Ocean To Ocean

I received the cd this afternoon, placed it in the player…and fell in love.This cd is very reminiscent of “from the choir girl hotel”, but the melodies are more expansive…she could not have produced a more tori amos album and I am so pleased.Takes my breath away…

I usually don’t like saying “best since” as each album is a work of art that should stand on its own merits. Having said that, Tori has a very extensive catalog and so that makes it tempting to compare albums. So if we are going to do that, for me, most of her work/albums since Under the Pink has been very inconsistent. Some extraordinary moments for sure! But inconsistent. However, Ocean to Ocean is absolutely her most consistent album since Under the Pink. So I will say it’s her “best since” that album.OTO is pleasantly short (not every album has to be 65 minutes long with 15 tracks and lots of filler). Just make a shorter, focused, coherent work. And that’s exactly what Tori did here. The songs are VERY melodic. Lots of memorable hooks. More personal and (thankfully) less political/activist.It actually could have been the “best since” Little Earthquakes but there’s one aspect of the album that fell short for me - Tori’s vocal delivery. That’s not to say she doesn’t sing well on it… of course she does! The album is filled with great melodies and hooks. The problem though is that not once does she let loose. We never hear her full voice. The entire album is sung in her falsetto style. Again, quite pretty and pleasant. But a few of the songs would have definitely elevated more had she cut loose a few times.But again, in terms of songwriting, melodies, focus, consistency, and production, for me this is her third best album after LE and UTP.Having said all this, the CD package itself has one REALLY annoying aspect - both the song titles on the back cover and the lyrics inside are out of order! While listening you have to go hunting for the lyrics to figure out which song it is. This was obviously done intentionally, but I don’t know why. It just plainly irritating.Very much worth the time. Tori has delivered a very fine album.

Tori Amos - Ocean to OceanTori Amos has one of the most beautiful voices in modern music. She also writes some pretty amazing songs to go along with with her songbird like vocals. I was reminded of that when I picked up her 2020 "Christmastide" album this past holiday season. It had been a while since I had bought anything by her before that - 2002's "Scarlet's Walk" to be exact. With that album being influenced heavily a world changed by 9/11, it seemed natural to pick up ""Ocean to Ocean", an album written and recorded in the wake of a world even more drastically changed by the Covid-19 epidemic.To be honest, I was actually looking for one of Tori's earlier albums from the '90s and early 2000s on vinyl when I read that "Ocean to Ocean", which came out last October on CD and streaming only, was going to be released on my favorite medium. But all the pieces fit together too perfectly. I wasn't going to buy an earlier Tori Amos album, I was going to pre-order her newest one.The pieces all fitting together perfectly. That's "Ocean to Oceans" broken down to its simplest. An angelic voice soaring and diving through lyrics that contrast and compliment the music accompanying them both. Other than "Christmastide", it's been almost 20 years and 10 albums since I've listened to anything new from Tori Amos. I've missed her. It won't happen again.

Tori Amos - Ocean to Ocean (Decca)They say a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush, but with Tori Amos and Kate Bush we have the two.One can say that Tori Amos is a Kate Bush wannabe, but her musical journey brought her to the same place by different pathways. Amos is not trying to be Kate Bush any more than Kate Bush, who was here first, is trying to emulate Tori Amos. But their style\ and sound is uniquely similar.Tori’s primary instrument is the piano, as is Kate’s. And their voices are eerily similar. And both use the studio to create lush orchestrations, although Tori is more likely to use an actual chamber orchestra.This is a wonderful album, similar to “The Red Shoes” by Bush but definitively Tori. Both artists are superbly adapted to their style and their sound, with gifts rarely given to more than one artost every two generations.If you love one, you’ll love the other. And both are deserving of your affection.(5 stars out of 5)MC Mahan

Great album and the pressing while not the best was acceptable.

Recomendable siempre con el peculiar estilo de Tori Amos

前作から4年ぶり16作目の本作は、イギリスの3回目のロックダウン中に、トーリが住むコーンウォールで楽曲が書かれ、録音されました。スタジオにはトーリ、夫のマーク(Ｇ)、愛娘のタッシュ（Cho.）の3人だけ。お馴染みのメンバーであるマット(Ds)、ジョン(B)、ジョン・フィリップ・シネイルのオーケストラとは、リモートでつないだそうです。本作のテーマは、喪失から再び自分自身を再生すること、と。トーリは'19年に母を亡くし、間もなく始まったコロナ禍で様々な日常を奪われました。そんな中彼女は、“喪失感に囚われているのは自分だけでない”ことを人々と共有したかったように思います。白熱管球の絵がタイトルという風変わりな１、曲調は流麗でコンテンポラリーなＢメロもあり親しみやすい。母の死の悲しみが背景にある２、巧みな陰陽の変化がいかにもトーリらしい仕上がり。変化するイントロがカッコイイ３、リフを刻むドブロＧと粘り腰のＢラインがイイ。美しさと熱気が融合した4と、イカしたＢが核になり見事にロックする5はアルバムの白眉。風変わりな歌詞と曲調が妙にマッチする8と9、ダークでアイロニックなバースデーソングの11も、トーリらしさがたっぷり。歌詞がありますが、曲順と全く違う順番で並んでるので、ちょっと気をつけて。でも、コーンウォールの美しい風景がいっぱいのインナースリーヴは、心が和みます。かつてなく“聴き手に寄り添ってくれる感”がある本作、こんな時期だからこそ少しでも多くの人に聴いてほしいです。1. Addition of Light Divided、2. Speaking with Trees、3. Devil's Bane、4. Swim to New York State、5. Spies、6. Ocean to Ocean、7. Flowers Burn to Gold、8. Metal Water Wood、9. 29 Years、10. How Glass Is Made、11. Birthday Baby

I liked it very much

If you’re a Toriphile, you know what you’re getting into.