Atlantic Records has announced the forthcoming release of the new studio album from Tori Amos. Entitled “STRANGE LITTLE GIRLS,” this assemblage of songs is due in stores on September 18th.
All the songs on the album were written by men, but are performed by Tori from the perspectives of a diverse cast of female characters. Songs composed by such artists as Neil Young, the Stranglers, Eminem, Depeche Mode, Slayer, Lou Reed, Lennon/McCartney, and others are taken apart and put back together darkly, gently, and in an uncompromising fashion.
In crafting the new album, Tori wanted to talk about men – how men see women, how men see themselves, and how the view changes depending on where you’re standing. She wanted to talk about violence and identity. So Tori, the songwriter, turned to the words of men themselves to do it. “I’ve always found it fascinating how men say things and women hear them,” she says.
“Words can wound and words can heal, and both are included on the album,” says Tori. “I’ve heard a lot of people say, ‘They’re only words; what is everybody going on about?’ But words are powerful; words are like guns. Your fingerprints cannot be erased from your words; you only leave the scene of the crime covered in ink. A person has to take responsibility for their words. We as writers cannot separate ourselves from what we create. All of these songs were created by powerful wordsmiths, whether you agree with them or not.”
The 12 songs are told through the eyes of 13 women (one song features twins), each of whom has her own story to tell. Explains Tori: “Each woman approached me and said, ‘I have a point of view on this song, that you may want to know, that may change how you hear its meaning.”‘ To reinforce the identity and reflect the essence of each woman, noted photographer Thomas Schenk has photographed Tori in the character of each of these strikingly different, equally captivating personalities.
The first single, “Strange Little Girl” – written by the Stranglers and originally released in 1982 – will be shipped to radio in mid-August.
Among the other songs on “STRANGE LITTLE GIRLS” is a chilling version of Eminem’s “97′ Bonnie & Clyde.” “When I first heard the song,” says Tori, “the scariest thing to me was the realization that people are getting into the music and grooving along to a song about a man who is butchering his wife. So half the world is dancing to this, oblivious, with blood on their sneakers. But when you kill your wife, you don’t get to control whom she becomes friends with when she’s dead. She had to have a voice.”
Immediately following the release of the album, Tori will embark on a major cross-country concert tour, slated to begin in Miami on September 28th and conclude in San Francisco on November 21st. The shows will feature Tori alone at her keyboards – marking her first completely unaccompanied performances since 1994.
Tori Amos’s “STRANGE LITTLE GIRLS” is the multi-Grammy nominated artist’s sixth solo album, following five consecutive RIAA platinum-plus releases: the double-platinum “LITTLE EARTHQUAKES” (1992) and “UNDER THE PINK” (1994), and the platinum “BOYS FOR PELE” (1996), “FROM THE CHOIRGIRL HOTEL” (1998), and “TO VENUS AND BACK” (1999).
TORI AMOS
“STRANGE LITTLE GIRLS”
TRACK LISTING WITH SONG SOURCES
New Age (Reed)
The Velvet Underground – from “Loaded” (1970)
97’ Bonnie & Clyde (Mathers/Bass/Bass)
Eminem – from “The Slim Shady LP” (1999)
Strange Little Girl (Black/Burnel/Cornwell/Greenfield/Warmling)
The Stranglers – single (1982) & on various compilations
Enjoy The Silence (Gore)
Depeche Mode – from “Violator” (1990)
Rattlesnakes (Clark/Cole)
Lloyd Cole & The Commotions – from “Rattlesnakes” (1984)
I’m Not In Love (Stewart/Gouldman)
10cc – from “The Original Soundtrack” (1975)
Time (Waits)
Tom Waits – from “Rain Dogs” (1985)
Heart Of Gold (Young)
Neil Young – from “Harvest” (1972)
I Don’t Like Mondays (Geldof)
The Boomtown Rats – from “The Fine Art Of Surfacing” (1979)
Happiness Is A Warm Gun (Lennon/McCartney)
The Beatles – from “The Beatles” (White Album, 1968)
Raining Blood (Hanneman/King)
Slayer – from “Reign In Blood” (1986)
Real Men (Jackson)
Joe Jackson – from “Night And Day” (1982)
Note: A Photo is available at URL:
http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/photo.cgi?pw.070301/bb5
Contact:
Atlantic Records, New York
Patti Conte, 212/707-2033
Track Listing For Strange Little Girls:
- “New Age” – Velvet Underground
- “’97 Bonnie & Clyde” – Eminem
- “Strange Little Girl” – Stranglers
- “Enjoy the Silence” – Depeche Mode – news – web sites
- “Rattlesnakes” – Lloyd Cole and the Commotions
- “I’m Not in Love” – 10CC
- “Time” – Tom Waits
- “Heart of Gold” – Neil Young
- “I Don’t Like Mondays” – Boomtown Rats
- “Raining Blood” – Slayer
- “Real Men” – Joe Jackson
- “Happiness Is a Warm Gun” – Beatles
