Under the Pink
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Under the Pink | ||
Studio album by Tori Amos | ||
Released | January 31, 1994 | |
Recorded | The Fishhouse, New Mexico and Westlake Studios, LA (1993) | |
Genre | Alternative | |
Length | 56:40 | |
Label | Atlantic | |
Producer(s) | Tori Amos Eric Rosse |
|
Professional reviews | ||
---|---|---|
Tori Amos chronology | ||
Little Earthquakes (1992) |
Under the Pink (1994) |
More Pink The B~Sides (1994) |
Under the Pink is a 1994 album by Tori Amos. The album peaked at #12 on Billboard's (North America) Top 200 chart & Number 1 in the UK Albums Chart. A special double-disc edition was released exclusively in New Zealand and Australia called More Pink The B~Sides.
The album represents a more acoustic piano-based sound, and most of the final third of the album is devoted to a classical-inspired suite of piano songs, including the sweeping ten-minute epic "Yes, Anastasia."
Under the Pink produced four hit singles. "God" was the first U.S. single in early 1994, and reached No. 1 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart; an October release in the UK saw a peak of No. 44. "Cornflake Girl" became Amos' biggest international hit of the time, reaching UK #4, while "Pretty Good Year" followed it to UK #7. "Past the Mission" just missed the UK Top 30 that summer. In February 2007, the album was certified UK Platinum by the BPI.
Thematically, Under the Pink explores the relationships between women, and the title alludes to both the colour pink normally associated with women as well as what goes on under the pink of the surface. The music, acoustic and intimate, reflects the internal concept.
The inspiration for the previous album had been the events in Amos's own life, but for her second album she drew inspiration elsewhere — from the work of Georgia O'Keeffe and Salvador Dalí, the literature of Alice Walker, and the Russian princess Anastasia Romanov. Musically, Amos drew from the style of classical composers she had studied during her childhood, and put more focus on her solo piano rather than band instrumentation. The musical complexity drawn from her classical background is particularly evident in such tracks as "Icicle" and the sweeping, nine-and-a-half minute, "Yes, Anastasia".
Amos' voice and songwriting ability seem to have improved on this album, and the production is notably less band-oriented and 1980s-inspired than Little Earthquakes, her well-received 1992 debut album. The album was recorded in Taos, New Mexico in a hacienda. The album artwork features several Native American and New Mexican references in the photography.
The album produced a ten-month tour during 1994, and is also notable as the last Amos album to feature the production of Eric Rosse as they split that year. To date, it remains her highest-charting album in the UK and has sold more than two million copies worldwide.
The original tracklisting included the much-loved b-side "Honey," which was kicked off at the last moment in favor of "The Wrong Band," a song which Amos thought fit the concept of the album more concisely. Amos has since voiced great regret for leaving the song off the album.
Contents |
[edit] Track listing
(all songs written by Amos)
- "Pretty Good Year" – 3:25
- "God" – 3:58
- "Bells For Her" – 5:20
- "Past the Mission" (feat. Trent Reznor) – 4:05
- "Baker Baker" – 3:20
- "The Wrong Band" – 3:03
- "The Waitress" – 3:09
- "Cornflake Girl" – 5:06
- "Icicle" – 5:47
- "Cloud on My Tongue" – 4:44
- "Space Dog" – 5:10
- "Yes, Anastasia" – 9:33
[edit] Personnel
- Michael Allen Harrison - Violin
- Tori Amos - Piano, Vocals, Producer
- John Acevedo - Viola
- Steve Caton - Guitar
- Paulinho Da Costa - Percussion
- Ross Cullum - Mixing
- Shaun DeFeo - Assistant Engineer
- Melissa "Missy" Hasin - Cello
- John Beverly Jones - Engineer
- Kevin Killen - Mixing
- Ezra Killinger - Violin
- Dane Little - Cello
- Bob Ludwig - Mastering
- Paul McKenna - Producer, Engineer
- Cynthia Morrow - Viola
- Carlo Nuccio - Drums
- George Porter, Jr. - Bass
- Chris Reutinger - Violin
- Trent Reznor - Vocals
- Jimbo Ross - Viola
- Nancy Stein-Ross - Cello
- Eric Rosse - Producer, Engineer
- John Philip Shenale - Strings, Organ (Hammond)
- Francine Walsh - Violin
- John Wittenberg - Violin
- Nancy Roth - Violin
- Cindy Palmano - Art Direction, Photography
- Julie Larson - Production Coordination
- John Fundi - Assistant Engineer
- Alan Reinl - Design
- Avril McIntosh - Mixing Assistant
[edit] Charts
Album
Year | Chart | Position |
---|---|---|
1994 | Billboard 200 (U.S.) | 12 |
1994 | Official UK Album Chart (UK) | 1 |
1994 | Australian ARIA Albums Chart (Aus) | 5 |
Single
Title | Chart | Position |
---|---|---|
"Cornflake Girl" (1994) | Billboard Modern Rock Tracks (U.S.) | 12 |
"Cornflake Girl" (1994) | Official UK Singles Chart (UK) | 4 |
1994 | Australian ARIA Singles Chart (Aus) | 19 |
"God" (1994) | Billboard Modern Rock Tracks(U.S.) | 1 |
"God" (1994) | Billboard Hot 100 (U.S.) | 72 |
"God" (1994) | Official UK Singles Chart (UK) | 44 |
1994 | Australian ARIA Singles Chart (Aus) | 65 |
"Pretty Good Year" (1994) | Official UK Singles Chart (UK) | 7 |
1994 | Australian ARIA Singles Chart (Aus) | 85 |
"Past the Mission" (1994) | Official UK Singles Chart(UK) | 31 |
1994 | Australian ARIA Singles Chart (Aus) | did not enter top 100 |
[edit] B-Sides
The album, as with most of Tori Amos' albums, is also known for its collection of b-sides. Amos recorded a host of songs that did not make the album, but were released as b-sides to various singles or performed live in concerts. The song "Peeping Tommi" was recorded during Under the Pink album sessions and remained unreleased 12 years until its inclusion on the five disc Rhino release box set A Piano: The Collection, in 2006.
Title | Single |
---|---|
Home on the Range (Cherokee Addition) | "God" (1994), "Pretty Good Year" (1994) |
All the Girls Hate Her/Over It [Piano Suite] | "God" (1994), "Cornflake Girl" (1994) |
Sister Janet | "Cornflake Girl" (1994) |
Daisy Dead Petals | "Cornflake Girl" (1994), "Pretty Good Year" (1994) |
Honey | "Cornflake Girl" (1994), "Pretty Good Year" (1994) |
Black Swan | "Pretty Good Year" (1994) |