Tori Amos’ sophomore album, Under the Pink, released

Under the Pink Tori Amos

Released: January 31, 1994 Peak: 12 US, 11 UK, 5 CN, 17 AU Sales (in millions): 2.0 US, 0.3 UK, 2.3 world (includes US and UK) Genre: adult alternative singer/songwriter

Tracks: (Click for codes to singles charts.) Pretty Good Year (3/19/94, 7 UK) God (1/29/94, 72 US, 44 UK, 1 MR) Bells for Her Past the Mission (5/28/94, 31 UK) Baker Baker The Wrong Band The Waitress Cornflake Girl (1/22/94, 4 UK, 12 MR) Icicle Cloud on My Tongue Space Dog Yes, Anastasia

Rating: 4.100 out of 5.00 (average of 5 ratings) Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Album: “After sharing personal and emotional accounts on her stunning debut, Little Earthquakes, Tori Amos stirs those sensations up for an eclectic yet beautiful account of female security on Under the Pink.” AMG She “continued to offer piano-driven rock songs with religion, gender, and sexuality. However, the album is generally regarded as being more abstract and less directly confessional than its predecessor.” WK Being a woman, she’s always in question of her actions, calling out and interrogating the opposite sex for her own pleasure. But it’s not necessarily with a scolding tone. She’s playful with her signature piano accompaniment, but allows for a twisted mess of guitars, violins, and bass loops, which are quite enigmatic like Kate Bush as well.” AMG Cornflake Girl was released as the first single in Europe and the second single in North America. It was a #1 hit on Billboard’s alternative rock chart and “became a mainstay of Amos’s live performances early on.” WK The song features a “catchy piano solo” WK and “reggae-inspired guitar rhythms.” WK It was marketed with a “darkly humorous US video as well as a more abstract black and white UK one.” WK In North America, God was released as the first single and became her first chart entry on the Billboard Hot 100, although at a measly #72.. The song features “Steve Caton’s dissonant guitar work…paired with the frank lyrics ‘Do you need a woman to look after you?’” WK Both singles are “are sultry and provocative, depicting that she's everything but shy” AMG and “solified Amos’s place among the canon of 1990s alt rock musicians.” WK “Baker Baker and Bells for Her are aching with ballad-esque beauty, but the seething The Waitress sparks Amos’ inner devil. She’s quaint at first, but rages into a scalding vocal queen. It makes her even more a pioneer for female originality and independence.” AMG “Under the Pink is typically melodic, but it contains a heavy desire. Amos is still breaking into something more definitive as both a woman and a singer/ songwriter. The lyrical imagery is much more wide open, something that will become Amos’ ever-changing swan song.” AMG Notes: A double-disc version of the album was released at the end of 1994 with B-sides from singles from Under the Pink and Little Earthquakes. Tracks: 1) A Case of You 2) Honey 3) Daisy Dead Petals 4) Sister Janet 5) Sugar 6) Take to the Sky 7) Upside Down 8) Flying Dutchman 9) Here in My Head (live) 10) Black Swan 11) Little Drummer Boy (live)

Resources and Related Links: DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Tori Amos AMG All Music Guide review by MacKenzie Wilson AMG Wikipedia Other Related DMDB Pages: First posted 3/24/2008; last updated 6/3/2022.