Tori Amos | Night Of Hunters

by **Merci** » Wed Sep 07, 2011 4:02 pm

KevinScream wrote:LOL at "Hitler burns his Tori Amos fancard":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bW4cmSsEcU

too much!

Website · by **Cactuar** » Sat Sep 10, 2011 3:09 am

Album leaked!

Natashya's vocals are gorgeous, she sounds like Joanna Newsom and Sia! She just crops up here and there throughout the album.

by **Vindrag** » Sat Sep 10, 2011 5:41 am

That sounds great, I was hoping to hear more of Natashya vocals after Midwinter Graces. I will wait ansd purchase the album though when its released.

Do you like it?

by **angelausen** » Sat Sep 10, 2011 8:58 am

Cactuar wrote:Album leaked!

Natashya's vocals are gorgeous, she sounds like Joanna Newsom and Sia! She just crops up here and there throughout the album.

Are you sure??? I found only fake links and fake albums

Website · by **Cactuar** » Sat Sep 10, 2011 10:04 am

Yes I found a great HQ copy.

Personally I think the technical achievement on this record is stunning, she really has made a beautiful classical album. That said, it's still largely a classical album and the songs are sprawling in structure, they don't have as much emphasis on hooks as pop songs do. Battle of Trees sample something famous which I can't recall. Despite the genre, the arrangements aren't heavy, which I don't know is a plus or minus. I was expecting a big, very grand, layered sound but the record is a lot lighter than that. I've only listened to it once though, I shall return after 10-15 more spins and post a proper review if I like the record enough! My favourites at the moment are Shattering Sea and the title track.

by **borneoman** » Sat Sep 10, 2011 2:34 pm

worst thing for me is Tash... her voice is too childish... sounds like a kid (which of course, she is) and doesn't merge well with either Tori's voice or the music...

by **angelausen** » Sun Sep 11, 2011 7:00 pm

Finally I found it.
Haven't listened all but from the first 6-7 tracks I don't like it that much, It seems Tori singing random Disney's songs. Except for Shattering Sea that is a masterpiece.
Maybe i need to listen it few more times to give a final opinion, that i'm sure will be better because Tori is a grower

Website · by **Cactuar** » Tue Sep 13, 2011 11:16 am

I'm really starting to enjoy this album, the sound is so delicate and pretty.

I just read up and realized that each song is a variation of a theme from late great composers! So if things sound a bit "Disney" then it's because the song is based on perhaps too famous a composition.

by **mattsky** » Tue Sep 13, 2011 12:05 pm

I LOVE her daughter's voice

This is Tori's best album sice Scarlet's Walk!

by **angelausen** » Tue Sep 13, 2011 4:23 pm

Cactuar wrote:I'm really starting to enjoy this album, the sound is so delicate and pretty. I just read up and realized that each song is a variation of a theme from late great composers! So if things sound a bit "Disney" then it's because the song is based on perhaps too famous a composition.

Well i comparated this album to Disney because of the atmosphere created by the song that seems similar to me, and this is a good explanation of what i felt.

I'm happy that Tori did a classical album, I love artists that try new things, new experiences, but I think i won't enjoy this album that much, classical music is not my world and i don't like it that much even if I respect it as one of the greatest type of music.

I haven't had time to listen to the whole album maybe once I'll listen to it a few more times i will appreciate it, but i think I will never fall in love with this album.

by **Vindrag** » Fri Sep 16, 2011 3:39 pm

I cannot wait to get this album! I have heard the previews, and it does not sound like an easy album. I'm still playing Carry quite often, so excited!

by **Vindrag** » Tue Sep 20, 2011 8:33 am

I got Night Of Hunters this morning.. listening now.

:cry:

I have been waiting for this album from Tori as I'm a fan of classical music. The lyrics are very poignant!

by **Vindrag** » Tue Sep 20, 2011 12:55 pm

Here's a good review from All Music:

4/5

Tori Amos has attempted conceptual recordings as far back as Boys for Pele in 1996. It worked beautifully there, and on Scarlet's Walk, less so on The Beekeeper and American Doll Posse. Night of Hunters was created because of a commission by Deutsche Grammophon, to create a 21st century song cycle that took into account classical works from the last 400 years. She built it around 14 songs from variations on Bach, Debussy, Granados, Alkan, Satie, Schubert, Schumann, Mendelssohn, Mussorgsky, and Gregorian chant. Its themes reflect the journey of a woman who finds herself in distress as a relationship dies, and must find inner strength to transcend her circumstances. Amos joined her voice and Bosendorfer piano with reeds, winds, and strings, arranged by John Philip Shenale. While her narrative can be frustratingly complex and her lyrics obscure, the work ultimately succeeds because she restrains herself from all excesses and employs her finest vocal and playing skills; the latter are, at this juncture, formidable. Shenale's arrangements take Amos' rhythmic playing into account in his charts; he complements them and never over-orchestrates. On "The Shattering Sea," based on an Alkan's "Madwoman on the Sea-Shore," strings by the Apollon Musagete Quartet pulse just behind her piano, creating drama underscored by reeds and winds. When she pronounces emphatically, "That is not my blood on the on the bedroom floor," the tension becomes unbearable. In "Snowblind" (based on a song by Granados), her character refuses to accept blame for the end of the relationship. Amos creates a mythical guide/Muse as balance: the fine vocals of her 11-year-old daughter Natasha as Anabelle the Fox make their initial appearance. "Battle of Tree," based on Satie's "Gnossienne No. 1," will demand attention from the listener who will be seduced by the interplay between voice, strings, reeds, and winds. "Cactus Practice," despite its ridiculous title, is one of the more beautiful pieces here; it's another vocal duet with Natasha, based on a Chopin nocturne. Likewise, their duet in "Job's Coffin," inspired by Mendelssohn's "Nautical Twilight." "Seven Sisters," the instrumental pairing of her piano and Andreas Ottensamer's clarinet -- inspired by a Bach prelude -- precedes "Carry," the most powerful (and accessible) cut. It's also the closer and is based on a prelude by Debussy. Night of Hunters is not a pop record and therefore claims a different place in her oeuvre. It contains the power and dynamics and splendor of her very best material, but because it is a work of classical crossover, any expectation of pop hooks or singalong choruses will be met with disappointment; consequently, its sophistication, elegance, and poetry will reward anyone who takes the proper time to absorb it.

I'm happy to say, I had no expectations of such kind. I like every track on this record! Your Ghost is very retro-Tori.

Website · by **Cactuar** » Tue Sep 20, 2011 4:13 pm

That is exactly my thought about the album! Heck, I even said the same thing a few posts back. :lol:

Loving it now.

by **Vindrag** » Tue Sep 20, 2011 4:17 pm

I was expecting a full review from you to be honest, you write very well! Have anyone listened to the classical pieces for each track?

I love this one:

Charles-Valentin Alkan - Prelude Op. 31 No. 8 "The Song of the Mad Woman on the Sea Shore"

All the critics are praising Cactus Practice.

Website · by **Cactuar** » Tue Sep 20, 2011 4:20 pm

I have always loved Erik Satie's Gnosienne #1 and was shocked that I didn't recognize it at first on Battle of Trees! Thank you Vinnie, I'd write one but I'm just not in a very good place in my life to expand on my thoughts and ideas. :cry:

Hopefully Biophilia will change all that, I still listen to Virus alone more than this album combined. :lol:

by **Vindrag** » Tue Sep 20, 2011 4:24 pm

Cactuar wrote:That said, it's still largely a classical album and the songs are sprawling in structure, they don't have as much emphasis on hooks as pop songs do. Battle of Trees sample something famous which I can't recall.

You're right, you did say it! Have you figured out the sample on Battle Of Trees? Check this out:

Erik Satie - Gnossienne no.1

by **Vindrag** » Tue Sep 20, 2011 8:02 pm

My first Tori-tear from this album - Your Ghost.

"Please leave me your ghost
I will keep him from harm
Although I’ve learned that
you were wounded
My forest of glass
caused enough damage
as has your teal satin crashing

My ambers and my blues
could have another use
Your ghost has shown me
our primroses could survive the frost
if a gentle rivulet of flame
is sustained tenderly

He’ll play a Beatles tune
me more a Bach fugue
Is there such a great divide
between your world and mine?
They both can purify
and heal what was cut and bruised

Just leave me your ghost
I will keep him warm..
I will keep him warm.."

Star Whisperer, Battle Of Trees and Cactus Practice are the other early favourites! I'm in love with this album! As a whole, it's better than some of her recent records, she's such an "entreprenour". The lyrics to this album inspires me so much, impressive poetic skill! She must play Star Whisperer live for me in october.

by **Vindrag** » Wed Sep 21, 2011 7:39 am

It is a strange feeling to hear Your Ghost & Star Whisperer.. They sound as if they were taken from one of her first 3 discs, but now with a thoughtful and sympathetic understanding. I am reminded of those days when I discovered Tori's creations, and how deeply they affected me - finding, that I have not changed very much from then, as I would like to imagine. Stood right in the garden a minute ago with my throat full of tears and nicotine, with a terribly adaptable view, autumn rain, leaves falling from trees...

"Why have you locked up your sky, Night Sky whisper me back to life"

by **Vindrag** » Wed Sep 21, 2011 9:49 am

Listen to all the songs through the website NP3:

Link

Website · by **LonelyDreamer** » Thu Sep 22, 2011 1:53 pm

It's her best photoshoot in years!!

Natashya is very pretty too!

by **Benjamin** » Thu Sep 22, 2011 2:00 pm

Amazing pix!

by **Cmyk** » Thu Sep 22, 2011 2:06 pm

I prefer AATS photoshoot but new on is good as well. Maybe it's becouse I just love everything she does.

by **Vindrag** » Thu Sep 22, 2011 4:38 pm

That was the first thing I reacted to when looking through the booklet, how surprisingly beautiful the pictures were. Because, let's face it, most of the lyrics are pretty hard to relate to immediately.

Botox, Paraloxx or whatever some narrow-minded people decide to focus on - her eyes expresses alot of humanity. I feel inspired by only looking at ther.

by **Vindrag** » Thu Sep 22, 2011 5:40 pm

Kevin!! I thought you had heard the album!?

Those delivery schedules are stealing precious time from you!