Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. Bliss
2. Juarez
3. Concertina
4. Glory Of The 80's
5. Lust
6. Suede
7. Josephine
8. Riot proof
9. Datura
10. Spring haze
11. 1000 oceans

Disc 2:

1. Precious things
2. Cruel
3. Cornflake girl
4. Bells for her
5. Girl
6. Cooling
7. Mr zebra
8. Cloud on my tongue
9. Sugar
10. Little earthquakes
11. Space dog
12. Waitress
13. Purple people

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #33664 in Music
• Released on: 1999-09-20
• Number of discs: 2

Amazon.co.uk Review
This two-CD affair is part live album, part new material which singer/songwriter Tori Amos' muse delivered to her ahead of schedule. As ever with Amos, she doesn't flinch from harrowing subject matter--"Juarez" depicts a bloodied Mexican desert where a mass rape and murder took place, with the squall of ghostly voices recreated by overdub and Amos bleakly intoning the mantra "And no angels came...". Elsewhere, however, Amos trains her idiosyncratic gaze on the darker areas of human intimacy with a new confidence in the resources of the studio and a mature playfulness. "Riot Poof" trounces homophobia with a bouncy, synth-driven glee, "Lust" has two Amos vocal tracks superimposed to represent both the physical and spiritual dimensions of horniness, while "Bliss" exquisitely explores the strains of a father-daughter relationship. Among her best work. --David Stubbs

Customer Reviews

"...is your place in heaven worth giving up these kisses"
Tori Amos is an amazing artist, full stop. While she will probably never be mainstream (that is not a bad thing) she undoubtedly is one of the most talented artists of our time. Of course, as an EWF, I am biased!

TO VENUS AND BACK, Tori offers us a different sound to her previous albums. Here, the music could be described more as electronica in parts, yet she is still able to make it her very own style and sound. As with many, if not all of her albums, you will probably have to listen to this offering a few times before you are able to fully appreciate the complexity and the sense of it. For me, the one track that did instantly stand out from the others was "1000 oceans". It is a truly beautiful ballad and perhaps the most accessible song from the entire collection. Other favourites of mine include "Suede", which has some of the most strange music I have ever heard - it is hard to describe this song. I also like "Lust", which again is another beautiful ballad. "Datura" is also another song to make my favourite list. Datura is a plant which has hallucinatory properties, but the wrong amount can be fatal. In the most recent biography on Tori, she is quoted as saying that the song compares this plant to men, that they can "sometimes [...] bring you gold and sometimes they can be the bearer of poison. . . If you get the right amount, you'll walk into the garden and become a woman, but if too much seeps in the wrong way and at the wrong time, it'll kill you" ("Pretty Good Years: A Biography of Tori Amos" by Jay S. Jacobs).

Next, I have to also comment on the live disc which is included. This is a great asset to have. When I first bought this album, I had never seen Tori perform live so it was a cherished item. She is great to see, if you get the chance you really should see her. The live disc has songs from her solo debut, LITTLE EARTHQUAKES. What you will discover is that she does not simply recreate these previous songs; rather she revisits them, making changes here and there, maybe emphasizing a different word or sound, maybe leaving some sections out. To me, this shows her creativity, making her music a more fluid experience than something that is merely set in stone and turned out to a particular recipe. I recently saw her on tour for her AMAERICAN DOLL POSSE album where she performed "Precious Things". This appears on the live album here, but it sounds very different to how she performed it recently.
As others have said, the performance of "Cooling" is brilliant. Almost worth all the money just for that. For this song, all the other band members do not make an appearance, it is just Tori and her piano. Absolute heaven - "...is your place in heaven worth giving up these kisses" (Tori Amos, Cooling).

An amazing release. Two discs for the price of one. What are you waiting for?

Tori Amos - To Venus And Back
I've found out that most people love, or simply don't like this album compared to her others. 1998-99 showcased my favourite Tori Amos `era' - the electronica Tori.

This is a masterpiece - Tori's best album.

`To Venus and Back', begins with the lead single in the US, Bliss. This is Tori's most accessible lead single so-far, but this isn't a bad thing. The song only peaked at #91 in the US, and was not released in the UK. "Juarez" is one of my favourites. It is a very dark electronic Tori and is about the place where two girls were repeatedly raped, in New Mexico. It's quite a spooky song, actually. "Concertina" is the fan favourite, but to be honest, this is not one of my favourites, but it is defiantly single-worthy, and in my opinion should have been released as lead single in the UK, instead of "Glory of the 80's", which is a great song and I like it more than Concertina, but it is just not very accessible, and most of the time you can not understand what Tori is saying. The single peaked at #46 in the UK.

"Lust" is another of my favourites. This song is what makes this album better than Scarlet's Walk and Little Earthquakes, which are said to be among Tori's best works. It is such a beautiful ballad, and probably my favourite Tori ballad ever, and one of my favourite ballads ever. It is not electronica, but fits in perfectly nonetheless. "Suede" was one of my early favourites. It is a very dark song and very atmospheric and sooooo weird! "Josephine" is a great song and another of my favourites. It is not electronica, but like "Lust", is an excellent song. "Riot Poof" reminded me of Tori's previous album because it is just so out-of-control and very crazy. You cannot understand what she is saying most of the time, and even though the song is very inaccessible, it is still a fun song. The melodic `Blossom... riot poof' is sung great and this is my second favourite song from this album.

"Datura" is the longest, strangest, and best song from this masterpiece. I cannot even begin to explain this song, but I will try. It is named after a very strong hallucinogen, which Tori probably took during recording this album. A funny (okay, not funny, but quite strange) story: In 2003, a German student known just as "Andreas W", from Halle cut off his own penis and tongue with a pair of garden shears while under the influence of datura. Neither organ was re-attached successfully. Back to the review, towards the end Tori sings `Dividing Canaan..." so may times that you will feel really strange. "Spring Haze" is another standout and fan favourite. The chorus is just so uplifting and the verses are great also, and this song really brings back some good memories. "1000 Oceans" is a beautfil song and an excellent closer.

10 / 10

she's a genius this woman
I love Tori, yet whenever she has a new album out it takes me a few goes to get what she's doing. This album was no exception. Some tracks caught me imediately (1000 Oceans), but after coming back to it again and again I finally 'got it'. I love music when it's easy to hear, automatically pleasing, but the best music is when it takes a while to get under your skin and permeate the layers of your consciousness. To Venus and Back is the work of a true genius. The piano hook on 'Lust' is so simple yet tremendous, the song written from the POV of Napoleon (strange but true folks) - Josephine - is a lyrical delight and heartbreaking with it. All of the songs are little pieces of the ever expanding universe that is Tori Amos.
The live cd is great listening, Cooling being my fave track and Sugar a close second. Tori's voice sounds slightly tired, but that adds an edge for me. The little spoken-to-the-crowd inserts are cool - she isn't an ordinary girl, is she?
To Venus and Back is an album that holds hidden treaures, and they are available for those brave enough to wade thru the miasma of 'quirky Tori' preconceptions and mourning for the days of Little Earthquakes to come back (it's never happening, dear). It will take you to places (venus perhaps?) you've long needed to go.. and who knows, you may never want to come back.