Tori Amos : Welcome To Sunny Florida

The first commercial DVD release from Tori Amos is long overdue but well worth the wait...and in the words of The Times, "there won't be a better music film this year."
'WELCOME TO SUNNY FLORIDA' captures Tori at the end of a gruelling 10-month tour (plus two months of rehearsal), but she is in sparkling form. Her previous concert video, 1997's 'LIVE FROM NEW YORK,' found her at her most intense and passionate (and at her most uncomfortable), but this finds her at the peak of her powers as an artist.
With six years' worth of more material than the previous video, it is easy to see how Tori's composing has improved since 1997. No longer does she rely wholly on zany lyrics or reckless vocals, but neither is she completely devoid of passion. The songs here that she performs are testament to her abilities as a composer more than anything - she not only writes her songs, but she is responsible for bringing them together and fashioning them in a way suitable to her albums.
The material from her 1992 solo debut 'LITTLE EARTHQUAKES' (with songs written as early as the late 1980s) is reworked here. "Precious Things" is similar to the live version on her 1999 album 'TO VENUS AND BACK', but considerably shorter and featuring an even stronger vocal performance; "Leather" retains its classic barroom swagger; and "Crucify" is elongated to ten minutes, including some spacey 'VENUS'-style verses. This version of the song, complete with a frenetic coda featuring the strongest vocals of her recorded career yet, is a contender for best performance on the DVD.
'UNDER THE PINK' (1994) was a highly impressionistic work, with emphasis on Amos' classical piano rather than band arrangements. But with bassist Jon Evans and drummer/percussionist Matt Chamberlain, the songs' potential as rockier compositions is fully realised, particularly on "Bells for Her," which is now one of Amos' live show stoppers instead of one of her delicate almost-forgotten gems.

1996's experimental, challenging 'BOYS FOR PELE' is thankfully represented here in greater detail than 2003's retrospective album 'TALES OF A LIBRARIAN.' Amos takes the breathy "Father Lucifer" and turns it into one of the concert's grooviest numbers, with Wurlitzer as prime accompaniment instead of piano. "Professional Widow" is one of the most passionate songs to be included here, and contrary to popular belief, the muting of some of the profanities is not a murderous crime to Tori's music; it might interrupt the song's flow slightly, but is not a major loss - if you want to hear the swear words, go listen to 'PELE'.
An absence of material from 1998's 'FROM THE CHOIRGIRL HOTEL' is surprising, considering that it is one of her most band-oriented works, and the underrated electronica of 'VENUS' is represented only by "Concertina," which shows off her penchant for gorgeous melodies and her exquisite keyboard skills, where she plays Rhodes and piano simultaneously.
Amos' ambitious 2001 covers collection 'STRANGE LITTLE GIRLS' is not represented here, but 'SCARLET'S WALK' is, rather obviously considering that the tour is in support of that album. "A Sorta Fairytale," the concert opener, is probably the weakest of the DVD, but the tender "Your Cloud" and dreamy "I Can't See New York" demonstrate the transcendent beauty of her most recent studio work.
The concert also features a couple of jazzy improvisations, possibly pointing in a mellower direction, and some non-studio album songs. "Take to the Sky" and "Sugar" both originate from the 'LITTLE EARTHQUAKES' era and are two of this concert's best performances with their highly percussive rhythms (the former launches for a while into the 'PELE' track "Muhammad My Friend" unexpectedly); "Cooling" is probably the evening's most emotional performance, solo on piano, and was written for 'BOYS FOR PELE' but not included; and "Tombigbee" is an almost R&B-style rocker recorded for 'SCARLET'S WALK' and performed on Wurlitzer and Rhodes. Its studio version finds its way onto the bonus CD here.
The DVD extras include a tour yearbook featuring some stunning photographs while a live version of the 'PINK' song "Past the Mission" plays, mini interviews with Evans and Chamberlain, and in-depth interviews with Tori, and her mother Mary, both separate. Mary's interview gives a particular insight into the world of Tori Amos, because many of Tori's comments are already well-known by her die hard fans (and there are many die hard fans).
The bonus CD, 'SCARLET'S HIDDEN TREASURES,' is a good close to the 'SCARLET'S WALK' era, which has now lasted for almost two years. "Ruby through the Looking-Glass" deals with a frightening encounter during Tori's pregnancy in 2000, "Indian Summer" explores empowerment, "Seaside" was inspired by a young girl's account of a bombing, and the eight-minute "Apollo's Frock" features one of Tori's most beautiful melodies. These four songs feature either just piano and vocal, or some subtle acoustic guitar work from Mac Aladdin. In any case, they are all absolutely essential Tori Amos masterpieces and, in the case of "Apollo's Frock" in particular, hark back to her earlier works while giving a sense that Tori is now eager to rediscover her solo piano roots after six years of playing with a band (since 1998's 'CHOIRGIRL' album). "Tombigbee" is a groovy rocker, and "Bug a Martini" is completely new for Tori, a lounge-style bossa nova featuring James Bond-style imagery of spies, martinis, and the hook "send me to Moscow."
Overall, 'WELCOME TO SUNNY FLORIDA' is an absolutely essential piece for any Tori fan, and even for non-fans it provides a good snapshot into her world (note: it also features the first glimpses of her three-year-old daughter Natashya and shows Tori deciding backstage what to play for her encore - her encores are NOT pre-determined!)
So, I would strongly recommend you investigate this, because Tori Amos is simply the best musician-composer out there today, and her unique approach can be seen in the performances and in her 25-minute interview.

Notable features: improvisational codas in "Crucify" and "Take to the Sky"; simultaneous keyboard work in "Concertina"; three-song solo set mid-concert; beautiful direction from Loren Haynes; full-length interviews; peek at Tori's daughter and behind the scenes footage; the entire bonus CD - this is an essential release.

At last a Tori Amos concert on DVD - aren't all us Tori fans just breathing a heavy sigh of gratitude?
The concert is simply electrifying - Tori is amazing when she's performing live and this show bares witness to the fact that she has to be one of the most spellbinding performers of this day and age. Watching her is like witnessing a celestial event! - really, no exaggeration - my eyes were stuck to the screen and countless times crew wide with amazement when she really gives it her all. Such as in songs like Crucify - which has to be the best rendition of the song ever. Likewise with Take To The Sky, being one of my favorite Tori B-Sides (and never having heard it performed live before) is now one of my favorite Live tracks - you can tell she's loving every minute of it and it has an amazing climatic end that leaves you shaking your head in dumbfound amazement at how brililiant she is. Other highlights include: Father Lucifer (love the finger), I Can't See New York, Cooling and of course, Precious Things, which just seems to get better everytime I hear it.
The behind-the-scenes material is particularly wonderful, as are the interludes, where Tori speaks candidly about her evolving career. There are some fantastic add-lib moments and 'fill-in' songs, such as 'Next Week' (unofficial title) and the jazz-like-jitty she does for Florida.
My only gripe (and it has nothing to do with Tori) is the song Professional Widow. The people who will buy this will obviously be Tori Amos fans such as you and I, who are therefore very well aware of the songs rather racy and explicit content (agreed?) so why then does the vocal fade out on the expletives? It really interrupts the flow of the song and is particularly annoying when she mentions the, err, anatomical reference at the end of the song, when you can tell she's really belting it out but instead of being able to appreciate the amazing power of Tori's voice, the sounds is cut and only slightly fade's in like a distorted echo - Why?
Oh well, that little gripe aside, this is an amazing addition to any Tori fans collection. She is simply spell-binding - add to this that we also get six new songs from the Scarlets Walk era (probably due to the lack of commercial releases and therefore B-Sides) of which Apollos Frock with its beautiful piano intro and the wonderful Indian Summer are my favorites, this is a must have for any Tori fan worth their salt.

Yet again I'm bowled over by the beauty and humility of Tori's music. The DVD concert sees her in fine form, as she churns out an impressive range of numbers from the recent Scarlet's Walk tour. One highlight is the brutal putdown of a heckler while she's singing humourously about what she'll do "Next Week" after the tour is over. Go Tori! As for the songs, "Cooling" sent shivers down my spine as usual, and the version of "Crucify" is unlike anything you've heard before. Anyone who's seen her live will know how she moves around her instruments (in this case, the piano, a Fender and an enormous synth) and it makes for riveting viewing. The 6-track CD that comes with it is an absolute masterpiece, with that old Tori magic shining through particularly on "Indian Summer". And Tori goes loungecore on "Bug a Martini"! If I could give this 10 stars I would, but unfortunately 5 is as high as it goes. You need to own this.