Customer Reviews

Winter (+ 4 Non-Lp Songs)

5 star:		(42)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
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It's rare that you pay around $6 for a maxi CD single and get something more beautiful in image than a regular CD. Tori graces the "Winter" single cover in a shiny silver dress on top of a white horse. The digi-pack case also contains a lyric book in Tori's writing of the lyrics to each song. The songs are all gorgeous. "Winter", as known to any pre-listener, is beautiful and the same version as on "Little Earthquakes". The b-sides are so good that they should have been on a Tori release. The first b-side, "The Pool", is amazing. However, it's haunting hymns and melodic lyrics are quite spooky, and you may not want to listen to it alone. "Take To The Sky" is fantastic, and a b-side that's so good, it's the title of a Tori fanzine. "Sweet Dreams" is a peppy, quick song that is semi-cheery and intact with Tori's fun side. Then, the beautiful "Upside Down" closes the CD. This single is just as beautiful as any of Tori's releases. I recommend it highly.

Tori Amos is easily my favorite artist in the past decade. Her music takes me to another plane of reality. I found her music extremely comforting to listen to when I was in my darkest moods. "To Venus and Back" was my first Tori Amos album I bought. "Little Earthquakes" came second. One of my favorite songs on the album was the sparse ballad "Winter". It is amazing that "Winter" is ten years old yet it sounds amazingly fresh and holds up well against the trends in music. I bought the single "Winter" one day when I was on a Tori rampage and bought a slew of her singles. What I really appreciate about Tori Amos is that she includes b-sides tracks that you don't find on her albums. Now singles have gone the way of cassette tapes and eight-track tapes (can't say I miss them). On the single for "Winter", there are four b-side tracks. I have heard most of them live when I saw Tori come through Minneapolis in the past three years. The songs are absolutely amazing. "The Pool" is one of those songs that literally sends chills running down your spine. Very haunting and lovely to listen to. Very Delerium-esque almost. I would love to see Tori perform the song live. The production value is excellent with every song. "Take to the Sky" is excellent especially if you have seen Tori perform it live. Same with "Upside Down". "Sweet Dreams" is a quite good. I have yet to see Tori perform the song live. I hope I don't have to wait very long for Tori to hit the road again. She is an incredible performer.

Where to start? Tori has been my favorite artist for around 3 years now, and I'm just beginning to buy the singles. "Winter," the song which made me fall in love with Tori so, the single, is her best. I can't really express my thoughts on this too well without rambling, but all of the b-sides on this cd are incredible. Combining the haunting nature of "The Pool," the rhythmically driven "Take to the Sky," the upbeat pleading in "Sweet Dreams" and the classic "Little Earthquakes" feel of "Upside Down," this and "Hey Jupiter" are the must have singles for those of us who thrive off Tori Amos' music.

This CD single is truly incredible. Most artists would give their teeth to record five songs this good over their entire careers. Winter is one of Tori's earliest yet most beautiful songs, as any Tori fan surely knows. Each of the other four songs is worth the price of the CD in and of itself; getting all four together seems like stealing--that is how good they are. The Pool is rather weird, but in a totally good way. The few lyrics of the song are blended into an atmosphere of dark, haunted, shrouded passions; I consider The Pool to be more akin to a deep-felt emotion than a mere song. The remaining three songs are stellar, quintessential Tori. Coming on the heels of her first album, they capture her boundless spirit, energy, and genius, while also somehow managing to betray similarities to her later work on Boys For Pele. Take to the Sky sports some intense lyrics; its jaunting pace is forcibly seized and intensified by what sounds like Native American war drums as she approaches each chorus. Sweet Dreams has elements of darkness wrapped inside its seemingly happy title; Tori casts her blinding light of musical passion on the hypocrisy of her fellow man yet seems to admit that she herself is not immune to humanity's innate faults. Finally, Upside Down ensures that this CD is to forever be a masterpiece. Only Tori can write such poignant lyrics as these. The song seems to fit in nicely with the mood, message, and stylings of her Little Creatures album. All of these songs should be on an album, really, so that all of her fans can easily find and enjoy them. Tori fans simply must own this CD single; it represents Tori at her most musically pure and honest best.

I am an avid tori fan and have been since first listening to cornflake girl years ago... And as my cousin said you either love tori or you hate tori, there is not inbetween. i buy every tori album without even listening to it or reading a review. this single is by far the greatest single i've thus far bought. even though crucify is good as well. Take to the Sky is an empowering song, a fabulous song. upside down carries--argueably--myfavorite line in a tori song..."i say the world is sick, you say tell me what that makes us darling. you see you always find my faults, faster than you find your own. you say the world is getting rid of her demons i say baby what have you been smoking." excellent song. if you love tori you'll love this cd. hell, you'll love all tori's cds.

Although it boasts "limited edition" on the cover, I found Tori Amos's 'Winter' single very easily. And very happily! I can simply say it is my favorite of Tori's singles. "Winter", my favorite Tori Amos song, captures her beautiful caroling and heart-stopping piano. You can feel every note that the piano sings and every breath Tori takes. The b-sides are astounding. "Take To The Sky", a sure foot-tapper, combines simple piano with amazing vocals and great lyrics. "Sweet Dreams" is electrifying in every way, while the quiet "Upside Down" rings softly through our spirits. I give this single the top rating and my highest recommendations.

Breakdown:

1. WINTER - First off I must say that this is my all time favorite Tori Amos song. It's so heart breakingly beautiful. The lyrics to this song are extremely relative and heartfelt. I especially love the lyrics, "all the white horses". Their symbolism can mean what they mean to you personally. It's very open. The piano combined with the string sections is magical and Ms. Amos' voice really compliments the mood of this song. Pure genius. 5/5

2. THE POOL - This song is very ethereal, seems like it would have fit well on "To Venus And Back" with its vast musical landscape. It is definitely not a song to sing along to, but to admire the artistic value. 4/5

3. TAKE TO THE SKY - This song, left off of Ms. Amos' debut album, "Little Earthquakes", is an especially catchy tune, most notably the chorus. I love the line, "I dyed my hair red today". There is a very awkward bridge in this song, but overall a very good song. 4/5

4. SWEET DREAMS - Also left off of "Little Earthquakes", this is an awesome, politically driven song. The lyrics are very quick and feisty. I love it when Ms. Amos has something powerful and poignant to say. You can almost sense her excitment in the way she sings, as she does on this track. 5/5

5. UPSIDE DOWN - This is a definite classic Tori Amos b-side. This is as well one of my all time favorite Tori Amos songs. Everything about this song rocks, from the sweeping piano melody to the in your face lyrics. I cannot sing enough praises for this song. 5/5

Overall:

I actually rate this EP 4.5 out of 5 stars. Overall, this is a great EP offered to us by Tori Amos. It's not, however, something I would recommend to someone just getting into Tori Amos, but it is most definitely one of her better EP's. If you're a fan, this is a must buy!

This is one of my favroite Tori Amos singles. It has both beautiful and upbeat b sides and a title track that's astoundingly good. "Winter" is known to anyone who has heard it is a beautiful song with great strings and piano arrangment, plus Tori's beautiful vocals. "The Pool" is mostly instrumental and has a bit of a creepy feel to it, but is still a very enjoyable song."Take to the Sky" is an upbeat,quirky song that could have easily fit on the album. "Sweet Dream" with it's odd beat and strange lyrics is also an album worthy track. "Upside Down" is a beautiful song with a bit of a similar theme as "Silent All These Years". Overall a great single.

I cannot begin to tell you how much I love this maxi single. I buy the singles always for the songs that aren't on the CDs. I listened to "The Pool" and it was all right, but sort of spooky, like a bunch of banshees. When I heard the next song, "Take to the Sky", my mouth dropped open. I always try to expect wonder and excellence from Tori but she always ALWAYS exceeds my expectations. I fell in love with "Take to the Sky" and thought, well there can't be any songs better than that one on this CD. Boy, was I wrong. After I heard "Sweet Dreams", I thought I'd died and gone to heaven. But it was only after "Upside Down" that I was flat on my back, grinning, touched and moved to the soul by Tori's beautiful voice, beautiful lyrics, and just plain beauty. Tori never fails to astound me and this is the best single album she has made. I can't stop listening to the songs! If you are a Tori fan, this is a MUST HAVE! I always considered "Spark" to be my favorite Tori song, but now I don't know. "Take to the Sky", "Sweet Dreams", and "Upside Down" are big competition!

The beautiful title track is taken from her solo debut album, "Little Earthquakes." Although marked as a limited edition, this single is pretty much readily available. It includes a hand-written lyrics booklet by Amos and some of her best b-side work. Amos herself has said that one of her biggest regrets is not including "Upside Down" on "Earthquakes," and it is easy to see why. The song has become one of Amos's fans' favorite tracks, along with "Sweet Dreams" (recently re-recorded for her greatest hits collection "Tales of a Librarian") and a show standard on her 2003 concert tour, "Take to the Sky." "The Pool" is also quite interesting in its own right, but this single is a must-have for the aforementioned songs.