Customer Reviews

A Tribute To Tori Amos - Songs Of A Goddess

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I, of course, have no place to say, because I am indeed a hardcore Toriphile. The difference is, however, that I kept an open mind listening to the CD. Unlike most fanatic fans, I belive a good cover is a great complement, whereas others would take the artistic license in offense. Here's a rundown.

1)Beauty Queen: Unto Ashes- Good cover. The latin translation and polyphonic chords gave a good intro. My hopes began high

2)Leather: Amber Asylum- My dreams waned a bit after this cover. Amber Asylum's girlish vocals made me feel like a pedephile, and the instrumental had no real outstanding punch.

3)Bliss: Glampire- Very well done. Glampire takes "Bliss", throws in some well orchestrated guitar and bass and makes it his own. Although you might wonder at times wether he is truly a man or not as he sings it in it's original alto octave.

4)Sugar: Rei Toei- Easily competes for my favorite cover. The russian band starts the song in it's native piano then adds some techno tronics and a sweet guitar. Thier lead lady, Irene, has a bit of an accent which adds flavor to the piece.

5)Cornflake girl: Tapping the Vein- My other favorite cover. If you buy this CD for nothing else, get it for this. The translation of "Cornflake Girl" from piano to guitar is seamless. Tres Bien!

6)Winter: October Hill- The backround is very nice, the girl singing, however, is not. She dosen't seem to want to stick to the music at all, and it was butcherd tword the end. Not pleasing.

7)Caught a Light Sneeze: Vltaire- A+. Voltaire uses violin and techno beats to give "Caught a Light Sneeze" first rate treatment. The violin even follows what should be Tori's harmony in the backround.

8)Crucify: The Ascension- a great song followed by another. The Ascension made "Crucify" sound dichotomatic. It's dark, and bright at the same time. Very etherial

9)Iieee: Meegs and Jessicka- Somone call an excorsist. This is by far the worst cover on theis compilation. The "music" is nothing but T.V. fuzz and microphone feedback, while the girls sing to no particular set rythem. Skip it.

10)God: Temple of Rain- So-So cover. Nothing big here.

11)She's Your Cocane: St. Eve- Why anyone would wan't to cover this song is beyond me. St. Eve really dosen't do much to it, she gives it no different feel.

12)Rasberry Swirl: Simple- More techno-fied and docile. It's not as frenetic, but a good cover non the less.

13)Space Dog: Dragon Style- They ended on a good cover just as they had begun. Like Glampire, Dragon Style makes this song thier own. The feel of it is nice.

Naturally on a CD thare will be songs you like and songs you don't, this is better than average if you ask me. Just put Tori out of your mind and listen, you'll like what you here.

I'm a longtime Tori Amos listener, as well as an enthusiast of gothic music, so that pretty much puts me in a strange position here in a set of reviewers who seem to either be big fans of Cleopatra comps or big fans of Tori.

Cleopatra seems to pump out such compilations and tributes at such a blinding rate that it might well benefit by some method of musical birth control. This is not to say that I am against darkwave bands receiving the exposure Cleopatra affords them -- it's just that some of said exposure can be likened to that of those gothic women one often encounters at clubs whose mass pops out of the lacings of their not-quite-binding-enough corsets in unspeakably hideous ways.

Um.

" 'If you're going to do a cover, it has to be a complete challenge' " Cleopatra quotes Tori. This is a fine statement, and one by which, I think, other bands should test their tribute decisions.

The trouble with such an ambitious epigram is that one has to live up to it. Here's where the iffy-ness of this album takes root.

Since this is Cleopatra, who seemingly spins a board game spinner to see which artists participate in their comps, some of the covers are really innovative and interesting (Voltaire's adorable "Caught a Lite Sneeze", Unto Ashes' "Beauty Queen"), some simply pretty (This Ascension's "Crucify"), some a lot of fun (Glampire's "Bliss", St. Eve's "She's Your Cocaine"), and some miserably awful (a real shame for Amber Asylum, who is capable of so much more), with the usual amount of filler.

This could have been *such* a better album, but it comes off as hastily put-together, nominally researched and only adequately staffed, with the really interesting tracks leaving one hungry for more.

So, buy this album if you're really a Tori (or Voltaire!) fan... there are some real gems on this disc. But beware the quirks of Cleopatra, and do yourself a favor and burn the tracks you like onto a mix or something to save yourself the trouble of skipping past the equal amount of un-inspiration to which you will be subjected.

I have to say up front that i'm a rabid tori fan. she's my favorite musician bar none. that said with one or two exceptions i LOVED this compilation. I felt that it covered a nice range of tori's work and that the tracks (with the exception of the cover of iieee)were great. I especially enjoyed Temple of Rain's version of God and Amber Asylum's version of Leather. I enjoyed how each group/artist gave the songs their own feel without losing the essential elements that contribute to my love of them (much as tori herself does in her covers).
I was only familiar with one of the artists (Voltaire) before purchasing this album but i will definately be looking in to finding work by some of the artists represented here.

I must admit I love this mix! I think all of the versions of the songs stay very true to the originals with the exeption of Cornflake Girl and Iieee. I am not a Meegs fan at all and this song is of no exeption. Tapping the Vein also tries too hard to be dancable in my opinion while sacraficing thier sound in other areas. October Hill,Glampire & Voltaire is WONDERFUL additions that make this tribute worth owning. This Ascension is one of the best Gothic/darkwave bands out there and that was what really caught my attention. I must admit I dont think that the die hard Tori Amos fans will get the full effect of this tribute. I noticed that in many of the reviews people seem to expect it to be exactly like Tori and it isnt,It is a tribute,how other bands interpret the songs. There is a few bands that i wish would have been involved but werent,Namely Diva Destruction or Edge of Dawn also would have nice. I think that a great representation of the bands can be found on the unquiet grave:Unearthing the underground cd by Cleopatra records. I hope the Tori Amos fans will keep an open mind when listening to the cd.Dont expect Tori here but expect a great cd with bands doing thier own styles of wonderful songs. Listen to it with an open mind!

Beauty Queen is sung in another language with beautiful harmonies. It is dark, yet sophisticated. Then Leather comes out so choppy that I skip to the next track after the first verse. (Upon revisting it, a cracking voice causes me to congratulate myself on being a good sport by making it to the end.) Bliss is done by an impressive one-man band, with a driving electric guitar. I begin to notice the mysterious absense of our friend the piano. Sugar to the rescue! Piano and a groovy bass line! The vocals carry a distorted effect most of the time, but it works for her. Cornflake Girl is such a good song that it's hard to screw up. The guitars are well done, especially for the solos. The vocalist often sounds like a child, but fails to make me cringe. Winter is a little muddled in parts, and sometimes becomes reminicent of The Cranberries. The strange percussion throughout makes my head bob uncontrollably. Caught A Lite Sneeze would be an incredible instrumental! The male singer sounds as if he thinks he's covering a No Doubt song. Crucify graces us with a sweet vocalist who makes the vocal line her own. She's the first to convince me that she sincerely feels and believes what she is singing. In the liner notes, it is said that there were problems getting the artists together to record iieee. Perhaps the Universe was trying to tell us something... It's an insane, screetching-techno, off-key inferno of what should not have been. God rocks out, and reminds me of the single remixes, only better. A random "the goddess has returned" is thrown in for us to ponder. I wish they would have kept the vocal distortion on throughout She's Your Cocaine. Alas, my favorite part of this song was butchered by her natural voice. Raspberry Swirl isn't bad. It's just that Tori has done so many awesome versions of it already. However, the vocals are surprisingly pleasant to the ear. Space Dog is actually quite catchy, with the best leading male voice on the album. It is very well done, aptly ending with the line "so sure we were on something."

Whatever these artists were on certainly was something- each, in their own way, paying homage to our beloved Tori. With only two unbearable tracks, this album was worth getting to satisfy my curiousity. I doubt it will gather a disproportionate amount of dust compared to my other CDs.

Cleopatra put together a fairly good tribute to Tori. Cleopatra's tribute albums are specifically geared to highlighting artists in their stable who would otherwise not get much media attention. This has resulted in an uneven album with some shining moments, and yet others which if not for Tori's talented writing skills, would be completely useless. Highlights for me included Beauty Queen (in Latin) by Unto Ashes and Caught a Lite Sneeze by Voltair (electronic, male). I particularly did not care for Dragon Style's cover of SpaceDog, or Amber Asylum's mimicking of Leather. Take a try if you are a consummate Tori fan with an open mind, but don't expect an album you will love 100%.

I think Cleopatra Records has put out some of the best tribute albums in this modern day and age. Their 2 volume compilations of Madonna covers is perhaps my very favorite. They have succeeded in putting together a group of artists and bands to do their own interpretations of various classics. "Songs of a Goddess" is no exception to that rule. I thoroughly enjoyed Cleopatra's tribute to Tori Amos. So what if the artists they chose to be on this cd are mostly goth artists? To be brutally honest, I think goth artists and Tori Amos do have a lot in common musically. The lyrics are introspective and often tortured. It was strange hearing one of my favorite goth artists Voltaire do his own rendition of "Caught A Lite Sneeze". October Hill did an impressive cover of "Winter". St.Eve's cover of "She's Your Cocaine" is probably my favorite cover on this entire cd. The rawness of the lyrics and the harshness of St.Eve's music impressed me greatly. But this cd is not without faults, the last two tracks were disappointments. I think Cleopatra could have chosen better artists or bands to cover "Space Dog" and "Rasberry Swirl". Simple and Dragon Style are two of the worst bands I have ever laid ears on. Asides from them, I like this cd....

If you are a Toriphile, this is definitely a safe bet for you. All tracks are pretty good, but Rei Toei, Tapping The Vein, and October Hill stand out in my mind. The only exeption is track seven. Voltaire's version of "Caught A Lite Sneeze" almost made my ears bleed. It was terrible and cheesy! Imagine a drunk-sounding guy stumbling through lyrics like "I need a big loan from the girl zone." Uggh! :-) Well, hope you guys enjoy the rest of this cd.

i agree with someone who said that this is better than Tori's cover album, LOL. it IS. to me, "Strange Little Girls" is a throwaway for Tori (good, but not essential). this album, however, is one of those rare Cleopatra tributes that is NOT a throwaway for them. most of Tori's songs stand on their own, and most of these performers are very talented, hence... success! if you like The Ginger Faerie Queene or The Subgenre Formerly Known as Goth, you'll probably like this a lot.

"Sugar" is brilliant - haunting triphop fusion ecstasy. possibly my favourite song on this album. i started listening to Unto Ashes after hearing their creepy Latin cover of "Beauty Queen." and now they're on my list. also Voltaire. his "Caught a Lite Sneeze" is hilarious, and i love hearing a man sing, "i need a big loan from the girl zone." "Leather" may seem boring at first, but it really grew on me. i dig the deadpan vocals, and the way her voice cracks near the end. "Bliss" rocks pretty crazy. so does "She's Your Cocaine." you can dance to those, for sure. "Iieee" is bizarre and beautiful. same goes for "God." those two are probably an acquired taste for most.

"Cornflake Girl" sounds really good, but i listened to some other Tapping the Vein material, and it didn't thrill me so much. "Winter" is pretty but kind of dull. the one song i was looking forward to the most was something of a disappointment: This Ascension's "Crucify." they sound positively bored with the project. it's still good, though - i mean, it IS This Ascension.

for me, the weakest bits are "Raspberry Swirl" and "Space Dog." "Raspberry Swirl," i think, is just not one of Tori's strongest songs. and, although i love Tori's "Space Dog," i think i just don't like jungle or drum-and-bass or whatever genre it is that Dragon Style works in.

all in all, recommended for the aforementioned audiences. :-)

Darling Toriphiles, you really must keep an open mind(ear?) here. No, most of the songs I don't like as well as the originals, but that's not really the point of a tribute album. No, the point is to see how the SONGS measure up on their own, seperated from their creator, and happily, those artists who understand this, let the songs themselves create the magick, by being open to different interpretations. Voltaire's take on "Caught a Lite Sneeze"(and yes dears, if you haven't had the pleasure to hear anything else from Voltaire, he is delightfully tognue-in-cheek...), Glampire's "Bliss", Dragon Styles' "Space Dog". Rei Toei's "Sugar", Temple of Rain's "God", and even the discordant "iieee" by Meegs & Jessicka all demonstrate wonderful music, goth or not(why is that relevant to some people? "I don't like Goth music", like it's not one of the most diverse and creative musical genres, snobby critics be damned!), the SONGS remain a treat to the ear. The songs that fail here, are the ones too timid to stray from their source(the way Tori would perform the song), and thus simply become inferior versions of the originals, namely Tapping the Veins' "Cornflake Girl", This Ascension's "Crucify", and October Hill's "Winter". Listen, if you like Voltaire, buy this. If you like Glampire, buy this. And if you agree with my thoughts on the raison d'etre for tribute albums, AND you enjoy the music of Tori Amos, buy this. Or buy something else. LIke I care what you spend your money on!