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27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
Tori Amos at the peak of her powers, 4 Jun 2004
By A Customer
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 on |
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