"Strange Little Girls" - Page 2

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On Page 2 below, you will find more information about the 2001 "Strange Little Girls" album. Click here to see the first page.

MTV.com, VH1.com, and SonicNet.com post news story about "Strange Little Girls"

Added June 14, 2001 - All these sites are posting the same article by Teri vanHorn. The article basically summarizes what we already know about "Strange Little Girls". They do talk about Tori going on a Fall 2001 tour. We were previously told that Tori's tour would start in late summer. However, even then it was apparent that the bulk of the tour would take place this Fall. Here is what the short article tells us:

Tori Amos To Explore Sexual Politics On Strange Little Girls

Follow-up to 1999's To Venus and Back scheduled for September 18 release.

Two years after her venture To Venus and Back, Tori Amos will resurface late this summer with her sixth album, Strange Little Girls.

The singer/songwriter recorded the disc in Cornwall, England, with longtime collaborator Matt Chamberlain and King Crimson guitarist Adrian Belew, according to her Atlantic publicist. Girls arrives in stores September 18.

The sexual politics and complexities of modern American culture fuel much of the album's lyrical content. Motherhood also plays a role, as Amos gave birth to her first child, a daughter, last year.

Amos' last effort, To Venus and Back, featured one disc of fresh material and one of songs performed live during 1998.

She will mount a U.S. tour in the fall to support the album.

-- Teri vanHorn

Added May 17, 2001 - Singingforaliving.com is a free resource site for developing recording artists, singers and singer/songwriters, and it has been recently redesigned. The site is run by singer/songwriter/voice teacher Marta Woodhull, who is the girlfriend/mate of John Philip Shenale, who was Tori's string arranger and/or sound designer for most of her previous albums. If you check out the ProNews section of the site, there is a page about Tori Amos with some interesting photos. There are also comments on Tori's new 2001 album that I find really interesting. You can find the following on the Tori Page:

The inside scoop on NEW TORI MUSIC is... she is starting a new album in Europe in February, with a surprise concept... I know what it is, but I won't tell...except that... John Philip Shenale (String Arranger for "Baker, Baker", "Anastasia", "Marianne" and Sound Designer for "Bells for Her", "Black Dove") is flying to meet Tori with a menagerie of new goodies for her to play with.

Interesting! Check out the site because you can find Tori content elsewhere, like on the ProNews page about J. Philip Shenale. There is even a photo of John Philip Shenale pointing to some equipment with the fascinating caption, 'Phil's late-night arrival to work on Tori's "Secret Project"'

Added May 15, 2001 - I have just added to the Dent a page for the concert tour Tori plans to begin in Fall 2001 to support "Strange Little Girls". Here you will be able to keep track of all the latest information on Tour's tour plans.

Check out The Dent's 2001 Tour Page.

Added May 5, 2001 - Jasmine and Whitney tell me that the May 24, 2001 issue of Rolling Stone magazine (issue #869) includes information about Tori's new album. However, they do not report anything new and they basically repeat what they already had on their web site, rollingstone.com. Here is what they said:

Tori Amos Finishes New Disc

For her new album, Strange Little Girls, Tori Amos says she was interested in exploring "the dilemma of opposites," specifically, what she sees as the imbalance of power between men and women in the U.S. "I think it's a very difficult time in America right now to be a heterosexual male," Amos says. "Face it, most of them want to be black, or they have to look over their shoulder at the woman who's going to take their job."

The album-Amos' sixth-was recorded in her Cornwall, England, studio with drummer Matt Chamberlain and King Crimson guitarist Adrian Belew. It is due out on September 18th. She explains that much of her inspiration came from the birth of her first child, Natashya, last September. "The thing about nursing," she says, "is that you do have enforced thinking time for hours and hours and hours a day. Having a daughter has made me put my ear to the ground and hear what people are saying. This project is in response to what I'm hearing."

Added May 1, 2001 - King Crimson frontman Adrian Belew is confirmed as the guitarist on Tori's new album. You can find out more about this well-respected and talented musician at www.adrianbelew.net. You can also read a good piece about him at launch.com. Adrian is known as a singer, songwriter, guitarist, and producer.

You can find a nice piece about Adrian, written by Queen Grimson, on the Dent's Musicians Who Have Helped Tori page, as well as other information about him.

Added April 20, 2001 - Alison Stine and whitney report that the May 10, 2001 issue of Rolling Stone magazine mentions Tori's new album. (The issue had Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee on the cover.) The article and small photo are on page 29, the "In Brief" section, and the quote reads, "TORI AMOS is currently working at her home studio in Cornwall, England, self-producing her first new album since 1999's To Venus and Back." The photo is from the "Venus" era Something like this also appeared in the German version of Rolling Stone Magazine.

Updated April 14, 2001 - So now we know the name of Tori's new album! It will be called "Strange Little Girls" and is scheduled for release in the U.S. on Tuesday, September 18, 2001. RollingStone.com broke the story and you can find an article there that gives some details about the new album. It includes the first interview with Tori about the new album, and the first real interview that she has given since the birth of her daughter. Tori says some fascinating things about the themes and current situations that inspired this new project. Tori also confirms that she will tour with this new album! Be sure to read the entire thing at RollingStone.com or in the Dent's article archives.

Added April 14, 2001 - The RollingStone.com article that reports on Tori's new album says:

Amos' album is also shaped by a recent Martin Amis piece in the London newspaper The Guardian. The article, about pornography in America, made Amos "put an ear to the ground and hear what people are saying," she says. "The one question that I had to really pull back was: What is it in us, in women, that is OK to be defecated on?"

I search The Guardian archives and found the article, and you can read it on the Guardian web site. It is a VERY disturbing and graphic article, so be warned. It deals in part with the increasing amount of violence and degradation in porn. Please do not read if you think it could make you uncomfortable. This same article appeared earlier in Talk magazine in the U.S. (It may have been the January 2001 or February 2001 issue of Talk.)

Added April 4, 2001 - We now know who the main musicians are who are helping or who have helped Tori record her new album in Cornwall, England. They are drummer Matt Chamberlain, guitarist Adrian Belew (King Crimson), Beck's bassist Justin Meldal-Johnsen, and I have received word from a VERY reliable source that Jon Evans is also playing bass on the new project! (Jon and Justin are sharing the bass playing duties.)

Many people have asked about Steve Caton. In a posting to the Binge mailing list, Steve Caton, who has played on all of Tori's previous albums, confirmed that he will not be participating on Tori's new album. He said he declined to participate due to personal reasons and that the decision was solely his own. His comments seem to suggest that he would not be touring with her again either.

Added March 28, 2001 - Toriphiles Julie and Elyssa Pachico and BikiBear13 were the first to tell me about this. Rollingstone.com posted a news item about Tori's upcoming new album:

Tori Amos Album Due in Sept.

Belew, Beck's bassist among guests on upcoming Amos CD

Tori Amos is hard at work on an album at her home studio in Cornwall, England. The new effort, her first since 1999's live/new material combo To Venus and Back, is scheduled for a September release on Atlantic Records.

The emotive pianist has enlisted the aid of legendary King Crimson guitarist Adrian Belew, Beck's bassist Justin Meldal-Johnsen -- who handled four-string duties on Amos' 1998 album, From the Choirgirl Hotel -- and longtime collaborator Matt Chamberlain, best-known for his percussion work with avant-garde jazz fusionists Critters Buggin. Amos is producing the yet-to-be titled LP herself.

Amos has been out of the public eye since touring behind Venus in 1999. In September of last year, she and husband/engineer Mark Hawley gave birth to their first child, daughter Natashya L¤rien.

GREG HELLER
(March 28, 2001)

Added March 23, 2001 - Toriphiles Vik and Wayan! were the first to tell me about a very interesting item that appears at crittersbuggin.com. (That is the web site for the band Critters Buggin, which includes Tori's drummer Matt Chamberlain.) In the news section, they post information from Matt himself about some of his recent recording projects:

"Just finished recording a record for three weeks in Cornwall England with Tori Amos, Adrian Belew from king crimson on guitar and justin meldal johnson on bass (from beck)-- man what a blast----then i was in florida for a week recording with this amazing brazilian guitarist named badi assad, she does all this percussive acoustic guitar fingerpickin'and brazilian beat box mouth percussion ---she is a complete bad ass. i then went to la to record with macy gray for her new record---very cool old school r&b hip hop stuff and the bass player was mike alazondo the guy who plays with dr dre and emenem --fonky mutha! also recorded with butch vigs (producer: nirvana, smashing pumpkins, sonic youth)(band: garbage in madison wisconsin very cool freaky rock)

ArtistDirect

On February 2, 2001, ArtistDirect sent out an email newsletter to Toriphiles telling them about the latest merchandise available for sale at toriamosdirect.com. They said in the email, "Check back with ToriAmos.com in the very near future to hear exciting news about a 2001 release from Tori!." ToriAmos.com is Tori's official web site, so this was the first really strong confirmation that a new album for 2001 was in the works. (They also talked a little about Tori's daughter, and you can read about that here.)

German Magazine "Musik Plus" and WEA Germany

There is a small blurb in an early 2001 issue of "Musik Plus" magazine in Germany that says, "Tori Amos will reinvent herself again this fall with a new album". (I am still trying to find out what the exact issue date was and double check that quote. The issue in question hit the newstands around late January 2001.)

Entertainment Weekly

January 21, 2001: The January 26/February 2, 2001 (#579/580) double issue of Entertainment Weekly was the first public source to tell us that Tori would have a new album in Fall of 2001. There was a calendar of things to expect in 2001 on page 71, and under "Unscheduled Fall Events" they had listed, "New albums from Jewel and Tori Amos". No additional details were given.

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