Product Description

With this debut, Tori Amos rose above the inevitable Kate Bush/Joni Mitchell comparisons, producing a stunning set of brutally honest and emotionally wrought songs. A skilled and imaginative pianist, Amos also proved a versatile vocalist, moving from whisper to scream in an instant. She concentrates on intimate stories of her religious upbringing, childhoodtraumas, and predominantly, sex, self-discovery and unhappyrelationships. "Silent All These Years" was the first to hit a nerve with the public on single release, but all the tracks--memories of her father in "Winter", the bittersweet "Happy Phantom", the harrowing account of her own rape, "Me AndA Gun"--combine to make this inspiring, if rarely comfortable, listening.

Track Listing

1. Crucify
2. Girl
3. Silent All These Years
4. Precious Things
5. Winter
6. Happy Phantom
7. China
8. Leather
9. Mother
10. Tear In Your Hand
11. Me And A Gun
12. Little Earthquakes

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #7180 in Music
• Released on: 1992-01-06
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.co.uk Review
Emotionally and musically intense, Little Earthquakes shows that the piano is as much a rock & roll instrument as the guitar. Tori Amos's debut (if one disregards Y Kant Tori Read, as one would be well advised to do) is at once listenable and challenging; she takes on every topic, from sex to gender to religion, in an uncompromising manner. Her music appears gentle at first but this appearance is deceiving, as one quickly learns upon listening to the wrenching "Crucify" or the almost violent "Precious Things". By the time the album gets around to "Me and a Gun", sung hauntingly by Amos without accompaniment from her piano, the juxtaposition of Amos's sweet voice and the emotional complexity of her lyrics is both familiar and shocking. Sandman fans should listen for a reference to author Neil Gaiman in "Tear in Your Hand". --Genevieve Williams

Customer Reviews

Give me life/Give me pain/Give me Tori Amos again
By far the best Tori Amos album ever.
In fact, by far the best album ever!

Emotional, honest, weird, beautiful, bitter and strangely compelling. "Little Earthquakes" bears none of the over-produced textured strains of some of her more recent work.

I was first introduced to Tori Amos when I read the comparison of Evanescence to Tori Amos. At the time I dismissed it and didn't bother pursuing any of her material. That was until I needed an appropriate piece of music for a drama sketch I'd written. That's when I came across "Little Earthquakes" in my Dad's record collection. I turned it on in search for some background music. But what I got was an initiation into one of the most prolific and innovative artists ever to grace the earth. This album proves that the piano can be just as rock & roll as a guitar.

She has yet to match this level of brilliance. This album is almost untouched and is raw, honest music. Home to many of her finest songs (all are worth a listen), Tori Amos uses "Little Earthquakes" as a vessel to explore a variety of themes including; religion, sex, obsession, love, hate, growing up and splitting up all with a surprising level of maturity both emotionally and musically. And just when you think you've got her sussed she re-invents herself with the next track. One moment she's hypnotising you with mournful piano-induced ballads, then suddenly she plunges you into harsh, bitter and almost gothic passages.

Obviously the catchiest and easily recognised tune is `Crucify', the opening track and one of my personal favourites. It grabs you and makes you pay attention. It's a simple but effective song in which she metaphorically compares herself to Jesus in her everyday life. Loads of clever lines of religious imagery such as "where are those angels when you need them?" and "I gotta have my suffering so that I can have my cross". Pure genius.

The next song is `Girl' and don't turn it off if you're getting bored, hang on because it perks up! (I can't give away the song!)

The other major hit from this album is the fantastic "Silent All These Years" a weird and wonderful ballad about...well actually I'm not all that sure what it's about but it's a great song.

Next it's the brutal and slightly bitter `Precious Things' easily the heaviest song on the album. The metal guitars and rock drum beat are extremely effective.

Fifth is the epic `Winter', a ballad about growing up with some haunting imagery and beautiful piano parts. This is the song that the emotion in her voice is most evident.

Next is the falsely cheerful and cleverly deceiving `Happy Phantom'.

Seventh is another ballad comparing a person to `China' both the country and the stuff you have at posh dinner parties. Very clever. Leaning slightly on the pop-ballad side but it's still good.

`Leather' is possibly one of her most personal songs with a very catchy and skilfully devised piano solo.

Then it's the fantastic `Mother'. Another Tear-jerker. Weird and wonderful. A song about her beliefs (apparently).

Suddenly the pace picks up again for the more rock-based `Tear In Your Hand' that invokes Tori pleading with the love of her life not to leave her yet and begging for another chance.
Another album highlight is the controversial "Me And A Gun" which is about her personal experience of being raped. She sings it without any musical accompaniment and is a testament to her versatility as an artist.

And of course the album ends with the title track `Little Earthquakes' another rock track, full of power and grace, takes some getting used to, but as usual it's worth it.

To me listening to Tori Amos is like going on a journey. A journey through her life and your own. All of the songs are written in first person giving the whole album an intimate approach. She sings like she understands you and it's like as the listener you are a part of the story. The best thing about her music is it's not always set-in-stone exactly what she means. The songs are often open for you to draw whatever touches you most in the song, (with the exception of Me And A Gun).

Yeah she's a little eccentric at times but that's a good thing. Just don't call her boring. Anybody who cannot appreciate the genius and emotion of this album is mad. Stark raving loony. Unless you are deaf or have no heart then there is no logical reason on this earth why you wouldn't like this album. Artists such as Alanis Morissette, Natalie Umbruglia and Avril Lavigne owe a lot to Tori Amos whether they admit it or not. Tori Amos dared to be different in a time when the music business was still reeling from cheesy 80's rock and synthesisers.

So why is it that over a decade after its release "Little Earthquakes" still draws in new fans like moths to the flame? Easy answer, because it rocks. This album literally changed my perspective on...everything...

In some respects this is a very basic album (it's also her first), but that innocent approach to the music is what is often lacking in other albums, however this may irritate some people. It does also have a tendency to become sometimes too honest and confessional but nobody's perfect. She always manages to pick up the pace again. It is also teetering on the repetitive side, but whinge over- this album is fantastic. All in all if you don't have this album then you are seriously missing out on one of the most significant contributions to music in modern times. Well what are you waiting for get it now!

Amazing debut album
Well,there do i start,then i bought this album in 1993 i already had some of her single releases off this album but i did not realise that every track would be as special as these songs are.
First of all "Crucify" which was i song that i could instantly relate to with it's insecurities."Girl" is next and really touched me deeply as it reflected my life pretty well even though i am a man as i suffered the self loathing that is portrayed in the song and indeed on much of the album."Silent all these years" was the first track i heard of Tori back in 1991 when it was first released and has remained a classic in my eyes,"Precious things" is quite an angry sounding track but works so well for me "Winter" is a beatiful song in every way,i could never get enough of this track and never will."Happy phantom" changes the tempo and is a wonderfully joyous romp about being a ghost,i always loved the line where see mentions chasing nuns out in the yard,"China" is a deep song about a relationship breaking down and is still special to me now,"Leather" is a another great track for me,"Mother" never really did a lot for me even though there is some lovely piano work on it,"tear in your hand" is another great track,beautifully done "Me and a gun" well this is her rape track and is very very personal is fact too personal for me to listen to much but this was so brave to open her thoughts like this and just shows what a special and complex woman she is "little earthquakes" is a worthy end to a stunning album nearly 7 minutes of great piano and vocals.This is my favourite album of the 1990's along with "the Stone Roses" debut album,anyone that has not discovered "Little Eartquakes" really should do but remember she does take you on an emotional and deep journey.

A little work of art
A desparately good debut album, with emotion & maturity normally associated with a life-time of broken hearts and injustice. Her brittle-strong voice is complimented by beautiful piano, which is often haunting and mysterious. "Happy Phantom" & "Silent All These Years" are the most accessible tracks here, though get more sinister on each listen, as indeed does every track, laden with tender subtlety and savage-honesty in equal measure: her real-life rape is re-lived in "Me And A Gun", a heart-wrenching vocal-only track.
This album will last - its one you just keep coming back to time and time again, although its sinister overtones seem to grow as one gets older... Unfortunately the promise shown here was not realised on her follow-ups albums.