Under the Pink | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | January 31, 1994 [1] [2] | |||
Recorded | February–October 1993 | |||
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Length | 56:50 | |||
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Producer |
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Tori Amos chronology | ||||
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Singles from Under the Pink | ||||
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Under the Pink is the second studio album by singer-songwriter Tori Amos. Upon its release in January 1994, the album debuted atop the UK Albums Chart [5] on the back of the hit single "Cornflake Girl", and peaked at number 12 in the US. [6]
The album was certified double Platinum in the US by the RIAA in October 1999, [7] for sales exceeding 2 million copies. It was the 61st highest-selling album of 1994 in the UK[ citation needed ] and was certified platinum by the BPI in February 2007, [8] for sales exceeding 300,000 copies.
Under the Pink was included in Blender magazine's list of 500 CDs You Must Own, [9] and was voted among the greatest albums of the 1990s by Rolling Stone magazine some years later. [10] A special double-disc tour edition was released exclusively in Australia and New Zealand in November 1994, titled More Pink: The B-Sides.
On Tori Amos' second solo album, the singer-songwriter continued to offer piano-driven rock songs dealing with religion, gender, and sexuality. In addition to featuring more cryptic lyrics and experimental song structures, Amos invited in reggae influences on the single "Cornflake Girl", prepared piano on "Bells for Her" by John Philip Shenale, [11] and Debussy-inspired piano lines on "Yes, Anastasia".
Amos performed the Under the Pink tour from February through November 1994, encompassing many of the same stops as on the previous world tour. A limited edition release of the album commemorating the Australian tour included a second disc entitled More Pink, a collection of rare B-sides like "Little Drummer Boy" and a cover version of Joni Mitchell's "A Case of You", was issued in November 1994. During this period, she also contributed the song "Butterfly" to the soundtrack for the 1994 movie Higher Learning , as well as a cover of the R.E.M. song "Losing My Religion".
The original track listing included the B-side "Honey", which was left off the album at the last minute. Amos has since voiced great regret for this:
"There were certain songs that were supposed to be on the record that got kicked off. 'Honey' was supposed to be on the record and, in retrospect, I wish it had been. I kicked it off for 'The Wrong Band'. Under the Pink wept when 'Honey' wasn't on, and she still is angry with me about it." [12]
Amos made a similar reference to the song "Here. In My Head" which was originally featured as a B-side to the UK single of "Crucify". [13]
The album was recorded in Taos, New Mexico in a hacienda. The album artwork features several Native American and New Mexican references in the photography. The album is also notable as the last Amos album to feature the production of Eric Rosse as they split that year.
Under the Pink produced four singles. "Cornflake Girl" was released as the first single from the album in Europe and Australia and as the second single in North America. It became Amos's biggest international hit at the time, peaking at number four in the UK. [14] "God" was released as the first single in the United States in February 1994, becoming her first Billboard Hot 100 chart entry, peaking at number 72. [15] "God" was released as the second single from the album in Australia and as the fourth single in Europe. "Pretty Good Year" was released as the second single in Europe and the fourth single in Australia but was not released as a single in the United States. "Past the Mission", featuring backing vocals from Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails, was the third single from the album in all territories.
European pressings of the "Cornflake Girl" CD single, and the US pressing of the "God" CD single, contained the B-sides "All the Girls Hate Her" and "Over It". "Sister Janet" appeared on both the European and US pressing of the "Cornflake Girl" single, and a B-side of the US cassette single for "God", while the US CD single of "God" also contained "Home on the Range – Cherokee Edition". The US "Cornflake Girl" CD single, which had different artwork to international pressings, contained a radio edit of the title track, plus the songs "Daisy Dead Petals" and "Honey". A limited edition second CD single for "Cornflake Girl" was issued in the UK, containing cover versions of Joni Mitchell's "A Case of You", Jimi Hendrix's "If 6 Was 9", and Billie Holiday's "Strange Fruit".
Part one of the UK CD single "Pretty Good Year" contained the B-sides "Home on the Range – Cherokee Edition" and "Daisy Dead Petals". The latter track was used as a B-side on the US pressing of "Cornflake Girl". "Honey" and "Black Swan" appeared as B-sides on part two of the UK "Pretty Good Year" CD single.
Seven live tracks were spread across a two-part CD single release for "Past the Mission" in the UK. Live versions of "Upside Down", "Past the Mission", "Icicle" and "Flying Dutchman" appeared on the limited edition part one disc, and live versions of "Winter", "The Waitress" and "Here. In My Head" appeared on part two.
The UK release of "God" contained several remixes of the title track.
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [16] |
Chicago Tribune | [17] |
Entertainment Weekly | B [18] |
Los Angeles Times | [19] |
NME | 6/10 [20] |
Pitchfork | 8.1/10 [21] |
Record Collector | [22] |
Rolling Stone | [23] |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [24] |
USA Today | [25] |
Reviewing Under the Pink for Rolling Stone , Marie Elsie St. Léger opined that the album "doesn't match Amos' riveting, piano-only live performances, but it sure comes close", calling it an "honest reporting of a life fraught with turmoil and disappointment." [23] Chicago Tribune critic Brad Webber noted "the latent feminism" throughout Under the Pink and highlighted Amos's "tough veneer" and "genuine" emotion, [17] while USA Today 's Edna Gundersen said that Amos had made "big strides" with an album that "finds her blasting patriarchy and breaking free of religious repression, victimhood and sexual guilt." [25] Jean Rosenbluth of the Los Angeles Times , however, found Amos's lyrics "so obtuse—in an overreaching stab at profundity—that they're almost meaningless", [19] a sentiment echoed by John Harris of NME , who likened listening to the album to being "locked in a semantic castle". [20]
Retrospectively, AllMusic's Ned Raggett stated that Under the Pink "has often been considered a transitional album" and thus tends to be "unfairly neglected when in fact it has as good a claim as any to be one of the strongest, and maybe even the strongest, record she has put out." [16] Writing for Record Collector , Nicola Rayner said that the album, like its 1992 predecessor Little Earthquakes , explored "weighty subjects in raw, confessional songs that reimagined the piano as a sensual and provocative instrument." [22] Barry Walters of Pitchfork observed that Amos, allowed more creative freedom by her label following the commercial success of Little Earthquakes, "accentuated the orchestral pomp on some tracks while shrewdly deviating from it on others", while also noting that "Pink's extroverted arrangements worked as hard as Earthquakes' lyrics and melodies." [21]
A double-disc version of Under the Pink was released on November 14, 1994 [26] by East West to coincide with Amos's tour of Australia and New Zealand. The second disc, titled More Pink: The B-Sides was never released separately, and is a rarity amongst Tori Amos collectibles. Amos would not release another collection of B-sides until 2006's A Piano: The Collection. The packaging simply inserted the normal Australian release of Under the Pink in a double jewel case, and altered the back insert artwork so that instead of being blank it featured the track listing of the second disc as well as production information for the songs. The title More Pink may be misleading, as many of the B-sides on the disc did not come from Under the Pink singles but in fact from Little Earthquakes, and in one case, from a Christmas compilation.
The double-disc set entered the Australian ARIA Charts Top 100 Albums chart on the week ending December 11, 1994, peaking at number 44 and spending 6 weeks on the chart. [27] However, it was listed on the chart as a re-entry of Under the Pink, with its weeks spent charting added to the 21-week tally achieved earlier by the album. [27]
A 2-disc deluxe edition of the album was released on April 14, 2015 by Rhino Records. [28] This bonus disc included seven b-sides, one remix and seven live performances from the various singles released from the album in 1994. Three b-sides were missing from this release; a cover of "A Case of You" by Joni Mitchell, a cover of "If 6 Was 9" by The Jimi Hendrix Experience and a cover of "Strange Fruit" by Billie Holiday, all of which were exclusively released in the United Kingdom on a limited edition CD single of "Cornflake Girl".
All songs written by Tori Amos. All songs produced by Eric Rosse and Tori Amos.
No. | Title | Length |
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1. | "Pretty Good Year" | 3:25 |
2. | "God" | 3:58 |
3. | "Bells for Her" | 5:20 |
4. | "Past the Mission" | 4:05 |
5. | "Baker Baker" | 3:20 |
6. | "The Wrong Band" | 3:03 |
7. | "The Waitress" | 3:09 |
8. | "Cornflake Girl" | 5:06 |
9. | "Icicle" | 5:47 |
10. | "Cloud on My Tongue" | 4:44 |
11. | "Space Dog" | 5:10 |
12. | "Yes, Anastasia" | 9:33 |
Total length: | 56:50 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "A Case of You"" (B-side to "Cornflake Girl") | 4:38 |
2. | "Honey" (B-side to "Pretty Good Year") | 3:47 |
3. | "Daisy Dead Petals" (B-side to "Pretty Good Year") | 3:02 |
4. | "Sister Janet" (B-side to "Cornflake Girl") | 4:02 |
5. | "Sugar" (B-side to "China") | 4:27 |
6. | "Take to the Sky" (B-side to "Winter") | 4:20 |
7. | "Upside Down" (B-side to "Silent All These Years") | 4:2 |
8. | "Flying Dutchman" (B-side to "China") | 6:31 |
9. | "Here In My Head" (Live version from "Past the Mission" single) | 6:05 |
10. | "Black Swan" (B-side to "Pretty Good Year") | 4:04 |
11. | "Little Drummer Boy" (From Kevin & Bean: We've Got Your Yule Logs Hangin' ) | 3:20 |
Total length: | 48:49 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Sister Janet" (B-side to "Cornflake Girl") | 4:00 |
2. | "Honey" (B-side to "Pretty Good Year") | 3:44 |
3. | "Daisy Dead Petals" (B-side to "Pretty Good Year") | 3:02 |
4. | "Over It" (B-side to "Cornflake Girl") | 2:09 |
5. | "Black Swan" (B-side to "Pretty Good Year") | 4:01 |
6. | "Home on the Range" (B-side to "Pretty Good Year") | 5:20 |
7. | "All the Girls Hate Her" (B-side to "Cornflake Girl") | 2:22 |
8. | "God" (CJ Bolland Remix) | 5:58 |
9. | "Here in My Head" (Live 1994) | 6:00 |
10. | "Upside Down" (Live 1994) | 4:57 |
11. | "Past the Mission" (Live 1994) | 4:14 |
12. | "Icicle" (Live 1994) | 4:47 |
13. | "Flying Dutchman" (Live 1994) | 6:15 |
14. | "Winter" (Live 1994) | 6:19 |
15. | "The Waitress" (Live 1994) | 3:23 |
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
|
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Canada (Music Canada) [54] | Gold | 50,000^ |
Germany | — | 120,000 [55] |
Netherlands (NVPI) [56] | Gold | 50,000^ |
United Kingdom (BPI) [8] | Platinum | 300,000^ |
United States (RIAA) [7] | 2× Platinum | 2,000,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
In 2015, "Pretty Good Year" was featured in television series Casual (Season 3, Episode 12). [57]
In 2022, "Cornflake Girl" featured in the Irish drama television series Conversations with Friends (Season 1, Episode 10). [57]
In 2023, "Cornflake Girl" was featured in the drama television series Yellowjackets (Season 2, Episode 1: Friends, Romans, Coyntrymen) [58] [59] and the Netflix dramedy Beef (Season 1, Episode 2: The Rapture of Being Alive). [60]
"Bells For her" was featured in Yellowjackets (Season 2, Episode 3: Digestif). [61] [62] [63]
Tori Amos is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. She is a classically trained musician with a mezzo-soprano vocal range. Having already begun composing instrumental pieces on piano, Amos won a full scholarship to the Peabody Institute at Johns Hopkins University at the age of five, the youngest person ever to have been admitted. She had to leave at the age of eleven when her scholarship was discontinued for what Rolling Stone described as "musical insubordination". Amos was the lead singer of the short-lived 1980s pop / rock group Y Kant Tori Read before achieving her breakthrough as a solo artist in the early 1990s. Her songs focus on a broad range of topics, including sexuality, feminism, politics, and religion.
Boys for Pele is the third studio album by American singer and songwriter Tori Amos. Preceded by the first single, "Caught a Lite Sneeze", by three weeks, the album was released on January 22, 1996, in the United Kingdom, on January 23 in the United States, and on January 29 in Australia. Despite the album being Amos's least radio friendly material to date, Boys for Pele debuted at number two on both the US Billboard 200 and the UK Albums Chart, making it her biggest simultaneous transatlantic debut, her first Billboard top 10 debut, and the highest-charting US debut of her career to date.
Scarlet's Walk is the seventh studio album by American singer-songwriter and pianist Tori Amos. It was released on October 28, 2002 in the UK and October 29 in the US on Epic Records, making it her first release on the label after her split with Atlantic Records. Her first studio album of original material since To Venus and Back in 1999, the 18-track concept album details the cross-country travels of Scarlet, a character loosely based on Amos, and was greatly inspired by the changes in American society and politics post-September 11, 2001. Topics explored on the album include nationalism, personal relationships, and the death of a close friend. Amos also took inspiration from the stories of her grandfather, who she claims was Cherokee and told her of the abuses against Native Americans throughout the United States' history.
"Crucify" is a song by American singer-songwriter and musician Tori Amos. It was released as the fifth single from her debut studio album Little Earthquakes, on May 12, 1992, by Atlantic Records in North America and on June 8 by EastWest Records in the UK. In Australia, it was released on July 20, 1992.
"Silent All These Years" is a song by American singer-songwriter and musician Tori Amos, released as the second single from her debut studio album, Little Earthquakes (1992). It was originally released in the United Kingdom in November 1991 via EastWest Records. It was released in North America in 1992 by Atlantic Records and was later used to promote awareness of the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN). In the UK, the single was re-released on August 10, 1992.
"A Sorta Fairytale" is a song written and performed by singer-songwriter Tori Amos. It was released as the first single from her 2002 album Scarlet's Walk. The song reached number 14 on the Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart, and number two on the Triple A chart. The song has since been featured in episodes of the television shows Nip/Tuck and The L Word. There are three commercially released versions of the song: the album version (5:30), the 101 Mix (4:00) and the original single version (4:01). It was released as a CD single (UK/Canada) with "Operation Peter Pan" as the B-side, and as a DVD single (US) with the music video, co-starring Adrien Brody.
"Cornflake Girl" is a song by American singer-songwriter Tori Amos. It was released on January 10, 1994, as the first single from her second studio album, Under the Pink (1994), by EastWest Records in the United Kingdom. In the United States, it served as the album's second single, after "God". Singer Merry Clayton provided backing vocals and sings the "man with the golden gun" bridge.
A Piano: The Collection is a five-disc box set spanning the first 15 years of the solo career of American singer and songwriter Tori Amos. Released on September 26, 2006, by Rhino Records as part of the contract Amos negotiated with Warner Music Group, the set includes singles, album tracks, B-sides, rarities, demos, and unreleased songs from album sessions.
"China" is a song by American singer-songwriter and musician Tori Amos, released as the third single from her debut studio album, Little Earthquakes. It was issued on January 20, 1992, by EastWest Records in the United Kingdom. It was the first song written for Little Earthquakes and was originally titled "Distance"; a recurring lyric and theme in the song. It was originally submitted to the Library of Congress in 1987.
"God" is a song by American singer-songwriter and musician Tori Amos, released as a single from her second studio album, Under the Pink (1994). It was issued as the album's lead single in the United States on February 3, 1994, as the second single in Australia on May 2, and as the fourth single in the United Kingdom on October 3. The song reached number 44 on the UK Singles Chart as well as number one on the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart. It became Amos's first single to chart on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 72.
"Winter" is a song by American singer-songwriter Tori Amos, released as a single in March 1992. "Winter" was Amos' first single to reach the top 40 in any country, peaking at number 25 in the United Kingdom two weeks after its release.
Tori Amos is an American pianist and singer-songwriter whose musical career began in 1980, at the age of seventeen, when she and her brother co-wrote the song "Baltimore". The song was selected as the winning song in a contest for the Baltimore Orioles and was recorded and pressed locally as a 7" single. From 1984 to 1989, Amos fronted the synth-pop band Y Kant Tori Read, which released one self-titled album with Atlantic Records in 1988 before breaking up. Shortly thereafter, Amos began writing and recording material that would serve as the debut of her solo career. Still signed with Atlantic, and its UK counterpart East West, Amos' initial solo material was rejected by the label in 1990. Under the guidance of co-producers Eric Rosse, Davitt Sigerson and Ian Stanley, a second version of the album was created and accepted by the label the following year.
American Doll Posse is the ninth studio album by American singer-songwriter Tori Amos, released in 2007 by Epic Records. A concept album, American Doll Posse sees Amos assuming the identity of five different female personalities inspired by Greek mythology in order to narrate stories of life in modern America. Themes include opposition to the Iraq War, recording industry misogyny, disillusionment, sexuality, personal loss, and female empowerment in general. Musically, the record is more rock-oriented than other studio works by Amos, notably featuring more guitar and drums than previous albums The Beekeeper (2005) and Scarlet's Walk (2002).
"Hey Jupiter" is a song written and performed by American singer-songwriter Tori Amos. It was released as the fourth single from her third studio album, Boys for Pele (1996), and was her first extended play (EP) since Crucify in 1992. The US EP Hey Jupiter features a re-recorded version of "Hey Jupiter" followed by four live tracks recorded during her Dew Drop Inn Tour of 1996. The song is also featured on the double A-side CD singles released in the UK and Australia.
Little Earthquakes is the debut solo album by the American singer-songwriter Tori Amos, featuring the singles "Silent All These Years", "China", "Winter" and "Crucify". After Atlantic Records rejected the first version of the album, Amos began working on a second version with her then-boyfriend Eric Rosse. The album was first released in the UK on January 6, 1992, where it peaked at number 14 in the charts.
"Past the Mission" is a song by American singer-songwriter and musician Tori Amos. It was released as the third single from her second studio album, Under the Pink, in Europe, Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. "Past the Mission" was issued in May 1994 by EastWest Records in the UK, in July 1994 in Australia, and in September 1994 by Atlantic Records in the US. Two different CD singles containing live B-sides were released in the UK, and the second of these was released in continental Europe and Australia. In the US, the single was only released commercially on cassette, although a promotional CD single was produced.
To Venus and Back is a double album by American singer, songwriter and pianist Tori Amos. Released on September 21, 1999, it comprises her fifth studio album and first live album. The first disc, entitled Venus: Orbiting, shows Amos increasingly experimenting with elements of electronica and trip hop, and spawned the singles "Bliss", "1000 Oceans", "Glory of the 80's", and "Concertina". The second disc, Venus Live, Still Orbiting, was recorded mostly during her Plugged '98 tour in support of her previous album, From the Choirgirl Hotel.
John Philip Shenale is a Canadian composer, arranger, musician and producer based in Los Angeles.
"Pretty Good Year" is a song by American singer-songwriter Tori Amos, taken from her second album, Under the Pink (1994). It was released as the second single from the album in the United Kingdom on March 7, 1994, and as the fourth single in Australia on November 7, 1994. It was not released in the United States. "Pretty Good Year" became Amos's second single to reach the top 10 on the UK Singles Chart, where it peaked at number seven.
"Mary" is a song by singer, songwriter, and pianist Tori Amos. First released as a B-side to UK pressings of her 1992 single "Crucify", it was later re-recorded for the compilation Tales of a Librarian and released as a digital single. Like many of Amos' singles, it was released digitally only but a promotional CD release was made for radio stations.
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