and addressing President Bush with unusual subtly.

Amos's women - centered perspective begs the same question that matriarchal - based sects of Wicca do; are imbalances corrected or resolved by replacing a patriarchal worldview with a matriarchal viewpoint? At times, Amos seems at least metaphorically Wiccan in her emotional, spiritual, and political perspective. Her own combative feelings and attitudes seem to provide her with little insight into the identical hostilities she so opposes in others.

Longtime listeners who have missed the piano - dominated songwriting of Under The Pink (1994) and portions of Boys For Pele (1996) will be thrilled with Welcome To Sunny Florida and specifically with Scarlet's Hidden Treasures; 'Ruby Through The Looking Glass,' 'Seaside,' 'Apollo's Frock,' and 'Indian Summer' reveal the "girl at her piano" at her very best, and collectively are leagues beyond the material on From The Choirgirl Hotel (1998) and most of To Venus And Back's studio disc (1999).

Let me begin by saying that I've been a complete Toriphile for years and truly feel as though she can do no wrong! That said, I love this DVD. However, even I must admit that it is not without its errors and pitfalls.

One of the downsides to this DVD includes the annoying edits on Professional Widow. I really don't understand why the editor felt the need to cut out certain words during the performance, yet leave them in for the interview. Furthermore, there is a clear shot of Tori flipping the middle finger to the crowd. Why leave that in but cut out the vocalization of the swear words? In addition, I felt that the interview was a little short. I would have liked to have heard more about what Tori had to say regarding her music and her touring experiences. The edits between shots can be poor at times as well. During many a song, the shots are out of focus or jump from one viewpoint to the next without any transition. Nonetheless, these minor annoyances are not enough, in my opinion, to degrade this DVD to any less than five stars.

The interview with Tori, though short, is great. It's a more personal experience than merely listening to her music. I also love the interview with Tori's mom. It's a little sneak peak into Tori's childhood, and the start of her career. Her improvisational transitions are excellent, and different for every show. Indeed, as Tori herself states, each song and performance are fluid entities that can take on a new shape and form, and grow as inspiration changes. No song in this live performance is quite the same as its studio version, nor is it quite the same as any other live performance. This DVD does a great job of capturing just one of Tori's amazing "fairytale" experiences on the stage. Though I still highly recommend attending her show live, this is a great way to bring the experience into the comfort of your living room (and for a cheaper price than her concerts as well!).

The included six song CD, "Scarlet's Hidden Treasures," songs cut from the Scarlet's Walk CD, is also incredible. I especially love Seaside, Bug a Martini, Apollo's Frock, and Tombigbee (also included in the live footage). These songs, to be sure, will be coveted by those who run out to collect every EP and B-side Tori puts out, and can be seen as a standalone reason to pick up this DVD.

I was lucky enough to have seen her while she was on this Scarlet's Walk/Lottapianos tour, and this DVD serves as a way to relive the amazing and nostalgic experience (even if the set list was somewhat different). However, one doesn't need to have seen her perform live, on this tour or ever for that matter, in order to appreciate the DVD & CD set. This is a must for the diehard Tori fan, and a fun and enticing addition for the casual listener as well.

In addition to Welcome to Sunny Florida, pick up her new CD The Beekeeper, as well as her book Piece by Piece!

Wow! That's all I can say after viewing Welcome to Sunny Florida. I've never seen Tori live (wish I had) and this helps ease the anxiety of not doing so. All the excitement, passion, sensuality, spontaneity, and musical genius of the Tori live experience are displayed right here. Backed by bassist Jon Evans and drummer Matt Chamberlain, Tori Amos is truly in a league of her own. You can clearly pinpoint her musical influences (ie. Kate Bush, Led Zep, etc.), but there's none of that hippie-chick/Lilith Fair/Sarah McLachlan ennui going on here. Tori's music is timeless. Included are explosive versions of "Crucify", "Take to the Sky" (my personal favorite), and "Precious Things". At the same time, she brings things down a bit with spontaneous jazzy interludes, including one little ditty she plays while her make-up lady fixes her up on stage. The semi-new "Your Cloud" and old favorites like "Leather" and "Bells for Her" are absolutely gorgeous. The encore is almost a show-killer as "Hey Jupiter" almost sucks the energy out of West Palm Beach, but that's not the real concern here. The real concern is "Professional Widow", which for some reason or another has all the profanity edited out. BAD MOVE. It changes the song ever so slightly and ruins it for the DVD viewer. Absolute buzz-kill. What's worse is that, they don't bleep out Tori when she chats with the audience during the show or during the interview on the DVD bonus extras. I don't get it.
Nevertheless, I still give this tremendous DVD 4 stars, only because of that "PW" editing. Good music, good visual, interesting interviews, and bonus disc with Scarlet's Hidden Treasures makes this an excellent DVD to own. Go out and get it if you haven't already!

THE GOOD:

My itunes has a current playcount of this entire album's audio at roughly over 200 plays (and thats not even counting the times I've played the dvd or played it in the car). The music is wonderful, and if you're a long time fan, I'm sure you'd have no problem agreeing that often times, Tori's renditions of her songs live are often MUCH better than her studio performances. Since this release, I've listened to nothing else of hers.

It's very rare to hear an artist who picks from an entire body of work and changes her setlist EVERY CONCERT, and manages to constantly make it all wonderful. She credits the beauty of each piece as an individual stand-alone thing. On top of that, its often rare to see an artist perform improvisations as strong and as constant (and often as funny) as her.

On here includes versions of songs that are not released in their original studio form, but very amazing in their live transformation, including sugar, crucify, take to the sky, father lucifer, and my absolute favorite on the whole collection, bells for her.

the bonus disc is a strong stand alone project, that reflects as strong as any of her albums. a good 4/6 tracks are particularly excellent. (i only wish she had included the b-side mountain, which is right now released only in mp3 form, I think. oh well.)

THE BAD:

Aside the whole Professional Widow edits (I've learned to live with it), the DVD has terrible transitions. The edits and slices in the footage are just awful. I'm sure working to record footage during a live experience was very difficult, but often watching the DVD I feel like I'm either entirely up in Tori's face or stuck way in the back. There's nothing in the middle. There's also no shots of the entire band as a collective whole. I find that very unfortunate considering how wonderful the whole band works together. (I'm still impressed bassist Jon and drummer Matt can remember so many damn songs). The worst edit would have to be during the credits, when you're trying super hard to listen to Tori's mother speak, but you have one of tori's songs at roughly the same volume competing for attention in the background. Terrible!

The interview with tori is a nice addition, but does not supplement the live footage, and is also very obnoxious to have in the middle of the show. Listening to the fans is atrocious, and I always skip it. It does nothing and says nothing about Tori. I could care less who's seen Tori live the most. I do believe the director tried to add some elements that were of his (or her) own choosing (you know, to add to the experience), but seriously, it was not very concept driven, and failed to add anything interesting to the show. (But, to give him (or her) credit, it's nice to see Tori a bit before a show starts, during the encore, and shortly after. It was also nice to see her folks).

I can't really complain, because I'm sure that there was a lot of thought put into the decision, but it does suck not to have just the few other songs that were cut from the show. Oh well. I guess I'm just craving more....

As fans and critics will tell you, Tori Amos' live shows are something that have to be seen to really be believed. In 1992, the South Carolina conservatory drop-out took the world by storm with her acclaimed debut, Little Earthquakes. With her confessional lyrics and unique piano playing, she became an instant hit. It's taken twelve years, but finally her fans (known as 'Ears With Feet', or 'Toriphiles') have a live DVD for their collection. (The last live release was on VHS)

Hardcore Tori fans will love the pre-show footage, which contains footage of Tori with her daughter Natashya. They'll also enjoy the long interview with Tori and her mother, Mary. No doubt casual observers will gloss over these features and dive straight into the concert footage, which was filmed in West Palm Beach in Florida-- the last show on 2003's On Scarlet's Walk tour.

Sadly, this DVD doesn't come close to portraying the raw power of a real live performance. It seems fairly polished and quite a few songs lack passion. The censorship of 'Professional Widow' is an outrage; it's so passionate but unfortunately it's edited! Gah. The camera editing is incredibly choppy, and it seems that the producers have gone for an artistic sort of look; one shot that stands out in my mind is one that lasts for several moments with a blurred image of Tori. The angles they use are just wierd. Despite this, it's still an interesting look at one of the decade's most prolific musicians. Amos ranges from moments of absolute vocal brilliance (her renditions of Hey Jupiter, Father Lucifer and Precious Things are spectacular) to moments that aren't really as brilliant (Leather, A Sorta Fairytale).

The DVD is definately worth the price of purchase, but what makes this collection even more special is the inclusion of the 'Scarlet's Hidden Treasures' EP. A collection of six B-Sides from Scarlet's Walk (Tori's last original album), these are absolutely stunning and a really excellent thing to own.

3.5 stars (rounded up to four)

Ok, the DVD was incredible, obviously! (Tori fans understand the "obviously.") BUT, WHY O WHY did they edit out the expletives in Professional Widow, probably the BEST song of the show?! They butchered it, and it was a disgrace!! EPIC really dropped the ball on that call! I can't imagine Tori would have approved of that. What was INCREDIBLY bizarre was that they left in some interview footage with her and matt chamberlain (drummer) cursing! What the *&@# is that all about!? It's ok to curse when you're talking but not when your'e singing?!?! I found that to be an absolute affront to artistry! Shame on you EPIC!

With that being said, Tori gave an absolutely rivoting performance in sunny/rainy Florida!!! I've seen about a dozen of her shows and honestly can be (somewhat) objective about her performing. She's always on, but, like any artist, sometimes she's just more on (never a moron!) She was MOST ON for this show!! i would have killed to have attended this one! Highlights for me were definitely Crucify, which surprised me, because it's not one of my favorites usually. An incredible climactic ending to that song! Take To The Sky was tremendous especially when she added a bridge including Mohammed My Friend! It was brilliant! But the censored Professional Widow was still probably my favorite, although as any Tori fan knows, with rewatching and relistening, Tori favorites can change with each viewing!

The Hidden Treasures CD was also absolutely beautiful! Apollo's Frock was the highlight for me, but she did some awesome keyboard (Wurlie?) soloing on Bug-A-Martini! Ruby Through The Looking Glass was also a lovely ballad and I loved hearing Tori sing in her lower range for the bridge of that song!

So, all in all, despite the brazen act of censorship committed by EPIC, this is a 5 star DVD! Yay, Tori!! Boo, EPIC!

I've seen Tori live, 8 days after 9/11 in Philadelphia, just 50 miles from NY, it was the single, most mesmerizing concert I've ever been too. Tori is an amazing composer, vocalist, lyricist, performer and musician, so why does this DVD just not quite get it?

The camera never strays from the source for one. Tori is a beautiful woman, a sensual woman, an intelligent and brilliant woman, but 80mins of close ups do not come close to a live experience. This is not a high-res or high-def film either and often when you see Tori, even on those rare moments when the camera pulls back, you see nothing else. It's very claustrophobic. The blacks all blend and the reds pop out at you and the rest of the colors are just a blur. The other musicians don't exist and neither does the crowd. We never see the stage or the auditorium, we never feel like we're there.

Then there's Tori. I want to get her a bottle of Hot Oil treatment and some Pro-V conditioner after viewing this. Really, her hair looks fried, wirery and out of control. Add to that, someone put so much make-up on her that for the first few songs she looks like she just got a botox injection. She's so stiff and expressionless through the first song she seems like she's not sure where or why she's there.

About halfway through she starts to wake up, starting the show with the slow-tempo'd Sort of Fairytale just wasn't a good idea.

Then her make-up "artist" comes out and I just wish she'd wipe the garbage off her face, instead she pats her down and puts on more.

Concert films work best when treated like documentaries, this new DVD trend of slick, close-up, 90 min music video style editing ruins the experience.

Tori: 5 stars

DVD: 1 star

Tori's performance is very good, HOWEVER the video and sound quality are awful. The camera work looks like it's a work of amateurs. This really damages the overall experience and that's a shame. Only for hardcore Tori fans.

This dvd (with bonus 6 song bside cd) set is fantastic. If you love Tori, then I don't need to go into her stage energy...or how well she films and photographs. The editing is not bad (seems that some lyrics are left out of widow) ...though a bit strange for Tori. This may be the result of the dvd being intended for a wide spectrum of fans or potential fans... However, I agree that the editing does not take away from the film. It just throws the diehard fan off a bit.
When Tori speaks on film, she shows her maturity and still manages to remain sincere and candid. I love this about her. Her intense levels of professionalism and musicianship are what make her the wonder that she is.
The bsides are more than just left over songs, or filler. As always, the bsides are powerful enough to rival songs that made the cut for "scarlet's walk". They can stand on their own...I am always amazed at the quality of work that Tori puts out...I mean, it must be very hard for her during mastering...deciding which songs go on the albums and which get shelved for later release. Seaside is haunting...
Anyways, whether you are the long time fan, or a Tori virgin...I would and will tell you to buy this in a heartbeat.

This DVD seems to be representative of the "Tori Experience" these days, for better or worse.

(An aside to illustrate my perspective: I GREATLY admire Tori and her work, but have mostly felt vastly disappointed with her concerts and with her obnoxious fans. If I wanted to hear 10,000 teenagers and obsessives drown out some Tori songs with their screams of adulation, all trying to prove that they're the ones that love Tori the most... well, I don't want to, and that's the point. "Ears with feet"? Hmph. Should be "Mouths with feet".)

Anyway. It's not a bad DVD. Tori seems tired alot of the time, like she's just kind of getting through. On a few songs she seems to really come alive, and in those moments it's glorious -- she's Tori again, before the fans and obsessives sucked the life out of her. The ridiculous editing of "Professional Widow" offends me -- not only am I disappointed that they blurred out the words, but I'm very disappointed that she let them; from what I hear, she made that decision because so many of her fans are teenagers, and if they left the words in the DVD would get a Parental Warning sticker. I say, don't rape the song, let the sticker happen. Anyway.

It's great to get a DVD of Tori (they really should put her videos from the last 13 years onto DVD as well). It's good to see her perform, and interviews with her are always enjoyable. It's great to see her lovely daughter, and get some glimpses of her friends, family, co-workers, and life.

Overall, though, the DVD left me with the same feeling most of her live performances have (with the exception of a WONDERFUL show back in 1991 at a small bar in Denver) -- I feel sorry for her, lost in stadiums full of screaming mindless idiots, her music and art gradually influenced by them, wearily plugging away at the piano and trying desperately to be heard above the din. Though she says she has enjoyed the touring life (and I greatly hope she has), I for one am very glad -- for her sake, and for the sake of her music -- that she is, at least for now, done.