Under The Pink Rolla MO

Under The Pink

Tori Amos

Atlantic Records, 1994

REVIEW BY: Sean McCarthy

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: 02/17/2005

Little Earthquakes was the sound of a diary opened up. Longbefore Alanis Morissette became the media-dubbed "pioneer" ofconfessional female angst music, Tori Amos's landmark breakthroughlaid the foundation for artists like Morissette to flourish.However, Little Earthquakes was so emotionally raw, so stark that itwas almost impossible to imitate, like Nevermind or Ten.

The few critics that Tori Amos had in the early '90s were nodoubt curious as to what Amos would do for her follow-up. With Little Earthquakes, she pretty much laid herself out to thepublic. Reopening the wounds covered on her first album would havecheapened the impact of Little Earthquakes and limited her range as an artist. For Under The Pink, Amos chose to record a straightforwardalbum... as straightforward as Amos could get.

Gone (mostly) are the first-person narratives of Little Earthquakes. However, her favorite topics (god,religious persecution and sex) are still prevalent, but with morerockin' arrangements. Amos also adds a much-needed tongue-in-cheekhumor to Under The Pink. "God" is more of a coy 'wink wink' teasethat the divine creator really needs a date and for all its anger,"Waitress" is really just about wanting to take out a waitress whogives you shitty service; even Jerry Falwell can probably relate tothat.

Probably the biggest surprise on Under The Pink is "Past The Mission." When I read the linernotes and saw Trent Reznor was supporting vocals, I was expecting asuperstar pairing of the most dynamic voices of the early '90s. Butwith the first listen of the song, you can barely hear Reznor'svoice; it's slightly louder than a faint whisper.