Little Earthquakes

I wanted this to end much sooner than it did. It sounded like Tori wanted it to end too.

I sit here writing this, saying what may very well be true: this album may be the best album ever made. Whether it’s Amos’s excellent knack for writing about relationships, the way she brazenly sings of sexuality with no shame and plenty of pride, the way she sings with such conviction and passion, the way she plays piano as if it’s an extension of herself, comparable to the likes of Cecil Taylor and Nina Simone, this album does virtually everything at a level higher than most others in this lane can ever hope to do.

The opening five-track run, from the anthemically devastating “Crucify” to the softly beautiful “Winter,” is the best part of the album, though every song is incredible. Biblical imagery combines with a shame about sex instilled by a culture that doesn’t care about women, to form one of the most empoweringly defiant songs ever. Going into “Girl,” the double entendre of “she’s been everybody else’s girl / maybe someday she’ll be her own” (she’s been who everyone else wants her to be, or she’s slept with everyone else; both hit deeply). “Silent All These Years,” a song that my dear mom introduced to me long ago, is a personal favorite for that alone, but also the biting language she uses, combined with the healing she seems to go through as the song progresses. It’s beautiful; it’s enough to make one cry. The next song is too, that being “Precious Things,” a song that yells, that hurts, hurts you, hurts him, hurts her. It’s was the one that made me cry the most back when I first heard this album. “Winter” makes me cry too, with its incredible chorus, and chord progression, and musicality.

From there, highlights are less obvious, but no less incredible. “Happy Phantom” is a song about the desire for death, and darkly musing about what it will be like once the speaker is freed from her mortal body. “China” is a slower, soft pop song about a lack of connection in a relationship, illustrated with a metaphor of being in “different countries,” having a “Great Wall” around the speaker’s partner.

“Mother” is easily the best song on the second half of the album, a 7 minute odyssey about a young girl’s relationship with her mother, Mother Earth, and femininity as she grows up. It’s a heartbreaking song, and Amos sings it with such emotion that you feel as if she’s going to break out crying any second, and she’d have a good reason to.

“Tear in Your Hand” is one of the greatest pop-rock songs I’ve ever heard, with an addicting guitar and vocal line, and great songwriting and singing. “Me and a Gun” is the most confrontational song on the album, just Amos’s voice singing flatly about being followed by a man, presumably who wants to rape her. It is a harrowing song is what it is.

This album is one of the greatest albums ever made, and it is a must-listen. I adore every song, even the ones I didn’t mention. Go listen NOW.
10/10
DOES IT BELONG ON THE LIST: YES
REASON: QUALITY, IMPACT

Tori Amos sounds like she bridges two decades. In some ways harking back to Kate Bush, in others pointing forward to the likes of Fiona Apple. A missing link. If you ignore the occasional 90s pop rock affectations adorning her vocals (which themselves are very influential) it’s an often powerful performance with an impact that can be heard in music today.

I can't fully get everything. I have no doubt that Tori Amos is brilliant within her neck of the alternative pop woods. But for whatever reason I find myself hanging around at Björk cove and Kate Bush grotto far more often (to continue the ill advised metaphor). I *really* like a couple of these songs, on first listen, Precious Things is particularly spellbinding. But it's just the little ways she doesn't gel with me. I love the spirit at the heart of her songs, and the messages she is espousing here, but the way she constructs her poetry doesn't always speak to me. I like her compositions, but I don't always like how she writes her piano parts, sometimes it feels a little too "showtunes-y" for me, etc. But I also wouldn't be surprised if this album grew on me if I revisited it a few times: but I'm also not confident about that. To me, this is ultimately a very well written album, but I don't find the place it slits into within it's scene to be something I'm really seeking out. But this *is* a good record, let it be known.

Ihre große Selbstoffenbarung: roh, intim, klavierzentriert – ein Album, das gleichzeitig flüstert und brennt. Die Songs wirken wie Tagebucheinträge, aber mit einer Wucht, die bis heute nachhallt. Emotional präzise, musikalisch eigenständig, lyrisch messerscharf. „Crucify“ verletzlich, dringlich, ikonisch. „Silent All These Years“ zart, aber unerschütterlich. „Winter“ bittersüß, melodisch, herzstechend. Wow.

Feels somewhat dated now - the female singer / songwriter genre has moved on somewhat, but an absolutely phenomenal opening track sets the tone here.

Favorite track(s): Crucify, Girl, Precious Things, Winter, Tear In Your Hand, Little Earthquakes

Fucking hell !!

Ohhh wow, I was not mentally prepared for “Me and a Gun”

I love Tori Amos. In my opinion, all her albums from the 90s are great. This debut album is no exception and, though it's not my favourite album of hers (that would be "Boys for Pele" or "From the Choirgirl Hotel"), it is still worth 5 stars.

Her voice, her phrasing, the lyrics, her piano playing, the string arrangements... Everything in this album works perfectly for me.

I like each and every song. In particular, I enjoy: "Crucify", "Girl", "Silent All These Years", "Precious Things", "Winter", "Happy Phantom", "China", "Leather", "Mother", "Tear In Your Hand", "Me And A Gun", or "Little Earthquakes". So, I guess that means I like them all.

A good chunk of these songs don’t do much for me, but the ones that do REALLY do. Really great lyrics and piano. Me And A Gun is lyrically devastating. I don’t want to listen to it again. Favorites were Crucify, Precious Things, Happy Phantom, and Little Earthquakes.

Crucify, Silent All These Years, Leather, the title track all are deeply felt. Not my favorite style, but the contemporary praise for this album is deserved, I think, after listening to it with more mature ears.

Pretty good

It was a pretty awesome album, it felt like an unreleased disney movie soundtrack at times. She has that angelic voice and sweeping musical accompaniment that gives it an epic feel.

Tori Amos’ debut album bears the apt title “Little Earthquakes,” though it remains unclear whether the emphasis is on “little” or on “earthquakes.” As far as I can remember, the songs were played over and over on the radio back then, but they didn’t really stick with me. The tracks are undoubtedly clever and varied, and Tori Amos’s voice is pleasant, but nothing about it strikes me as absolutely top-notch. Still, it’s worth noting that “Little Earthquakes” sounds both mature and natural, which I find quite remarkable for a debut.
In summary, it’s a good, piano-based singer-songwriter album and truly deserves a solid 3.5.

Piano-based songs with strings fleshing out the harmonies and a drummer kicking it all along. The emphasis is on the lyrics and vocals - breathy, hushed, dynamic, and extremely indebted to Kate Bush.

Little Earthquakes was my first proper listen to Tori Amos, and my immediate thought was just how wonderful her voice is. It’s distinctive, expressive and full of emotion, and it carries the album from start to finish.

Little Earthquakes is a good album, but for me it never quite became a great one. The piano-led songs are full of lovely melodies and there are some genuinely strong lyrics throughout, but I kept waiting for a moment or a song that would really grab me and make me want to come back for more.

That’s probably my biggest criticism of the album. It’s consistently pleasant and well crafted, but it can feel a little long and repetitive as it goes on, with many of the songs sitting in a similar emotional and musical space. Nothing here is bad, but very little leapt out as essential listening either.

That said, this was a positive introduction to Tori Amos and one that has made me interested in hearing more of her work in the future.

Favourite tracks: “Crucify” and “Girl” were both lovely songs
Least favourite tracks: Nothing stood out as bad, but the album felt a little too long and repetitive in places
Album artwork: Classic album cover

Quite poetic and there are some melodies. The raw, acoustic production just didn't cut it for me on my first impression. It's a little hard to wrap my head around the music when I don't really those "pop" hooks (2.5).

Tori Amos has a great voice. I also really liked some of the songs. The music reminded me of Kate Bush. But just like with her, I can hardly bring myself to listen to the whole album. Toward the end, the vocals started to get on my nerves. 3/5

premda im glazba nije baš slična, usudio bih se usporediti svoje iskustvo slušanja ovog s onim slušanja k. bush: izrazito dinamično, zabavno i zanimljivo, impresivno od početka do kraja, svako malo promijeni priču i iznenadi, a u konačnici se ne mogu zamisliti da redovito slušam. stoga četiri jer nikako ne mogu dati niže