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"from the choirgirl hotel"
2nd Single: Raspberry Swirl & Jackie's Strength

Updated May 11, 1999


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    Raspberry Swirl was to be the new U.K. single, but it was sadly cancelled. However, other places received the Raspberry Swirl single, including Germany and Australia, and the single is readily available as an import in the U.K. & U.S. Look below for the latest on the Raspberry Swirl saga! In the United States & Canada, the second single was "Jackie's Strength.", which was released on September 15, 1998 in the U.S. and on September 22, 1998 in Canada. Find out details about BOTH these singles below (including promo versions), and their respective videos.


    Raspberry Swirl Single
    The Saga Of The Cancelled Second U.K. Choirgirl Single!

    The U.S. Enhanced Jackie's Strength Single
    with lyrics to Never Seen Blue & Beulah Land and troubleshooting tips for the enhanced CD.

    The Raspberry Swirl & Jackie's Strength Videos


    "Raspberry Swirl" Single (Released In Germany & Australia; Cancelled In The U.K.)

    Raspberry Swirl was the second choirgirl single in Europe and Australia. The U.K version of this single was cancelled (However, there might be a few versions of the cancelled U.K. single floating around out there. Grab it if you see it because it will become quite a collector's item!) The single was released in Germany, Australia, Belgium (Thanks Raffie!) and perhaps France. Toriphiles in the U.S. and U.K. should have a relatively easy time finding this single as an import at many record stores and online vendors.

    The remixes of Raspberry Swirl were done by Andy Gray. You can hear sound clips of all three mixes from the Raspberry Swirl single (commonly known as "Strawberry" Swirl) at the Tori World web site.

    Toriphiles Nathan and Alexandra kept me informed about the Raspberry Swirl single in Australia. Alexandra tells me that the single was released in Australia on Monday, September 7, 1998. Nathan adds:

    Christoph Viethen and Yves Van Assel informed me that the single was released in Germany on August 24, 1998 (AT0045CD - Cat.no: 7567-84173-2) and contained these tracks (If the U.K. single had made it to market, it also would have had this track listing.):

    1. Raspberry Swirl (Lip Gloss Version) 3:38
    2. Raspberry Swirl (Sticky Extended Vocal Mix) 7:50
    3. Raspberry Swirl (Scarlet Spectrum Feels) 8:10


    Christoph describes the release: "'Made in Germany by (warner logo) Warner Music Manufacturing Europe. France EW 773' it says on the sleeve, and 'AT0045CD'. Slim-line jewel case. Take a look at http://www.ljwren.demon.co.uk/paul/FTCGH.html for an impression of what the picture disc and the sleeve look like (on that version, the copyright notices on the sleeve are missing, though, and the text on the disc is a little different)."

    Tim Thacher reports, "The lip gloss version seemed to have an extra drum beat with some minor additional mixing in it. Sticky Extended Vocal Mix is a dancy kind of song, but in my opinion better than Professional Widow Dance Mixes, when they came out. The Scarlet Spectrum Feels version is slower, but still very good."

    EWF Danica reports that the Lip Gloss version of Raspberry Swirl has a bit more piano and a reverb on her voice at times, but nothing majorly different from the album version. The Scarlet Spectrun Feels mix was heard over the speakers in some venues right after Tori performed during the Plugged '98 tour.

    EWF Catja Dralle has this to say about this single:

    This single should be available as an import from several online vendors, including www.sirencd.com.


    The Cancelled RS Single In The U.K.

    The U.K. version of the Raspberry Swirl CD single was cancelled, but German imports of the single are readily available in the U.K. Many people who bought the single in the U.K. don't realize they are getting an import. Others would like to know how to tell the German import from the actual UK single that was cancelled (because of few of these were leaked out before the CD was officially cancelled. Toriphile Burak posted to the Precious-Things mailing list a description of the cancelled UK single so that collectors could tell it apart from the German import:


    Mike Gray says the Catalogue number of the cancelled U.K. single was WEA 578968.

    EWF Paul Wren stumbled across a copy of the U.K.Raspberry Swirl CD single, as well as the 12" promo vinyl as well, even though these items are not being officially released now. The 12" promo, while not common, has been available from time to time from various vendors, though they tend to sell out quickly. Here is Paul's report on the cancelled U.K. RS single and the 12" promo:

    Raspberry Swirl was apparently being played in the clubs in the U.K. On August 10, 1998, you could find a blurb about Raspberry Swirl on the Dotmusic Web Site in the Club Chart commentary section. (Thanks Giovanni Mantilla.) It said:



    A U.K. promotional CD single for Raspberry Swirl did make it out for a while, and you can sometimes find the promo single for sale at various vendors and sometimes at the eBay auction site. Mike Gray sent me the artwork for that promo single as well as a scan of the disc (See below.) The promo CD has these 2 tracks:

    1. Raspberry Swirl (Lip Gloss Version - 3:39)
    2. Raspberry Swirl (Naked - 3:44)


    The Catalogue number is 3333000092, and it's on east/west. The CD itself doesn't give away the fact that it's a promo - however, it has no barcode (a dead giveaway), only 2 tracks, and inside the sleeve (on the reverse of the cover) it does say, in tiny lettering "for promotional use only, not for sale".


    U.K. Raspberry Swirl Promo Artwork


    U.K. Raspberry Swirl Promo Disc


    The Mystery Of The Second U.K. Choirgirl Single!

    I went insane trying to understand the deal with Tori's second single in the U.K.. First we heard it was going to be Jackie's Strength. Then we heard it was going to be a 2-CD release for Raspberry Swirl. Then we were told that it would be a 1 CD release. Then the U.K. Raspberry Swirl single was cancelled! This situation was both bizarre and frustrating. Some say EastWest did not think the single would sell well, and so they pulled it. Others say that EastWest is going through some major restructuring that caused all this.


    The Story Of The 2nd U.K. Choirgirl Single From Mike Gray...

    Back in 1998, U.K. Toriphile Mike Gray posted to the Tori mailing lists a detailed account of what happened with the second single plans in the U.K. It is an accurate and funny account which also shows how unorganized Tori's record company in the U.K. must be! Mike's account is below:


    What we currently know about the 2nd U.K. "choirgirl" single

    There never was a second U.K. single for choirgirl released in 1998. There were indications in the Spring of 1999 that the Jackie's Strength Remix might be released as a single during the summer in the U.K. You can read about that on my Jackie's Strength Remix Page. If this happened it would be a year after the original plans for the second single fell through. Very odd indeed! Below you will find a few other comments that were sent to me in 1998 about the cancelled second single in the U.K.:




    "Jackie's Strength" The Second North American Single

    The second North American single was "Jackie's Strength". The release date in the U.S. was September 15, 1998 for the special enhanced CD-5 single (though some copies of the single leaked to some stores a little early!) The single is an enhanced CD (Atlantic 2-84163). A cassette single (Atlantic 4-84163 ) was also released. Tori revealed the b-sides that should be on this single in an online chat with TVGEN on August 5, 1998. They are 2 songs that were written for the 1996 Boys For Pele album but never made it on that release. The b-sides are on both the enhanced CD single AND the cassette single. Here is the track listing for this single:

    1. Jackie's Strength (4:17)
    2. Never Seen Blue (Previously Unreleased) (3:41)
    3. Beulah Land (Previously Unreleased) (2:56)


    Various Toriphiles, including Chris Johnson and Emilica, have informed me that the bside Never Seen Blue has been heard before in an early form. Track 8 (listed as "Unreleased Song") on a bootleg called "Goddess" is actually a portion of "Never Seen Blue". It served as an introduction for "Sugar" when Tori was playing live at radio station WNEW on February 5, 1996. The lyrics are a little different and were:


    To read guessed lyrics for the Jackie's Strength b-sides, Never Seen Blue & Beulah Land, look below.


    Jackie's Strength Single In Canada

    Jackie's Strength was released in Canada on September 22, 1998.


    Scans & Reports On The JS Single

    On September 15, 1998, I bought both the CD enhanced single and the cassette single in a local store in Louisville, KY, though I had to check a few places before I found it. I have included scans of the cover and back-side of the case, as well as scans of the CD disc itself. I did not include a photo of the front of the cassette single, since it is the same as the CD, but I did scan the BACK of the cassette single, since it is different from the CD. The scans/photos are below (If they look a little blurry, it is because they are that way on the single, likely because they were taken from the Jackie's Strength video). After the scans, I have various details & reports about the enhanced CD single!


    Front & Back Covers: Click To Enlarge


    The CD Disc For The Jackie's Strength Single


    The Back Of The JS Cassette Single

    Here are some reports on the single from people who either have an advanced copy of it or have been given reliable information.

    From Mikewhy:



    Troubleshooting Tips If You Can't Get The Videos On The Enhanced CD To Play Using Windows

    From Amanda M.:


    From Ken Tapia:


    From Ookami aka Phillip Tesar:



    From Tripp Gwyn:

    From Sandy:

    From woj:

    From Melanie:

    From Joey:

    From zenn@erols.com:

    From ryan:

    From Benjamin Mobley:


    Atlantic News Item About The "Jackie's Strength" Enhanced CD
    There was a great news item at the Atlantic Web site as well as on www.tori.com. I will simply repeat the Atlantic news item here:

    Tori Amos is set for a special MTV unveiling this weekend with the debut of "Jackie's Strength," the companion video to her new from the choirgirl hotel single. The striking black-and-white clip, directed by James Brown (Finley Quaye, Apollo 440, Mansun), is particularly noteworthy for its clever integration of documentary footage of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis -- a lyrical inspiration for the song -- during the 'Camelot' years. The video is slated to make its MTV debut Sunday night, August 16th, during the network's 120 Minutes program. Then, on September 8th [Note from Mikewhy: This has been delayed until the 15th], a special "Jackie's Strength" Enhanced CD single will hit retail outlets nationwide. The disc, which also includes the previously unreleased tracks "Never Seen Blue" and "Beulah Land," contains the Brown- directed "Jackie's Strength" video and the rare companion clip to "Raspberry Swirl" (previously released overseas only) for the enjoyment of CD-ROM users.


    Keep up with the latest on this single by checking these online vendor's web sites:



    Billboard Magazine had a small review of Jackie's Strength in their August 8, 1998 issue.

    I did notice during the online chat that Tori did not mention that Merman would be a b-side for that single, though in earlier interviews she did. At this point, the fate of Merman as a b-side is unknown. It would be a pity if it did not get released officially!


    Lyrics to Never Seen Blue & Beulah Land

    Toriphile Christa met Tori during a meet & greet in Los Angeles and presented Tori with her guess as to the lyrics of the b-side Beulah Land. Tori actually looked at the lyrics and made corrections! Read all about this fascinating Plugged '98 tour story on Christa's site On All The World Tours. You can see what the lyrics to Beulah Land truly are according to Tori below.

    Lyrics To Beulah Land According To Tori! (There are still some uncertainties though...Tori revealed these lyrics during a hectic meet & greet.)



    Here are some guessed lyrics to the new b-sides from the Jackie's Strength single!

    From Michelle:


    From Woj:


    From Matthew A. Arigo:


    From Natalie Grammer:


    From Ryan:


    From Nick Raafe:


    From sadistic@hotmail.com:


    From John Norville:


    From Caroline in Virginia:


    From c0ri:


    A promo CD was sent to U.S.radio stations on July 28th and since then, the song has popped up on several U.S. alternative radio stations. You can see the front cover and inside sleeve for the promo CD below. Click on the image to see it larger. The photos are scenes from the Jackie's Strength video. Special thanks to Giovanni and Patrick for sending this info to me. This promo single has also been seen on the eBay auction web site.

    The tracks on the promo CD are:

    1. Jackie's Strength - Pop Edit (4:04)
    2. Jackie's Strength - Edit (4:12)



    Jackie's Strength Promo Artwork - Click For Larger Image


    The Videos For "Raspberry Swirl" & "Jackie's Strength"

    I have screen shots/photos and a few reports about the Raspberry Swirl video from people who recently saw it. The music in the video differs some from the album version of the song, so it likely is using the Lip Gloss remix of the song that appears on the single. This video has been seen on The Box in the U.K. and appears on the enhanced CD single for Jackie's Strength that was released in the U.S. on September 15, 1998.

    You can hear RealAudio and MP3 sound clips of the video mix of the song at the Tori World web site.


    There is also a video for Jackie's Strength. Go here for reports about this video and screen shots/photos!. The promotional Jackie's Strength CD pictured above contains photos from this video. The video also appears on the enhanced CD single for Jackie's Strength that was released in the U.S. on September 15, 1998. The video has appeared a few times on MTV 120 Minutes and has also been spotted ob VH1.

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    Please give me feedback, comments, or suggestions about my site. Email me (Michael Whitehead) at mikewhy@iglou.com