Little Earthquakes

• Artist: Tori Amos
• Rating:
• Release Date: February 21, 1992
• Total Time: 56:54
• Type: Lyrics are included with the album
• Genre: Rock

Review

With her haunting solo debut Little Earthquakes, Tori Amos carved the template for the female singer/songwriter movement of the '90s. Amos' delicate, prog rock piano work and confessional, poetically quirky lyrics invited close emotional connection, giving her a fanatical cult following and setting the stage for the Lilith Fair legions. But Little Earthquakes is no mere style-setter or feminine stereotype -- its intimacy is uncompromising, intense, and often far from comforting. Amos' musings on major personal issues -- religion, relationships, gender, childhood -- were just as likely to encompass rage, sarcasm, and defiant independence as pain or tenderness; sometimes, it all happened in the same song. The apex of that intimacy is the harrowing "Me and a Gun," where Amos strips away all the music, save for her own voice, and confronts the listener with the story of her own real-life rape; the free-associative lyrics come off as a heart-wrenching attempt to block out the ordeal. Little Earthquakes isn't always so stomach-churning, but it never seems less than deeply cathartic; it's the sound of a young woman (like the protagonist of "Silent All These Years") finally learning to use her own voice -- sort of the musical equivalent of Mary Pipher's Reviving Ophelia. That's why Amos draws strength from her relentless vulnerability, and that's why the constantly shifting emotions of the material never seem illogical -- Amos simply delights in the frankness of her own responses, whatever they might be. Though her subsequent albums were often very strong, Amos would never bare her soul quite so directly (or comprehensibly) as she did here, nor with such consistently focused results. Little Earthquakes is the most accessible work in Amos' catalog, and it's also the most influential and rewarding. ~ Steve Huey, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track Title	Composers	Performers	Time
Crucify	Tori Amos	Tori Amos	(4:58)
Girl	Tori Amos	Tori Amos	(4:06)
Silent All These Years	Tori Amos	Tori Amos	(4:10)
Precious Things	Tori Amos	Tori Amos	(4:26)
Winter	Tori Amos	Tori Amos	(5:40)
Happy Phantom	Tori Amos	Tori Amos	(3:12)
China	Tori Amos	Tori Amos	(4:58)
Leather	Tori Amos	Tori Amos	(3:12)
Mother	Tori Amos	Tori Amos	(6:59)
Tear in Your Hand	Tori Amos	Tori Amos	(4:38)
Me and a Gun	Tori Amos	Tori Amos	(3:44)
Little Earthquakes	Tori Amos	Tori Amos	(6:51)

Credits

Davitt Sigerson (Producer), Tori Amos (Piano), Tori Amos (Strings), Tori Amos (Keyboards), Tori Amos (Piano (Electric)), Tori Amos (Programming), Tori Amos (Vocals), Tori Amos (Vocals (Background)), Tori Amos (Producer), Tori Amos (Main Performer), Tori Amos (?), Tori Amos (Sampled Strings), Nancy Shanks (Vocals (Background)), Steve Caton (Guitar (Acoustic)), Steve Caton (Bass), Steve Caton (Guitar), Steve Caton (Guitar (Electric)), Steve Caton (Vocals (Background)), John Chamberlain (Mandolin), Paul Corkett (Engineer), Paulinho Da Costa (Percussion), Ross Cullum (Mixing), Nick DeCaro (Arranger), Nick DeCaro (Conductor), John Freeze (?), Stuart Gordon (Violin), Ed Greene (Drums), William Gregory (Oboe), Tina Gullickson (Vocals (Background)), Chris Hughes (Drums), John Beverly Jones (Engineer), John Beverly Jones (Mixing), Leslie Ann Jones (Assistant Engineer), Jon Kelly (Mixing), David Lord (Arranger), David Lord (String Arrangements), Will McGregor (Bass), Paul McKenna (Mixing), Dan Nebenzal (Engineer), Carlo Nuccio (Bass), Carlo Nuccio (Drums), David Rhodes (Guitar), Eric Rosse (Percussion), Eric Rosse (Drums), Eric Rosse (Keyboards), Eric Rosse (Programming), Eric Rosse (Vocals (Background)), Eric Rosse (Producer), Eric Rosse (Engineer), Eric Rosse (?), Eric Rosse (Drum Programming), Eric Rosse (Keyboard Programming), Jef Scott (Bass), Jef Scott (Guitar), Matthew Seligman (Bass), John Philip Shenale (Programming), Ian Stanley (Producer), Eric Williams (Dulcimer), Eric Williams (Ukulele), Jake Freeze (Saw), Jake Freeze (?), Jake Freeze (Pedals), Will Gregory (Oboe), Cindy Palmano (Art Direction), Cindy Palmano (Photography), John Chamberlin (Mandolin), Alan Reinl (Design), Will Wentworth (?), Will Wentworth (Lettering), Steve Williams (Engineer)