Like a Good Girl: Tori Amos at her Best - A Gather Member Review

I received a promotional copy of Tori Amos' "Selections From A Piano:  The Collection" in the mail last week.  The first time I listened to it, I just wanted to relax and let it sink in.  I've heard some of the songs before because many of my friends over the years have been Tori fans. 

The promotional CD includes twelve songs from the five-disc release of A Piano:  The Collection.  It is an assortment of B-sides, remixes, alternate mixes, and album original versions. 

The CD starts with "A Sorta Fairytale" from Disc 4.  It's a nostalgic, pretty song with a very moody transition in the middle.  Her vocal range on this track is incredible and dynamic. 

The second track, "Mary," is from Disc 5.  It's one of Tori's ballad-style songs – an inspiring, hopeful story tinged with sadness.  Her voice is rough and tumble in this song.  It makes a simple, statement through her telling of the story of Mary, and it's almost reminiscent of the country or americana genre.  It's listed as a B-side song, but that's actually incorrect.  But that doesn't take any of the beauty away from the song. 

"Cornflake Girl" is the third track.  It's from Disc 2.  The ending of this song is powerful and spiritual.  It's Tori at her best. 

"Baker Baker (Alternate Mix)," also from Disc 2, is creepy, soft, haunting and has an almost wintery sound. 

In "Silent All These Years" from Disc 3, Tori's voice shows range – nervous, neurotic, and confessional.   

"Flying Dutchman (Alternate Mix)" from Disc 1 is a pretty song that speaks of a seductive freedom.  Tori's voice is defiant and challenging, and the track is just fantastic. 

 "Playboy Mommy (Remix)" from Disc 4 is a slower song.  It's sultry, moody, sexy, and swanky in Tori's storytelling.  It's an admission, a song that exposes much emotion. 

"Crucify (Unedited Single Version)" is probably one of my favorite Tori songs.  It's off Disc 1, and is a quick paced and pretty song, but it's got a defiant attitude.  It's quiet, bright, grimy, and it juxtaposes Tori's boldness against her meekness.  It feels like a question of faith – a song about the crosses we all bear. 

From Disc 1, the CD includes "Take to the Sky (Russia)" – a funky, wonderful, aggressive, angry song.  Tori doing what she does best. 

In "God" from Disc 2, Tori presents an almost disco style.  Noise, her enchanting voice, and soulful talk of the nature of religion, her endless soulsearching, realization and accusation.  And it all comes through in her voice.  It's a rhythmic song, and a powerful one. 

In "Cruel (Alternate Mix)" from Disc 4, Tori presents a brooding admission of the dark side of personality.  It's a gloomy song that reveals the shadows in her voice.  It's intimate, and it whispers.  Though this song is not on the actual set, I'm glad I received this version.  The song that's actually included in the set is a remix. 

"Sugar," the last song on the promotional CD and originally a B-side from the single "China" (1992), is a breathtaking, demanding muddy-sounding almost industrial-style song.  It's charming and gloomy.  It might be the best song on this condensed version of the collection. 

It seems like many Tori fans are disappointed that this collection is not a B-side festival.  But I think this collection is actually more intended to be a "Tori fan favorites" than a "Rare and Hard to Get Songs for the Die-Hard Tori fan!"

It's got a variety of songs from all the different eras of Tori, and it's a really decent representation of her style. 

For someone like me, who would never go out and invest in buying every Tori Amos CD available at stores or on Ebay, I think this collection is a great find.  It shows Tori's attitude, her grace, and her style all in one collection.  She shows us all that she's not afraid to expose the dirty and gritty opposite the glamour – both sides of human nature.  There are album versions, singles, remixes, alternates – some of the most popular, some of the more obscure. 

It really is the best of Tori – and surprisingly, there are no covers.  So we don't have to listen to that ridiculously slow cover she did where she moans the lyrics to "Losing My Religion" by REM. 

It's a restless, fidgety, edgy collection, and an essential to all fans of Tori Amos.