Abnormally Attracted to Sin [DELUXE EDITION]

Tori Amos

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 19, 2009)
• Original Release Date: May 19, 2009
• Number of Discs: 2
• Format: Deluxe Edition
• Label: Universal Republic
• ASIN: B001Y44EY4
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (77 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,347 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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  Music > Folk > Contemporary Folk > Singer-Songwriters

Track Listings

1. GIVE

2. WELCOME TO ENGLAND

3. STRONG BLACK VINE

4. FLAVOR

5. NOT DYING TODAY

6. MAYBE CALIFORNIA

7. CURTAIN CALL

8. FIRE TO YOUR PLAIN

9. POLICE ME

10. THAT GUY

11. ABNORMALLY ATTRACTED TO SIN

12. 500 MILES

13. MARY JANE

14. STARLING

15. FAST HORSE

16. OPHELIA

17. LADY IN BLUE

Editorial Reviews

About the Artist

ABNORMALLY ATTRACTED TO SIN, Tori's tenth studio album, is another innovative chapter in the artist's trailblazing story. Every track on the album will be accompanied by a corresponding `visualette,' featuring footage that has been captured over the past year. Shot in HD and Super 8, the visualettes will incorporate a documentary style. Tori's most recent album, AMERICAN DOLL POSSE, which has been hailed by Rolling Stone magazine as `her best album in years,' was released in 2007 to a chorus of rave reviews. The captivating album, like many of her previous efforts, adhered to a strong conceptual theme, with Tori inhabiting multiple archetypal female personae, a testament to her willingness to continue to push the boundaries of the female singer/songwriter. Regarded as one of the most emotionally fearless live artists in music today, her most recent world tour, launched in the summer of 2007, saw her soar with her first full-fledged rock band in nearly a decade. Media platforms such as the BBC lauded both her live show and album as `returning Tori Amos back to the forefront of a genre she defined...still pushing her own boundaries.' With more than 12 million albums sold, and commanding a significant and uniquely loyal audience from the rock, pop, alternative, and under-the-radar regions of the music world, Ms. Amos has influenced a new generation of artists in a myriad of platforms. Most recently, she was the catalyst for a one-of-a-kind anthology chronicling her career, the 500 page Graphic Novel, Comic Book Tattoo, featuring stunning visual interpretations of her songs by more than 80 artists, (including an introduction by friend and creative influence artist Neil Gaiman, creator of the Sandman series). Her genre-shattering breakthrough in the early 1990s, including 1991's `Me And A Gun' EP, and 1992's masterwork, Little Earthquakes, single-handedly revived the piano-andsinger motif in rock music. Little Earthquakes went on to sell more than 3 million albums worldwide, with subsequent Grammy® nominated albums such as Under The Pink (1994), 1996's Boys For Pele, 2001's Strange Little Girls and 2002's Scarlet's Walk continuing to explore broader themes. Nominated for multiple awards, including ten Grammys®, Ms. Amos has been working on a musical for London's British National Theatre called The Light Princess tentatively scheduled to debut in 2010.

Product Description

This Deluxe version of "Abnormally Attracted To Sin" will include a bonus fan DVD that include 17 visualettes (special music videos) for songs on the album.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

123 of 138 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The third time's not the charm here, May 24, 2009

By	Damien (Miami, FL USA) - See all my reviews

I personally have not been impressed with Tori's recorded output since Scarlet's Walk, which I felt was the last great album she released with beautiful songs and captivating lyrics. Since The Beekeeper, her last three albums have been filled with the same production problems, poor lyrics, or uninspired and generic music. The Beekeeper had some promising songs that were lost in over or bad production and dry vocals. American Doll Posse's production was no improvement with flat mixing and her husband's less than great electric guitar. With Abnormally Attracted to Sin we find an improvement in overall production but still nothing that sonically creative besides some tracks such as Starling, Lady in Blue, and Abnormally Attracted to Sin. The electric guitar is still there from American Doll Posse, and instead of adding ambiance, adding cheesy 80's riffs that drown everything else in the song. In addition, the length of the album is excessive and once again Tori is need of desperate editing. In terms of vocals, there are some good moments as in Give, but she has increasingly relied on this weird accent that no one can understand what she is saying, and it sounds childish and just bad. Another negative of the album is that the lyrics which are anything but great. I don't know what happened to the days when she would craft thought provoking and mysterious lyrics, but on this album we are faced with some of the most cringe worthy lines of Tori's career.

Tori Amos' increased vanity is really exposed all throughout this project whether it's the fake posing and air-brushed beyond belief glamour shots of the album artwork or of the embarrassing visualettes --embarrassing being the only word to describe the accompanying videos of the deluxe version. Instead of visually intriguing films, we are presented with Tori Amos playing more dress up in horrible thousand dollar designer outfits walking, driving around aimlessly.

I am a huge Tori Amos fan but these reoccurring bloated albums with unimpressive results have caused multiple disappointments. She desperately needs to hire a producer to help record an album that does not contain filler, but a cohesive collection of strong, unique, emotionally-captivating songs that show off her amazing abilities as a musician (that are still there evident from a lot of her live performances last tour) found in her other albums. She should stop letting her husband play electric guitar that does nothing but drown the rest of the music. She should take the time to write the amazing lyrics she was known for. And she should stop the increased phoniness in her image and reconnect with reality and her old artistic integrity.

When compared to all her other albums, it's about a 2.5/5 stars. In other words, if you were looking for the 'return to form' of Tori Amos you'll probably have to wait a little longer.

22 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars What!!!????, May 22, 2009

By	Kerri (Greenville, NC) - See all my reviews

Where's the piano, Tori? That's what keeps going through my mind as I listen to this. Some people criticized the electronic stuff in To Venus and Back... I liked it. Throughout that album, you still hear her signature piano style, which is what I fell in love when I first heard Boys for Pele. The past two albums have been dreadfully lacking in piano. I'm not saying it's not there, but it's become just another part of the background music. It almost seems I hear more guitar than piano! Now, in Doll Posse, there were some exceptions - Big Wheel and Almost Rosey come to mind. But overall I see this trend where she seems to be leaving that behind and focusing on other things such as concept.

I preordered this album. There are very few musicians whose albums I will buy before even hearing them, and Tori is at the top of the list. I also think that a musician's work SHOULD evolve and change through time. I'm not looking for an album that sounds like anything she did in the 90s. I AM looking for an album that speaks to me the way that Choirgirl and Scarlet's Walk did. Something I can relate to, like Little Earthquakes and Under the Pink. Piano music that blows me away like that in Boys for Pele. I don't get that in this album. It seems that her best work comes from her heart, often out of her own heartache. I by no means wish for her to suffer for her music, don't get me wrong. It seems she's gotten wrapped up in trying to get some deep message across to the point where it's becoming as cold, detached and pretentious as some of the photographs in this new album. (Is she supposed to have a 'come hither' look in the one where she's sitting on the bed all in black? Because it looks to me like she's bored.) She's starting to remind me of Madonna - trying too hard to say something profound and push boundaries and getting more and more eccentric with age. Alright, we KNOW sex isn't dirty. Move on.

And I have to say... What's with the way she's singing in the last few albums? What's with the squeaky voice? Some of it is starting to sound redundant. She's NOT a vocalist. Granted, she has a unique voice and she can carry a tune, but I always saw her as a pianist first, songwriter second, singer third. Is this supposed to be a new 'style'? I don't get it. It's starting to grate on my nerves. Her voice dominates the cd, again, more than the piano, when they used to go hand in hand as if the piano was an EXTENSION of her voice, not background noise. I don't buy Tori's cd's to listen to her voice and with this evolution in her singing voice, if I don't start hearing more piano, I'm going to stop buying them altogether.

The only reason I give this album 3 stars is that it's Tori, and I just can't bring myself to give her less. I'm also hoping that with a few more listens, I might grow fond of the music. But I'm finding myself skipping over quite a few tracks already. So many seem to have the same beat with very few that I can sing to. That being said, I still plan on seeing her in concert this summer because she puts on a great show and I'm sure that some of these songs will have more impact live than when listening to them in my car.

Anyway, I never thought I would write such a poor review of one of Tori's albums because she truly is my all time favorite. I think the negativity of this review has a LOT to do with the disappointment I have listening to an album I've been anticipating even since Doll Posse came out. If this were any other artist, I wouldn't have bought Abnormally Addicted after a listen. Am I looking forward to her next one? I don't know. Let's hope she starts stroking those keys and straddling that piano bench again. She doesn't have to make another Pele... but she does need to go back to writing music that sounds like it's coming from her heart.

19 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars In a class by herself..., May 19, 2009

By	B. Starbuck "AutumnWytch" (Denver, CO United States) - See all my reviews

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Well, I have loved Tori Amos for seventeen years, and with each album, I am amazed that she can still turn out this caliber of music. She is one of the very few, if not the only, female singer-songwriter that I follow faithfully (and will till the day I leave this world). She is not, and has never been, afraid to address ~ head on ~ the politics, the spirituality, the conflict, the heartache, the layers, and the beauty of being a woman. Her musical, lyrical genius cannot be matched by any other female artist out there, at least in my book.

This album is a break from her last three offerings. It has a darker, edgier sound than those albums, with almost every song set in a minor key. The opening track, "Give," made my jaw drop. She is pushing the envelope with her sound on this album with no apologies ~ and I love it! Early favorite tracks so far: All of them! There's not one song on this album that I dislike.

To me, this album is indicative of how Tori's music has matured, just as she has, over the years. If you're looking for "Little Earthquakes" or "Under the Pink", you're not going to find it, although there are brief shadows back to that time. Her musical vision seems much different, but it's brilliant! She experiments with different layers of sound and epic orchestrations and her voice has never sounded more beautiful. She has stayed true to her creative spirit, allowed it to evolve and grow, and given it a voice ~ even if that means branching out into unknown territory.

Now begins the month-long marathon of listening and committing every beautiful word, every beautiful chord to memory, and continuing my own journey with a woman I hold in exceptional regard.

Bravo, Tori!