A cult clustered around Y Kant Tori Read (the name of the band and the LP) when Tori Amos became famous three years later with the confessional Little Earthquakes. The singer/songwriter then distanced herself from Y Kant Tori Read, which she explained reminds her of struggling in California and other things she doesn't want to remember (some detailed in "Me and a Gun"). Even though in the liner notes, Tori (no surname) explains how this is the record she wanted to make, Amos has since copped the trite "record company pressure" plea. Actually, this is not that bad, but hardly an indicator of the lyrical bite in her future solo work. Plus, like too much from the vapid video age, it's just shallow and corporate. She's already aping Kate Bush, but producer Joe Chiccarelli worked with Pat Benatar and lets it show. (Meaningless aside: Chiccarelli broke through with Sheik Yerbouti.) Go back to Benatar's rendition of Bush's "Wuthering Heights" to get the gist of this '80s romp: the true-blue "Cool on Your Island" and "Floating City" invoke Madonna; Amos almost raps in the Abdul-ish "Fayth"; "Pirates" showcases a Miami Vice backdrop; Berlin also haunts several tracks, including guilty pleasure "Heart Attack at 23." However, traces of Amos' future niche do kindle in "Fire on the Side." The kooky closing trilogy (wherein she wonders if she's a witch) achieves some uniqueness. Thus, Y Kant Tori Read beams much sunnier than the bleak '90s Amos catalog, but also floats away weightless. As for the bonuses, "Song for Eric" pulls a Sinead O'Connor. "Ring My Bell" is a laboriously unnecessary remake that actually paves the way for her version of "Smells Like Teen Spirit." Apparently, except for Tori, the Y Kant Tori Read band didn't make the vinyl. Cheap Trick's Rick Nielsen and Robin Zander actually sing backup on this collector's item oddity. Other personnel includes Guns n' Roses stickman Matt Sorum, Steve Farris of Mister Mister, and keyboard journeyman Kim Bullard (who co-wrote many of the tunes). Don't pay a lot for Y Kant Tori Read. (You'll still want to see the video for the "Big Picture" though.) ~ Doug Stone, All Music Guide
Tori Amos (Piano), Vinnie Colaiuta (Drums), Tori (Piano), Tim Landers (Bass), Tori Amos (Keyboards), Tori (Keyboards), Nancy Shanks (Vocals (Background)), Gene Black (Guitar), Peter White (Guitar), Kim Bullard (Piano), Steve Caton (Guitar), Dan Marnien (Engineer), Cece Bullard (Vocals (Background)), James House (Vocals (Background)), Lois Oki (Assistant Engineer), Steve Farris (Guitar), Tori (Vocals (Background)), Fernando Saunders (Guitar (Bass)), Tori Amos (Vocals (Background)), Ed Thacker (Mixing), Will Rogers (Assistant Engineer), Zobbin Rander (Vocals (Background)), Paulinho Da Costa (Percussion), Kim Bullard (Producer), Peter Doell (Assistant Engineer), Chris Furman (Assistant Engineer), Bob Defrin (Art Direction), Rick Nelson (Vocals (Background)), Peter White (Guitar (Acoustic)), Csaba Petocz (Engineer), Zobbin Rander (?), Joe Chiccarelli (Engineer), Steve Farris (Guitar (Acoustic)), Aaron Rapoport (Photography), Kim Bullard (Programming), Dan Marnien (Assistant Engineer), Richard Bernard (Bouzouki), Angus Davidson (Assistant Engineer), David Kershenbaum (Executive Producer), Matt Sorum (Drums), Claudio Ordenes (Assistant Engineer), Kim Bullard (Keyboards), Tori Amos (?), Jim Dineen (Engineer), Martin Schmelze (Assistant Engineer), Merry Clayton (Vocals (Background)), Fernando Saunders (Bass), Linda Maxwell (Assistant Producer), Dan Nebenzal (Engineer), Devon Dickson (Bagpipes), Joe Chiccarelli (Producer), Tim Landers (Guitar (Bass)), Mike Tacci (Assistant Engineer), Eric Williams (Mandolin), The Valentine Brothers (Vocals (Background))
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Y Kant Tori Read is the name of the 1980s synthpop band (and their self-titled debut album), formed by then-unknown singer and songwriterTori Amos. The band consisted of Tori, singer-pianist Kim Bullard, and future Guns N' RosesdrummerMatt Sorum, as well as long-time Amos collaborator guitaristSteve Caton and various studio musicians. Due to the spelling of the band and album name, some critics believed the album was a solo project by a woman named "Tori Read", wondering "Why can't Tori read...do what?" This was compounded by the fact that Amos is billed simply as "Tori" in the liner notes.
The band released an eponymous album in 1988 before splitting, and received miserable sales; it is now one of the most sought-after Tori Amos collectibles, fetching upwards of $1,000 in compact disc format in original longbox. At the height of Amos' career vinyl copies would often sell for between $300-500, but due to the decline of music collectibles and the heavy pirating of the record, they now frequently sell for between $50-80. For information on the band itself visit Y Kant Tori Read.
Because of the scarcity of legitimate copies of the album it has been heavily bootlegged, so much so that an FAQ on the topic was created. Generally, bootleg versions stem from one of the first editions to surface, on a foreign label called "Pacific Records". These usually have six bonus tracks from later in Amos' career: "Song For Eric," "Ode to the Banana King (Part 1)," "Happy Phantom (Live,)" "Ring My Bell," "The Happy Worker" and "Workers." Other editions, particularly one that surfaced in Germany, were issued to intentionally resemble the original and rip off legitimate collectors.
The number on the spine of the original CD reads 81845-2. The majority of imitative bootlegs list this number incorrectly because their stolen artwork is taken from the easier-to-find LP version of the release, which had a different release number.
Non-promotional copies of the record are more desirable than promotionally issued copies. (The reverse is generally the case in music collectibles.) Because the record sold so poorly, the majority of commercially-released copies were recalled, stamped with a gold promo stamp, and given a cut-out mark. Thus there are actually more promotional copies of the record than not.
Several singles were released to promote the album, though most promotionally and not commercially. "The Big Picture" was released as a 12" vinyl promotional single with unique artwork; "Cool On Your Island" was issued as a 7" vinyl promotional single with a special edit version of the song; it was also included as a b-side to a promotional CD featuring the song "Groovy Kind of Love" by Phil Collins. (Amos tells a story from this era of being stopped by police while traveling through Germany because her friend was carrying marijuana; when she told the police officer that she was "on a CD with Phil Collins," she was set free.)
One music video was produced for the song "The Big Picture". The imagery on the video is very generic for 1980s, featuring Amos prancing around a "ghetto city" sound stage set in thigh-high boots and a halter top.
Amos has continued to play a select few songs from this album ("Etienne," "Cool On Your Island," and snippets of "Fire On the Side") live in concert.
