TO VENUS AND BACK (1999)

Just as Tori Amos' cross-country mini-tour with Alanis Morissette comes to an end, her much-anticipated new album, "to venus and back," arrives. Longtime fans as well as recent converts will surely have a field day with this two-CD set, which features 11 new Amos-penned tracks on one disc and 13 live tracks on the other. The live disc was recorded during Amos' global Plugged '98 trek, the singer's first-ever tour with a full band; it includes such quintessential moments as "Precious Things," "Little Earthquakes," and "Waitress." On the studio disc, the four-time Grammy nominee and multi-platinum-selling artist further mines the industrial-leaning soundscapes of 1996's "Boys For Pele" and 1998's "from the choirgirl hotel" with jagged--and jangly--rhythms, leading this wonderfully adventurous journey. Lyrically, Amos is as intense as ever, dealing with such topics as family ties ("Bliss"), heartache ("1000 oceans"), and helplessness ("spring haze"). With "to venus and back," Amos continues to expose herself--lyrically and musically--and in so doing has created quite the bold collection. - (Billboard)