[GeraldCortis]

TORI AMOS
UNDER THE PINK
(ATLANTIC)
Released: January/February 1994
Chart: UK No.1 / US No.12

• Pretty Good Year
• God
• Bells for Her
• Past the Mission
• Baker Baker
• The Wrong Band
• The Waitress
• Cornflake Girl
• Icicle
• Cloud On My Tongue
• Space Dog
• Yes, Anastasia

Non-album tracks:

• A Case of You
• Black Swan
• Daisy Dead Petals
• Home on the Range: Cherokee Edition
• Honey
• If 6 Was 9
• Peeping Tommi (released 2006)
• Piano Suite - All the Girls Hate Her / Over It
• Sister Janet
• Strange Fruit

I was gonna take a year off, but the songs just demanded that I tell their story, and their story was about life under the pink. That's why the album is called Under the Pink. These are just some of the different lives that happen in that world. If you ripped everybody's skin off, we're all pink, the way I see it. And this is about what's going on inside of that. That's what I'm really interested in, not the outer world but the inner world. There are many other songs that live under the pink. These are just a few of them, these are just the girls who decided to come to the party. If there's a theme on Under the Pink, it's one of self-empowerment - whether it's women acknowledging the violence in themselves or people coming to terms with the loss of hope. It's about the refusal to see yourself as a victim, and how to have passion in your life without equating it with violence. It's just as personal and just as involved as before. There might be other characters in these songs that we haven't met before, but it's still me.

____

[Wymdqcvb]

Probably my favourite Tori although this is subject to change with my mood.

When reaching the end of the album I tend to skip back to Cloud On My Tongue and let the last three tracks play again, and again. Yes,Anastasia is one of my all time favourite pieces of music.

I have so much love for this album.

[DesautocaD]

I love love loved LE so freaking much. When my UTP cassette (lol) came, I was ... not enthused. I instantly fell in love with PGY and couldn't stand the rest of it. Baker Baker grew on me not too long after. But my lack of love for it did not stop me from getting excited for the upcoming Pele release. (I got UTP about 6 months before Pele came out). With Pele, I was hooked on Tori for life. When TVAB came out, those live versions of the UTP songs really kicked ass and I listened to them and the rest of the album with fresh ears, so to speak, and it grew on me a lot.

Even after all this time, some of the songs are just now clicking with me. The Waitress went from "Always skip and don't bother to put it on my playlists," to "REPEAT REPEAT REPEAT. HANG 10, BITCHES!" just within the last year or two. It's my third least favorite (above TBK and ADP)_album, but my opinion now as opposed to 1994 is way different. It's 3rd from the bottom because something has to be, not because it's bad.

[Unamannuato]

This really takes me back to my formative years and boy was I one sad lad back then living on melancholy Space Dog didn't hit me until years later and I really didn't like Bell For Her until I heard the Venus version of it. Pretty Good Year, Past The Mission, Cloud... perfection.

[DuePew]

I loved this album upon first listen. Everything about it. It's fun in places, devastatingly sad in other places; just an amazing mash-up. The piano is amazing, and the lyrics are some of the most cryptic she had ever written. The production may be sub-par by today's standards, but I think it still holds well.

[KRbGA0Bg]

First Tori album I bought!!! Therefore always special.

[desmond001]

First Tori album I bought!!! Therefore always special.

Ditto!

[socialkiiii]

Probably still my favourite in many ways because it was the joint first album of hers that I got, along with LE. But I played this one to death. The piano in it is some of the best piano lines she's ever recorded.

The one song that took ages for me to like was "God" actually.

[anfuckinggs]

Ya know, UTP used to be tied with Choirgirl as my favorite Tori album back in 1999. Times have changed though. I still love Under the Pink though. I really love Past the Mission, Space Dog, Pretty Good Year, Icicle (2001 & 2009 versions were stunning)Cornflake Girl, God, Baker Baker, Bells for Her (Live from 98-99), etc. The album is a brilliant sophomore effort from Tori. I think it really put her out there as someone with staying power in the music world.

[glasscollector]

This album is very special to me, but it has its specific time and place.

I didnt really connect with it until my first breakup, and I remember sitting in my room and automatically putting on "Pretty Good Year". I don't know why, but something about that song and this album called me at that point in time, and it was one of the biggest comforts ever.

That's what UTP is, for me. It's comfort. It's somewhat of a sister album to BFP... I use the term "breakup album" loosely, because I dont want to limit them, but I've found they're the albums I turn to the most when I'm in emotional termoil. BFP sort of feeds into the fire, it's good for screaming along to, crying to... getting the anger and the hurt out. Whereas UTP is more like... a safety blanket. If that makes sense, lol. It's delicate, and sometimes preciously vulnerable. Which fits perfectly in times where I'm feeling particularly vulnerable.

I love the concept, as well. It's one of the most well-crafted concepts ever, IMO... the exploration of relationships. Relationship with self, friends, lovers, and between women.

The Cornflake Girl video is wonderful. So many classic moments... the women pulling out lipsicks, dancing around the cowboy cooking in the pot, Tori using herself as a piano. God is thought-provoking. And Pretty Good Year is just beautiful.

While I don't think Honey should have been on the album, it is still one of my favorite songs. There's something really sinister about it that I love. The instrumentation is deep and dark, and the lyrics go from playful to heartbreaking and back. It also holds one of my favorite Tori lyrics ever:

Cowboys know Cowgirls ride
On the Indian side

I'm not sure why I love it so much, but I think it sums up the lack of understanding between sexes... all the reasons why there are so many books written about "Understanding Men" and "Decoding Women". And the need for there to be a mutual respect, regardless of whatever is lost in translation.

Some of her best lyrics are in UTP. Other favorites:

They say you were something in those formative years -- Well, Still. Pretty Good Year -- Tell Me You're Crazy, Maybe Then I'll Understand -- Now I Speak to You, Are You in There? You have Her Face and Her Eyes, but You Are Not Her -- This is Not Really Happening (You Bet Your Life it Is) -- I Could Have. I Should Have. I Could Have Flown, You Know, Well... I Could Have. I Should Have. I Didn't, So... -- If You Know Me So Well Then Tell Me Which Hand I Use -- We'll See How Brave You Are

I think Yes, Anastasia is one of her best album closers and one of her most epic songs. It's interesting, too, because it's almost like she's daring the listener/character that she's speaking to. Whether it's herself, or someone else. The way she says "We'll see..." Like it's only just beginning. Which fascinates me, considering the following album was BFP, which is an album full of conflict. The first song BeautyQueen/Horses is so much so a call to battle. So she goes from one album, hinting that there will be some sort of conflict... into the next, declaring war.

Just a whole bunch o' interesting. Any who, at the heart of this whole thing, basically UTP is just a stunning album, that has served as a great comfort to me many times.

[kristloken]

Listened to this album yesterday while driving with my friend. She was quite impressed with it, and listening to it with someone who's listening for the first time made it feel fresher to me as well. The beautiful arrangements on this album also helped made me even more excited for the Amsterdam orchestra concert.

This is absolutely one of Tori's best, one of the things that strikes me is how well all the different themes tie into each other and the little connections between songs that make this feel like such a well-conceived thought-out album. It's also a definite leap forward from Little Earthquakes musically, lyrically, and thematically but still maintains a lot of the accessibility from that record that isn't there on Pele.

[GinaGomesz]

This is the first Tori album that I bought, and it remains my favorite to this day. Funny, I owned the CD for about six months before listening to the last track and when I finally did I was completely blown away. I will probably always think of Yes, Anastasia as the best song she has composed.

[GeorgeEckland]

Just clicking on this thread and staring at the album cover takes me back to such a deeply emotional time. I love everything about this album. It may just be my favorite album from any artist ever. I remember feeling that it was such a special thing that I knew of this artist and I had this album and it felt like no one else I knew did, so it was that much more important to me and close to my heart. I used to play air piano with this album. And listen to it everyday. And sing along. Pretty Good Year, Yes Anastasia, Baker Baker, Space Dog and Icicle remain some of my favorite Tori songs to this day. And the artwork! Oh the artwork! It's beautifully simplistic and captivating. Wow, I'm definitely going to listen to UTP today!

[GeraldCortis]

I also love the artwork.

This one is amazing:

[pumpineemob]

Some of the best piano work of her career (Which is either sad or awesome considering it's her second album as Tori Amos).

Yes, Anastasia is so magical it gets stuck in my head and I find myself pondering on bits and pieces of the lyrics, not aware of where they came from.

[Biashpainabix]

I love that picture! If only her current album artwork was that inspired... People might disagree about the quality of the music but I think we can all agree that her more recent artwork sucks the big one.

[Vedun*]

Have any of you tried putting the album in the running order from the original press release with Honey still on it? I've been meaning to try this out in iTunes.

Atlantic 82567
Produced by Tori Amos & Eric Rosse

* With the February '92 release of "LITTLE EARTHQUAKES," the world was introduced to the wildly original talent of Tori Amos. A uniquely powerful vocalist who pours naked emotion into every song, Tori's riveting performances, both in the studio and in concert, have enchanted legions of fans worldwide.

* Propelled by phenomenal word-of-mouth, massive press raves, heavy MTV play, and the alternative radio smashes, "Silent All These Years" and "Crucify," "LITTLE EARTHQUAKES" undulated to an RIAA gold certification.

* "Newcomer Tori Amos's songs are smart, melodic, and dramatic; the deeper you listen, the hotter they get. 'LITTLE EARTHQUAKES' is a gripping debut," lauded Rolling Stone.

* While she crisscrossed the U.S. on her debut headlining tour, Tori also garnered considerable radio play with her brilliant rendition of Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit"; the song was featured on "CRUCIFY," Amos's special edition Compact Disc EP.

* Atlantic is very pleased to announce the forthcoming release of "UNDER THE PINK," Tori Amos's eagerly anticipated second full-length solo outing. Produced by Tori and Eric Rosse (who together produced four cuts on Amos's smash solo debut), this brilliant album takes Tori's cathartic art to the next plane.

* While "LITTLE EARTHQUAKES" was about a woman/person's coming to grips with victimization, "UNDER THE PINK" describes a woman/person's taking control both of her life and of her being.

* First single: The intense and groove oriented "GOD". Other standout cuts include the dynamic "Pretty Good Year"; "Baker Baker," a penetrating ballad; the reggae-inflected "Past the Mission"; and "Cornflake Girl."

* There will be a companion video clip for the first single.

* A national consumer print ad campaign is in the works.

* Expect a headlining tour in the spring.

* Merchandising materials: 1x1/Nameboard.

SONGS

Pretty Good Year
God
Icicle
Space Dog
Bells for Her
Baker Baker
Past the Mission
The Waitress
The Wrong Band
Cloud On My Tongue
Cornflake Girl
Honey
Yes, Anastasia

ALSO AVAILABLE

Little Earthquakes/82358 * Crucify (EP)/82399

ON A*VISION ENTERTAINMENT

Little Earthquakes/50335

[GeorgeEckland]

Tornado! ^ How wonderfully interesting! I can't believe I had never read that before! I always thought Honey was kicked off for something else, rather than a 13th track. I'm going to try that order though, thanks for that.

[DesautocaD]

Yeah, I thought The Wrong Band made it instead of Honey. Wasn't that a theory as to why she almost never plays it live?

I don't know that I would call Past The Mission Reggae-inflected. I might have said "with backing vocals by Trent Reznor."

[JRixlcvF]

I love Under the Pink. It definitely has some of my favorite songs - PGY, Space Dog, Baker Baker, Yes Anastasia, Bells for Her - but I do find that I've tired of some of the "hits" (PTM, Icicle, CfG, God).