Tori: Promise not to say
Tash: that you told me so
Promise not to say
Tori: that I'm getting too old
Tash: Promise not to take
Tori: never take your...
Unrepentant Geraldines has an irresistible lightness of touch about it: its charms initially seem modest next to the towers of ambition Amos has previously created, but the generosity of melody and sheer prettiness of the sound wins through in the end.
In the end, Unrepentant Geraldines goes far to re-establish the sense of intimacy that won Amos her audience’s unwavering devotion; there’s a level of honesty characterizing the project that should jibe well with them, and she’s in confident voice throughout without ever sounding canned or over-calculated.
If Unrepentant Geraldines is indeed visual art, it's more of a polite Norman Rockwell than a vomit-stained Sherman. The former goes great with dinner, but I await the gastric upset of the latter.
This is an absolutely amazing album and a total return to form for Tori, and the fans seem to be responding accordingly. She is back to makingThis is an absolutely amazing album and a total return to form for Tori, and the fans seem to be responding accordingly. She is back to making emotional and powerful songs from the heart. Despite her post-Scarlet's Walk albums being passable, this one takes her back to her brilliance of her old days. Long-time Tori fans won't be diss appointed, nor will new fans.…Expand
I am SO in love with this album. It ranks just under Little Earthquakes, Boys for Pele, and From the Choirgirl Hotel. I actually like itI am SO in love with this album. It ranks just under Little Earthquakes, Boys for Pele, and From the Choirgirl Hotel. I actually like it better than Under the Pink and Scarlett’s Walk. (and I LOVE those two albums very much)
Promise (Tori’s duet with her daughter Tash) just makes me tear up. I can not stop listening.…Expand
This album is simply beautiful
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Best album since Scarlet's Walk. The melodies harken back to the days of Little Earthquakes but there is also a maturity and honesty in theBest album since Scarlet's Walk. The melodies harken back to the days of Little Earthquakes but there is also a maturity and honesty in the lyrics that is just beautiful.…Expand
This album sounds like the old Tori we all know and love while still managing to sound fresh. She's really stripped down her music to the moreThis album sounds like the old Tori we all know and love while still managing to sound fresh. She's really stripped down her music to the more acoustic piano-driven style that suits her well. The lyrics are poetic yet not obtuse like some of her other stuff (Pele, for example), and her voice has never sounded sweeter. This is a thoroughly enjoyable album from start to finish, with a heartfelt melancholy vibe that really gets to me every time I listen to it.
Personal Favorites: America, Weatherman, Promise, Unrepentant Geraldines, Oysters…Expand
This is a truly beautiful record. Closer in style to a blend of Under the Pink and Scarlet's Walk than the heavier, more production-heavy workThis is a truly beautiful record. Closer in style to a blend of Under the Pink and Scarlet's Walk than the heavier, more production-heavy work of American Doll Posse and Abnormally Attracted to Sin, the shift in sound should be welcomed for those who want to hear the voice and piano up front and centre. 'Wild Way' is her most gorgeous and heart-wrenching ballad since 'Northern Lad' - if it lacks the soaring musical grandeur of the latter, it more than makes up for it in intensity. 'Oysters' and 'Weatherman' also shine as highlights, as does the rollicking mini-epic title track. It starts off feeling like the good bits of The Beekeeper, soars through a Police-like mid-section and then breaks down into truly beautiful piano section that recalls 'Icicle' meshing with 'Ruby Through the Looking Glass.'
The record isn't perfect... the Beatles-inspired 'Giant's Rolling Pin' is a pretty entertaining romp about surveillance culture, but it feels more like a fun B-side, and doesn't really fit well in situation. 'Promise', a duet with daughter Tash, is genuinely more endearing than mawkish (and Tash sings excellently) - but again, it doesn't gel especially well with the rest of the tracks. But these are very minor quibbles in the face of how exquisitely crafted the rest of the album feels. I'd equate it roughly to the way that 'She's Your Cocaine' and 'Raspberry Swirl' feel out of place on 'From the Choirgirl Hotel' - fine tracks, but not really in their right place. All in all, this is a really, truly fine album, and deserves the love it is receiving from many reviewers.
Also, as a closer... I've wanted to say this for a while - this is the record that has finally proven something that I've suspected for a long time: that there are sections of Tori Amos' fan base (including many commercial reviewers) who will NEVER be happy with anything she does post-90s. I read time, and time, and time again on post-90s Amos reviews that somehow she's completely changed and lost her power as a writer, that she has grown old and safe and stale. What these reviewers ACTUALLY want, isn't a new record - it is to be back in the mid 90s again, to feel young and like music was their whole life. To listen to a more recent record and observe that it isn't as 'meaningful' or 'important' as something you enjoyed as a moody teenager who wrote poetry and FELT everything is one thing - but to assign the cause of that shift to the artist and none to yourself and how YOU have changed is ridiculous.…Expand
I've been a Tori fan since "Little Earthquakes," but I'm just not feeling this one at all. I've listened to it once and feel no desire toI've been a Tori fan since "Little Earthquakes," but I'm just not feeling this one at all. I've listened to it once and feel no desire to listen to it again. It just felt like Tori on Xanax. I just kept waiting for something to happen, but it never did. The best Tori songs and albums seemed to transport me to a different time or place... but this one seemed to trap me in a little girl's music box... from like a hundred years ago... and I just couldn't wait to get out.
It's just disappointing, because the title, "Unrepentant Geraldines," suggested something exciting, something stirring. I just didn't find it here. I'm really surprised that it's getting such high praise from fans and critics... because I think it's her worst album... and there's not even one song that I want to listen to again.
Oh, well... I guess I can wait for the next one. I just hope it's nothing like this one.…Expand