Tori Amos. Tales of a librarian (CD)

After a full decade of unbroken success, the world's premier singer/songwriter marks her departure from east/west with Tales of a Librarian, her first best-of compilation. But where most acts simply slap together a few crowd-pleasers, preferring to concentrate on new material for their new label, Amos brings her usual perfectionism. Taking the very rare opportunity to revisit her songs, she has personally and purposefully remastered 18, while adding two new beauties in "Angels" and "Snow Cherries from France". For the most part this remastering has entailed a rearranging of the backgrounds, particularly the percussion and backing vocals (one of Amos's greatest strengths). The result is that the early tracks now sound more contemporary and sophisticated, making this album an easier entry-point for new listeners. The biggest difference is in the vocals, now even more up close and personal--and the originals were already frighteningly intimate. If anything's lost it's a certain fragility, some moments where Amos seemed about to be buried under the music and perhaps forced to stay silent for yet more years. Drama, that is. Still, it's an interesting exercise and the songs, naturally, are superb. Many of the best are here--"Winter", "Cornflake Girl", "Crucify", "Baker Baker"--more than enough to satisfy even the most rabid fan. --Dominic Wills

Издание содержит 28-страничный буклет с фотографиями, текстами песен и дополнительной информацией на английском языке.