Music 10K: 63. Scarlet's Walk

Scarlet's Walk by Tori Amos
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

One point to make about Tori Amos - she's never in short supply of songs on her albums. With a whopping 18 tracks on this one, you can't say she's stingy with music.

The piano laden album is greatly sensitive with tracks like "Amber" and "Carbon", which echo and expand hauntingly with decisive maturity and force.

"A Sorta Fairytale" is probably one of the more lyrically and melodically poignant tracks. There's a melancholy beauty, enchantment, but at the same time, resignation. It's a song that looks back, which is something we all do once in a while.

"Wednesday" is different with a quick tempo and the incorporation of other musical elements and effects. There's a dreaminess to many of Tori's melodies that is haunting and pensively contemplative as is demonstrated in "Strange." I do feel that there's a bit more symphonic effects than is necessary. A lone violin may have been more effective.

"Crazy" is a more traditional tune softened with Tori's signature tremulous vocals, while "Wampum Prayer" deviates from tradition with her simple voice and no instrumentation whatsoever. I would have liked to have heard more of these transitions between songs on the album. It may have pushed it into a new territory altogether.

"Don't Make Me Come to Vegas" has deep piano chords which makes it different from many of the other songs on the album. "Sweet Sangria" echoes this, but uses electric piano intermittently with the acoustic.

I find that there definitely is a common stylistic thread that runs throughout all of the tracks. The tunes on this album all fall within a framework that make them distinctly Tori Amos. I imagine it would be difficult to somehow break out of that. I think you'd have to be Björk, who manages to vary between songs in a way that is beyond incredible.

But Tori definitely has chops. "Pancake" has emotional and lyrical depth with many spiritual references. Her voice vibrates with rawness and passion. "I Can't See New York" exemplifies this by showcasing the purity of her voice. It almost has a sonically religious quality.

"Taxi Ride" and "Gold Dust" sound like typical adult contemporary songs. They both could have very easily been left off the album, and not necessarily because they're bad songs. I just think they don't challenge the listener as much as "Another Girl's Paradise", which resonates with a certain feminine determination.

"Scarlet's Walk" starts off strangely, which I like, and takes a melodic direction that is highly unusual. However, there are traditional elements and breaks in the song which make me wonder if it could have been shaped differently.

Tori is a seasoned pro and there's no doubt about it. I would like to hear more electronics or tweaks in her music though. Even just doing something retro or with less background choral echo effects and symphonic implementation could lead to a possibility that would make her music even more intriguing, captivating, less produced, and more aligned to the simplicity of her voice and piano playing.