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Midwinter Graces [CD]

Tori Amos Audio CD
4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
Price: £6.87 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
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Tori Amos introduces Midwinter Graces

Biography

Tori Amos has an extraordinary fan base. It’s not unusual to hear her listeners explain how a song changed their life, through its ability to alter perspective and heal. Or even that a song might have saved their life. Since the release of her debut Little Earthquakes 20 years ago in 1992, where she smashed apart boundaries with her piano rock and raw, confessional poetry, Amos continues ... Read more in Amazon's Tori Amos Store

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Midwinter Graces + Night of Hunters (Deluxe Edition) + Gold Dust (Deluxe)
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Product details

  • Audio CD (16 Nov 2009)
  • Number of Discs: 1
  • Format: CD
  • Label: Universal / Island
  • ASIN: B002P6TA8K
  • Other Editions: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
  • Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 23,448 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

1. What Child, Nowell
2. Star Of Wonder
3. A Silent Night With You
4. Candle: Coventry Carol
5. Holly, Ivy and Rose
6. Harps Of Gold
7. Snow Angel
8. Jeanette, Isabella
9. Pink And Glitter
10. Emmanuel
11. Winter's Carol
12. Our New Year

Product Description

CD Description

After nearly two decades making music, Midwinter Graces is Tori Amos' first seasonal album and is the follow up to the critically acclaimed studio album, Abnormally Attracted to Sin. Midwinter Graces finds Amos reworking and expanding on classic carols as well as developing some of her very own seasonal tracks. Classics like "What Child, Nowell" and "Star of Wonder" are reworked, along with original tracks like "Pink and Glitter" and "Our New Year".

Product Description

TORI AMOS Midwinter Graces (2009 UK 12-track CD album - Midwinter Graces is an album that has been in the making for the past 40 years. Raised in the Baltimore area under the watchful eye of her Methodist minister father Tori grew up playing holiday carols at Sunday services and Christmas Day celebrations in her fathers church. These were the songs that gave a young Tori her first taste of music and now almost 40 years later Tori gets her own chance to re-imagine classics like What Child Nowell and Star of Wonder. Tori will also add her own bittersweet bliss to the season with original tracks like Pink and Glitter and Our New Year)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
52 of 55 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars a winter treasure 21 Oct 2009
Format:Audio CD
Finally, Tori seems to be back to something like her old self after a pretty lacklustre seven years since the magnificent Scarlet's Walk. Her past three albums - The Beekeeper, American Doll Posse and the recent Abnormally Attracted To Sin - suffered from mediocre pop-rock arrangements trying too hard to sound like other artists, and far too many substandard songs crammed onto the disc.

This winter album sees a return to the classical side of Tori's musicianship, with largely orchestral arrangements throughout - only three of the twelve tracks here feature her band prominently, but sparingly. Elsewhere, gorgeous string arrangements, brass and harpsichord are the order of the day, and the result is heavenly for those of us who have longed to hear this side of Tori again. Songs are well-written, beautifully arranged and performed, and the sound is allowed to breathe for the first time in years.

She's done a remarkable job of re-interpreting several well-known carols, going back to the pagan roots of both words and music, and blending them seamlessly with her own additional lyrics on occasion. Don't expect straightforward renditions of such well-loved standards as We Three Kings, The Holly and The Ivy, Coventry Carol, Veni Veni Emanuel etc. Under Tori's scholarly and imaginative direction these old carols are reworked in a quite magical way; she manages to bring the pagan roots forth in a way that makes you hear these songs anew.

The album also contains several new Tori originals, among them 'Snow Angel', a song written for her daughter Natashya (who also sings briefly on the record - don't worry, it works!), the stunning 'Our New Year' and a thoroughly enjoyable big-band number called Pink and Glitter. The best new track though is 'Winter's Carol', which must be one of the best things she's ever done.

This is the loveliest, most affecting Tori Amos record in years. If you're a fan, you'll be delighted. If you're just looking for a winter album that isn't about Frosty the Snowman and Santa kissing mommy under the mistletoe, this might just be your thing.
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17 of 18 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Christmas Medley 15 Nov 2009
By Fantasy Lore TOP 1000 REVIEWER
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
What struck me especially when I listened to this CD for the first time was how immediately accessible it was and that may in part be due to the familiarity of the Christmas content, but the marriage of Amos with this niche musical genre works surprisingly well. Some critics of Amos describe her music as pretentious, I think it's more that her voice carries a righteous quality to it, which can be mistaken for pretension, but that's the beauty of this unlikely collaboration...the best Christmas record is all about embellishment and grandeur as well as degrees of subtlety, and requires a special kind of vocalist to triumph in the delivery of such big themes. Tori Amos is one of those singer-songwriters and consequently `Midwinter Graces' feels like a natural and effortless union. It also harkens back to an instrumental-style that I thought Amos had all but abandoned on recent albums.

The challenge of re-working traditional Christmas carols has produced magical results for Amos. There are few other artists who could change the lyrical content to put their own unique stamp on the material, while still maintaining the integrity and unique appeal of the original work. Had Amos simply covered the songs without changing a single lyric this album would not be half as entertaining, but what she's managed to achieve by often re-working the verses while retaining the original chorus, is to create something totally modern that nonetheless captures in entirety, the essence of these long-time established classics.

Piano work drives this album. Personally I think the piano is one of the best instruments at conveying a wintry-quality and Amos is a goddess in that area, as we all know, so the result is a collection of songs that sparkle with wintry appeal. But there are many more examples of instruments utilized to perfect effect, evoking a mood that is perfectly suited to the subject matter.

My favourite tracks on the album-

Track 2- `Star of Wonder' - So traditional and yet so Amos. Genius. (9/10)
Track 4- `Candle: Coventry Carol' - This song completely transports the listener into another era- it bespeaks of all the immortal associations we have with Christmas- tradition, reflection, a certain sadness. The best song on the album in my opinion. (10/10)
Track 5- `Holy, Ivy and Rose' - Felt I had to mention this track for the inclusion of Amos' daughter Natashya Hawley on answering vocals. The counterpoint of their voices works perfectly. Very festive. (8/10)
Track 11- `Winter's Carol' - Lots of piano work, hauntingly Kate Bush esque. This stood out for me in the story-telling stakes, I felt like I was being taken on a journey. Which is what Christmas is all about I reckon. (9/10)

I don't know whether `Pink and Glitter' and `Our New Year', which Amazon mention in the description, are the only tracks that represent completely new material by Amos for this album, but these were two of my least favourite tracks- `Pink and Glitter' is the album's big-band showpiece, but it doesn't quite deliver the knockout chorus you feel it deserves. Where as I found `Our New Year' to be a weak closing song- despite the up-tempo strings section, it doesn't manage to distinguish itself among the other classics on the album, so not a spectacular note to end on, but oh well, without any doubt it's still a gem of an album.
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22 of 24 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Christmas Spirit Redefined 11 Nov 2009
By The Wolf TOP 100 REVIEWER VINE™ VOICE
Format:Audio CD
Now here's a curious confection to be sure!
Carol-along-a-Tori. I had to stretch my mind
into an unfamiliar shape to even begin to meet
her half-way on this one. It is a strange affair.

Strangely beautiful in fact.

I've always considered Ms Amos to be more a
sinner than a saint (the very nicest kind of
sinner I hasten to add!).
Her Holy Night is, therefore, a revelation.

'Midwinter Graces' is about as far away from
the usual obligatory celebrity Christmas album
as it is possible to be. Her heart is clearly in it.

Even some of the most familiar songs are given
reworkings so startlingly original that we hear
them as though for the first time.

'Candle : Coventry Carol' with its warm piano
and brass arrangement is jarringly beautiful.

My own favorite seasonal melody, 'Emmanuel', is
given a stately and mesmerising performance.
The subtle use of strings, bells and percussion
is magical.

The self-penned 'Our New Year' brings a welcome
touch of doubt and darkness to the project.

'Snow Angel' is simply and starkly delightful.

Ms Amos really has created something quite
extraordinary here for believers and unbelievers alike.

This is as close a realisation of something
approximating the notion of "Christmas Spirit"
that we will ever again be likely to encounter.

Essential.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
1.0 out of 5 stars Only if you love Christmas
I'm a huge [early] Tori fan but she seems to be getting blander, less intimate and more charmless by the album. Read more
Published 18 months ago by Ben
4.0 out of 5 stars Graceful Midwinter
a christmassy album, unsurprisngly given the name, with a few quirky covers but some original compositions too. Not Tori's best, but still owrth checking out
Published 19 months ago by NickyBoy
4.0 out of 5 stars A very interesting seasonal album
When I first read that Tori Amos has decided to release a holiday album of traditional songs, I hoped that it would be quite intriguing and dark - and guess what, it is. Read more
Published 22 months ago by Amillionmiles
5.0 out of 5 stars A Super Christmas Collection..!
Why didn't I buy this CD when it first came out, last year..? Well.. I thought it might be a bit 'twee'..

Wrong! It's superb - all the songs work brilliantly, as usual. Read more
Published on 22 Dec 2010 by IR Marks
2.0 out of 5 stars Mediocre
I'm not sure why the review above states that Tori hasn't done anything good since Scarlet's Walk, when Abnormally Attracted to Sin is one of her finest albums. Read more
Published on 22 Dec 2009 by Edda
5.0 out of 5 stars Not the same old Christmas!
An interesting, different point of view on Christmas carols' tradition. The interview explains clearly the concept idea of the album, tracing back to the "pagan" origin of most of... Read more
Published on 15 Dec 2009 by Kamla
5.0 out of 5 stars lovely and christmassy
Lovely, alternative Christmas music - makes a change from sir Cliff and Slade!
Perfect for sitting doing christmassy crafts or dressing the tree. Read more
Published on 15 Dec 2009 by Ms. K. M. Childs
5.0 out of 5 stars Christmas in Tori style
As a Tori fan I was hesitating a bit when I heard about this album. But I'm pleased I bought it!
It is deliciously Tori, as we know her. And Christmas just got a bit better!
Published on 15 Dec 2009 by Marije Pama
5.0 out of 5 stars Tori Amos this Xmas wants to spend a silent night with you
For those who love Tori but also for those who don't know her, this is a xmas carol selection done by the unuque way Tori makes music! Read more
Published on 12 Dec 2009 by Bibi maridadi
5.0 out of 5 stars Amos 5 Amazon 0
If you are a Tori Amos fan you will love this CD, I can wholeheartedly recommend you to purchase it. Read more
Published on 11 Dec 2009 by Drew MacG
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Is the regular edition of Midwinter Graces in a jewel case? 4 22 Nov 2009
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