1000 Oceans

"1000 Oceans"
Single by Tori Amos
from the album To Venus and Back
Released

September 9, 1999 (US);

January 10, 2000 (AUS)
Format CD
Recorded May 1999
Genre Alternative rock, electronic, baroque pop
Length 4:19
Label Atlantic
Writer(s) Tori Amos
Producer(s) Tori Amos
Tori Amos singles chronology
"Bliss"
(1999)		 "1000 Oceans"
(1999)		 "Glory of the 80's"
(1999)

"1000 Oceans" is a song by Tori Amos, released as the second single from her 1999 album To Venus and Back. It reached number twenty-two on the Hot 100 Singles Sales, though it did not chart on the Hot 100.[1] The song deals with issues of love and loss, and is based on the singer's personal experiences. It was released on September 7, 1999, and was generally well received by critics.

Background

Amos has explained that the idea for the song came to her in a dream. An old African woman was humming the melody to her, and she got up around 5:30 in the morning to record it.[2][3] Writing the song, she describes the transition from the melody line around the words "I can’t believe that I would keep, keep you from flying" to "and I would cry 1000 more" as particularly difficult, and what took the longest time.[2] The inspiration for the lyrics came when her father-in-law died, and she claims the song helped her husband deal with the grieving process.[3] The lyrics contain reference to Silbury Hill, an ancient mound in Wiltshire, England. This is a place often visited by Amos and her husband.[4]

Video

The video for the song was directed by Erick Ifergan and filmed by Toby Irwin, and it was shot in a downtown Los Angeles parking lot.[5] It shows Amos singing inside a glass booth. The booth is in a busy street, and as people walk by some stop and stare. Others are engaged in everyday activities, and at one point a full-scale riot breaks out in the street, while Amos behaves like a mere distant observer.[6] The video had its TV debut on MTV's 120 Minutes on October 24, 1999.[5]

Reviews

Reviewers generally had a positive attitude towards "1000 Oceans", and many mentioned it among the better tracks on the album. VH1 said the song was "one of the most billowing songs she's written in a while".[7] The Tech called the melody of this song and "Lust" "powerful ballads" and "some of Tori's finest".[8] The Daily Mail, in a short review of the album, called "1000 Oceans" "superb".[9] Others were less impressed though; Spin magazine called the album track "perhaps the most disappointing", and claimed Amos came across as a "Celine Dion-LeAnn Rimes rip-off".[10]

Track listing

Track listing for the various editions of the single:[11][12]

US (CD single, Cassette Single; September 7, 1999)

  1. "1000 Oceans" - 4:18
  2. "Baker Baker" (Live) - 4:18

US (7" Vinyl Single) (Atlantic 7-84534)

  1. "1000 Oceans" - 4:17
  2. "Baker Baker" (Live non LP version) - 3:56

US (Enhanced cd, includes "1000 Oceans" and "Bliss"video, September 28, 1999)

  1. "1000 Oceans" (Album Version) - 4:18
    Secretime
  2. "Baker Baker" (Live Non LP Version) - 3:53
  3. "Winter" (Live Non LP Version) - 7:01

Australia (10 January 2000)

  1. "1000 Oceans" (Album Version) - 4:18
    Secretime
  2. "Baker Baker" (Live Non LP Version) - 3:53
  3. "Winter" (Live Non LP Version) - 7:01

France

  1. "1000 Oceans" (radio edit)

Germany

  1. "1000 Oceans"
  2. "Hey Jupiter" (live)
  3. "Upside Down" (live)

Charts

Year Chart Position
2000 Australian ARIA Charts[13] 145

References

  1. ↑ "Hot Singles Sales". Billboard. Retrieved 2008-04-14.
  2. 1 2 "Tori talks about 1000 Oceans". toriphoria / yes, said. Retrieved 2008-04-14.
  3. 1 2 Christiane Rebmann (1999). "Ich habe einen Traum" (in German). Die Zeit. Archived from the original on 2 June 2008. Retrieved 2008-04-20.
  4. ↑ "1000 Oceans: to venus and back". The Dent. 2000-03-20. Archived from the original on 25 March 2008. Retrieved 2008-04-14.
  5. 1 2 "1000 Oceans Video". The Dent. 1999-11-25. Retrieved 2008-04-14.
  6. ↑ "1000 Oceans Tori Amos". YouTube. 2006-08-31. Archived from the original on June 2, 2008. Retrieved 2008-04-14.
  7. ↑ "VH1 reviews "to venus and back"". The Dent. 2000-09-20. Retrieved 2008-04-14.
  8. ↑ Fred Choi (1999-10-22). "Tore Amos: To Venus and Back". The Tech. Retrieved 2008-04-14.
  9. ↑ Adrian Thrills (1999-09-17). "Articles - September 1999". The Daily Mail. Archived from the original on 19 April 2008. Retrieved 2008-04-14.
  10. ↑ Julie Ann Pietrangelo (September 1999). "Spin Magazine Album Review September 1999". Spin. Retrieved 2008-04-14.
  11. ↑ "Tori Amos: to venus and back". toriphoria / yes, said. Archived from the original on 14 May 2008. Retrieved 2008-04-14.
  12. ↑ "1000 Oceans Singles". EverythingTori. Archived from the original on 19 April 2008. Retrieved 2008-04-14.
  13. ↑ "Response from ARIA re: chart inquiry (submitted to charts.mail@aria.com.au), received 2015-07-15". imgur.com. Retrieved 2015-07-16.

External links

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