Tori Amos Boys for Pele released

Boys for Pele Tori Amos

Released: January 22, 1996 Peak: 2 US, 2 UK, 6 CN, 6 AU Sales (in millions): 1.0 US, 0.1 UK Genre: piano-based alternative rock

Tracks: Song Title [time] (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to singles charts. Beauty Queen/Horses [6:07] Blood Roses [3:56] Father Lucifer [3:43] Professional Widow [4:31] (7/2/96, 1 UK, 38 CN, 17 AU) Mr. Zebra [1:07] Marianne [4:07] Caught a Lite Sneeze [4:07] (1/1/96, 60 US, 3 AA, 13 MR, 20 UK, 20 CN, 51 AU) Muhammad My Friend [3:48] Hey Jupiter [5:07] (8/20/96, 20 UK, 17 AU) Way Down [1:13] Little Amsterdam [4:29] Talula [4:08] (3/11/96, 22 UK) Not the Red Baron [3:49] Agent Orange [1:26] Doughnut Song [4:19] In the Springtime of His Voodoo [5:32] (9/24/96, --) Putting the Damage On [5:06] Twinkle [3:12] All tracks written by Tori Amos. Total Running Time: 70:32 2016 Deluxe Edition Bonus Disc: Hey Jupiter (The Dakota Version) [6:05] HJ To the Fair Motormaids of Japan [4:18] That’s What I Like Mick (The Sandwich Song) [3:00] C2 The Fire-Eater’s Wife/Beauty Queen (demo version) [3:15] Professiona Widow (Amanda’s Star Trunk Funkin’ Mix – radio edit) [3:49] Sugar (live) [5:32] Alamo (alternate mix) [5:12] T2 Talula (M&M mix) [4:07] Professional Widow (Merry Widow version – live) [4:38] Frog on My Toe [3:45] T2 Hungarian Wedding Song [1:02] C1 Walk to Dublin (Sucker Reprise) [5:27] Toodles Mr. Jim [3:09] C1 Sister Named Desire [5:32] T2 Amazing Grace/Til the Chicken [6:49] T1 This Old Man [1:45] C1 Sucker [2:52] Honey (live) [3:46] Graveyard [0:54] London Girls [3:21] C2 In the Springtime of His Voodoo (Rookery Ending) [0:56] C1 Caught a Lite Sneeze EP1 C2 Caught a Lite Sneeze EP2 T1 Talula EP1 T2 Talula EP2 HJ Hey Jupiter EP

Rating: 3.655 out of 5.00 (average of 13 ratings) Quotable: “The harshest and most challenging work in Tori Amos’ catalog” – Neil Z. Yeung, All Music Guide Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Album: “Boys for Pele is the harshest and most challenging work in Tori Amos’ catalog. However, it also stands as the most cathartic, nourishing, and artistically thrilling of her career. Birthed in the wake of a devastating breakup, Pele is a sprawling ode to the feminine, conjured in a whirlwind of pain that forced Amos to embark on a quest into the dark unknown to find the fire within that had been snuffed out by the men in her life.” AMG “After her breakthrough confessional Little Earthquakes and the delicate impressions of Under the Pink, Amos struck out on her own for the first time, unfettered and uncompromised. Pele would be her debut at the helm as sole producer, a control she would maintain for the rest of her career. With that power, Amos was free to exorcize the demons as she saw fit.” AMG “She did so with new additions to her arsenal: a harpsichord, brass flourishes, a choir, labyrinthine lyrics, and a pantheon of spirits summoned in the Louisiana bayou and the Irish countryside. It was a jarring shift. While unflinching songs like ‘Me and a Gun,’ ‘God,’ ‘Icicle,’ and ‘The Waitress’ flirted with what was to come, Pele delved directly into the darkness, cleansing both her and the listener in ways that she hadn't before attempted. Like hitting an exposed nerve or an open wound, the rawness was striking.” AMG “Following the sparse opener Beauty Queen/Horses, the discord on Blood Roses shocks Pele to life with medieval harpsichord magic. That electricity surges throughout, most notably on Professional Widow, a powerful dose of industrial-piano ferocity that holds nothing back in its demands for peace, love, and a little something extra.” AMG “When her rage is restrained, the pain seeps through in quiet moments of devastation like Hey Jupiter, Putting the Damage On, Doughnut Song, and the utterly heartbreaking Marianne.” AMG “While the first half of Pele houses the more immediate numbers, the back end of the LP provides rewards for the patient listener. From the rousing In the Springtime of His Voodoo to the funky Little Amsterdam, Amos slowly crawls out from the underworld, nourishing her spirit with a Southern gospel choir on Way Down and finding bittersweet solace on Twinkle.” AMG “Although the album runs long – and is emotionally exhausting in scope – the shared journey is part of the experience, as listeners play the Dante to Amos’ Virgil. Boys for Pele remains one of her very best works, timeless in its examination of pain, self-discovery, and acceptance.” AMG Notes: In 2016, a deluxe edition was released which included a second disc comprised of B-sides, alternate mixes, and unreleased material.

Resources and Related Links: AMG All Music Guide review by Neil Z. Yeung WK Wikipedia Other Related DMDB Pages: First posted 6/3/2022.