Published on Apr 1, 2003
After
Strange Little Girls, it seemed that Tori Amos had jumped
off the deep end and there was no way we were going to get her
back. She had been abstract before in
Boys For Pele and
To Venus and Back, and her lyrics have typically gotten more
abstract since
Little Earthquakes and
Under the Pink. But
Strange Little Girls was a career suicide album, worthy of
Lou Reed’s worst offerings.
And then 9/11 happened. Another artist makes a statement. But
Tori used 9/11 as a geographic barometer of what was going on in
America. The result was
Scarlet’s Walk, a return Tori’s earlier, more accessible
works. Many of her songs on
Scarlet’s Walk don’t require a master’s in English to figure
out: “Taxi Ride” touches on homophobia and the chilling “I Can’t
See New York” is one of the best songs yet dealing with the
terrorist attacks on New York.
It is hard to say that
Scarlet’s Walk is Tori Amos’ most assured album in years
because all of her albums seem assured. It is definitely an album
where Tori seems fully in control of her musical choices. That is
one of
Scarlet’s Walk‘s greatest strengths.
Unfortunately, that is also one of its greatest weaknesses.
As polarizing as
Boys For Pele was for die-hard fans of Tori’s earlier works
and as forgotten
From The Choirgirl Hotel is in her collection, both albums
had a sense of wonder and surprise to them. Tori could go back to
her hyper-intimate settings of just her, her piano and her piercing
lyrics, but then she could mix up the voodoo and let her freakish
side dominate in songs like “Professional Widow” and “She’s Your
Cocaine.”
On
Scarlet’s Walk, the mood is consistent. Almost too
consistent. I’ve listened to this album scores of times and have
actually had to replace it twice, but still, only about a third of
these songs qualify as standouts. The others seem to add a great
landscape, but no major sense of uniqueness to them. It’s almost
like
Scarlet’s Walk is far greater than the sum of its parts.
That all said,
Scarlet’s Walk is a short listen for an album that runs in
the 70 minute range. The flow is so smooth, you feel guilty for
skipping over some of the weaker tracks. And any artist that can
hold your attention for that length of time in the age of cable
modem access and hyper time-management is obviously doing something
right.
Scarlet’s Walk neatly fractures Tori Amos’ catalog into two
equal parts: the intimate, accessible Tori (
Little Earthquakes,
Under the Pink and
Scarlet’s Walk) and the experimental, otherworldly Tori (
Boys for Pele,
Choirgirl Hotel and
Strange Little Girls) with
To Venus and Back sitting comfortably in the middle.
After hearing
Scarlet’s Walk, it’s amazing to me that Atlantic Records
didn’t do more to keep Tori in their roster. She has a fan base
that will follow her through even her most experimental phases.
That is because most know that for every time she dives off the
deep end, she will come back, more rooted than ever and release an
album like
Scarlet’s Walk.
The album’s theme is enlightenment through motion. It’s a walk
worth exploring.