"The soundtrack album is big business in 1998 ... and it's easy to see why. If you can't get new music played on mainstream radio, what better way to reach the record-buying public than on the back of a hit film (as in _Romeo and Juliet_, which helped acts such as Everclear, Radiohead and the Cardigans reach a wider audience).

If there's a bunch of cool stuff in the vaults - or in the movie director's record collection - it can also make a suitably atmospheric album (as in _Boogie Nights_ and _Jackie Brown_, both compiled from mostly forgotten '70s funk, soul and disco tracks).

The _Titanic_ soundtrack has become the biggest-selling movie album ever but the next hot-ticket soundtrack could be _Great Expectations_ (Atlantic/Warner Music), a stylish collection using the _Romeo and Juliet/Trainspotting_ formula: some established acts, some promising unknowns and a light sprinkling of oldies (in this case, the unlikely combination of the Greatful Dead and Iggy Pop).

Unlike many of these compilations, at least some of this material has been especially written for the occasion, with some of the songs co-written with David Boyle, who composed the film's orchestral score.

As is often the case with the eclectic '90s soundtrack, not everything will be to everyone's taste but there is sure to be at least something that is.

Among the winners are Tori Amos' wordless vocalisation "Finn" and the powerful "Siren", underlining my suspicion that Amos sounds more effective in small doses. [small note: huh?]

Mono's "Life in Mono" is a compelling mix of '60s flavoured Euro-pop and '90s instrumentation and Pulp's "Like a Friend" is the best of the lot, picking up the baton from where Roxy Music's _Virginia Plain_ and David Bowie's _Heroes_ left off.

Chris Cornell's solo debut after the demise of Soundgarden, "sunshower", is an acoustic guitar piece with a slightly psychedelic feel that's a dead ringer for Powderfinger [a Brisbane band], and Scott Weiland should confuse most of his old fans with "Lady, you bring me down", a track that's closer to the Doors attempting a Berlin cabaret number than to his old hard-rocking self in Stone Temple Pilots.

And will the Grateful Dead revival start with the inclusion of that old hippie favorite, "Uncle John's Band"? Unlikely, but with Cesaro Evora's splendid reworking of the Latin chestnut "Besame Mucho", it provides a sunny counterpoint to all that twentysomething angst.

The overall result is an album that works as a unified whole and which you can enjoy whether you've seen the film or not."

On March 2, 1998, the track listing to Tori's new album was first revealed by the Canadian Jam! Music web site. They received their information from Atlantic Records Canada. John Sakamoto, who is executive producer of Jam! Music and who wrote the article that includes this track listing, was the first to notify me. The article there also told us that the album was recorded and mixed by Mark Hawley and Marcel van Limbeek, assisted by Rob van Tuin at Martian, Tori's studio in Cornwall. It was mastered by Bob Ludwig in Maine. They were also the first to tell us that "Spark" would be the first single from "choirgirl."

"Tori Amos talks about her miscarriage"

"Each song would show me a certain side of herself because of what I was going through. So a song like 'Cruel' came to me out of my anger. 'She's Your Cocaine' and 'iieee' came out of a sense of loss and sacrifice. And other songs celebrated the fact that I found a new appreciation for life through this loss.

"There's a deep love on this record. This is not a victim's record. It deals with sadness but it's a passionate record -- for life, for the life force. And a respect for the miracle of life."

The other article, called "Tori Amos to play Canadian club show", talks about Tori's plan for a club tour and the fact that radio stations in the U.S. were playing the single "Spark" before they were supposed to.

The weekly newspaper NOW in Toronto covered the released of Tori's album "from the choirgirl hotel." According to Ears With Feet Romain Godbout and Miriam, the March 19-25, 1998 issue contains a huge photo of Tori on page 13 and a short article on her new album on page 40 along with another smaller pic. If anyone can scan the pics or send me the article, please do!

Great Expectations: The Score--Music Composed By Patrick Doyle

PRODUCERS: Patrick Doyle, Maggie Rodford

Atlantic 83063

Contrary to popular belief, presumed literary giant Charles Dickens has often been accused over the last 150 years of mere melodramatic sensationalism in such books as "Great Expectations." Thus, Dickens would likely be amused by purists" ire over modern adaptations of his "classics." Meantime, the success of the new Gwyneth Paltrow/Ethan Hawke film"s alterna-rock soundtrack should not obscure the sensual score album composed by Patrick Doyle. Besides Doyle"s darkly beautiful orchestrations ("Kissing In The Rain," etc.), this record has such pleasures as Tori Amos" sexy/spooky "Finn," a sublime "B*same Mucho" by Cesaria Evora, Cyrus Chestnut"s jazz ("By The Inch Or By The Hour"), and Kiri Te Kawana"s superb aria, "I Saw No Shadow Of Another Parting," conceived by Doyle using Dickens" words. The fact is, Dickens knew how to write great love stories, and Doyle knows how to write great music for them.

Read the Rumba Article.

A review of the Great Expectations soundtrack appeared in the Dayton Daily News on or around March 8, 1998. The review also appeared online at the ActiveDayton web site.

Read the Great Expectations Review.

Ruud van Melick has translated and sent me a review of the Great Expectations soundtrack that appeared in the 1998 march 7-13 (nr. 10) issue of the Dutch weekly TV-guide Veronica:

The movie is a modern version of the time-honoured Dickens story, the soundtrack is a valuable addition to every CD-collection. The fact that only a few songs are part of the movie is a side-issue. What matters is that veterans like Iggy Pop and The Grateful Death are experiencing severe competition from alternative newcomers. Pulp, Reef and Tori Amos are reasonably well-known and are given room for a valuable contribution, female singer Lauren Christy and singer/songwriter Duncan Sheik are (in our country) unknown, but sing beautiful songs. The same goes for The Verve Pipe and Mono and we can go on and on. A honourable mention goes to former Soundgarden-frontman Chris Cornell, who, in a inimitable way, kicks off a hopefully very fertile solo-career. "Great Expectations" is a wonderful CD, even without the matching movie-images. (JV) Best song: "Chris Cornell - Sunshower"

"With gen-xers, gwyneth and ethen, in this revisionist update of the dickensian tale, what does one expect but today's music-hipsters (pulp, the verve pipe, mono, poe et al) to lend their voices to this eclectic, if coherent, collection? no surprise then that it'd be tori amos who injects the requisite intensity in this emotional trip: opener 'finn' is all wide-eyed innocence, counterpointed next by 'siren', an urgent call of love in which the kooky diva pulls out all the stops, her trademark malleable voice careening around typically-obtuse lyrics. other standouts : duncan sheik's radio-friendly single ' wishful thinking', fisher's wistful, slowburn ditty 'breakable', and latin diva cesaria evora's utterly romantic 'resame muncho'."

The Courier Mail, Wednesday 4 March, 1998

TORI Amos went into a 300-year-old barn-turned-recording studio in Cornwall, England, to make a new album ... and came out with a new husband. She married sound engineer Mark Hawley last month. The flame-haired songwriter did find time to get some work done - her folow-up to Little Earthquakes should be with us by May. Don't expect too many silly love songs, however.

Tori appeared in the March 1998 issue of Vox Magazine in the U.K. (Issue #89) in an article called "The Diva." Others said the article was called "The Most Wanted Women 1998." Tori rated #8 in a top 20 Diva list.

Read more about the article and see a Tori photo that acompanied the article.

Tori Amos is recording in a 300 year old barn in Cornwall, putting the finishing touches to her May-scheduled album. Provisional song titles include Cruel and Playboy Mama for the "Marvin Gaye and Led Zeppelin-influenced" album, which features live takes and her regular touring band.