Tracks

1. Spark

2. Cruel

3. Black-Dove (January)

4. Raspberry Swirl

5. Jackie's Strength

6. I I E E E

7. Liquid Diamonds

8. She's Your Cocaine

9. Northern Lad

10. Hotel

11. Playboy Mommy

12. Pandora's Aquarium

Performer Notes

Personnel: Tori Amos (vocals, piano, Mellotron, synthesizer, sound effects); Steve Caton (acoustic & electric guitars, mandolin); Stewart Boyle, Willy Porter (guitar); Al Perkins (pedal steel guitar); The Sinfonia Of London (strings); Matt Chamberlain (marimba, drums, percussion); George Porter Jr., Justin Meldal-Johnsen (bass); Andy Gray (programming).
FROM THE CHOIRGIRL HOTEL was nominated for the 1999 Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Performance. "Raspberry Swirl" was nominated for the 1999 Grammy Award for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance.
Personnel: Tori Amos (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards, Kurzwell synthesizer); Steve Caton (guitar, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, mandolin); Stuart Boyle, Willy Porter (guitar); Matt Chamberlain (marimba, drums, percussion); Andy Gray (programming).
Audio Mixers: Mark Hawley; Marcel VanLimbeek.
Recording information: Martian Engineering Cornwall, England.
Photographers: Martina Hoogland; Katerina Jebb.
Unknown Contributor Roles: Mark Hawley; Sinfonia of London Orchestra.
With her abstract lyrics, idiosyncratic piano playing and quirky arrangements, Amos has rewritten a good deal of the post-Laura Nyro poet-gal-with-a-piano rule book since 1992's LITTLE EARTHQUAKES. As her legions of fans can attest, she's already made it plain that she can do the intellectual artiste thing with aplomb. What she proves on FROM THE CHOIRGIRL HOTEL is that she can also rock out with the best of them.
This recording finds her retreating a bit from the singer/songwriter-with-backing-band approach of her previous recordings in favor of a more band-oriented approach. Though the songcraft here is up to her usual standards, many of the tunes sound as if they were the product of Amos working closely with her musicians and feeding off their inspiration, rather than cloistering herself away with her diary and piano. It is this development that makes CHOIRGIRL HOTEL such a refreshing change of pace, and marks the next chapter in the continuing evolution of Tori Amos.

Professional Reviews

Rolling Stone (5/14/98, pp.55-56) - 4 Stars (out of 5) - "...Amos comes clean with the rock & roll that's always driven her....A woolly jam dynamic pervades HOTEL....Amos throws herself and her various keyboards into bass-drum-guitar ensembles augmented by percussion loops and string sections..."

Spin (1/99, p.91) - Ranked #13 on Spin's list of "Top 20 Albums of '98."

Spin (6/98, pp.127-128) - 8 (out of 10) - "...Even when she's not singing about religion--and on her new album...she barely does at all--Amos achieves a kind of ecstatic holiness in songs. She's that rare rocker who can build a racket not out of dissonance but through euphonic intensity..."

Entertainment Weekly (5/8/98, p.75) - "...For a good chunk of FROM THE CHOIRGIRL HOTEL, she nestles her piano and melodies in the sinewy thump, junkyard percussion, and guitar noir of trip-hop. And what an ideal match: Amos' vocal quirks, trills, and orgasmic-soprano moans add personality to what can often be dull music..." - Rating: B+