''From the Choirgirl Hotel'' is the fourth studio album by American singer and songwriter

Tori Amos Tori Amos (born Myra Ellen Amos; August 22, 1963) is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. She is a classically trained musician with a mezzo-soprano vocal range. Having already begun composing instrumental pieces on piano, Amos won a full ...

, released on May 5, 1998. A departure from her previous albums, it was more a heavily produced project featuring elements of

electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroa ...

and a full rock band sound (instead of Amos's usual minimalist piano sound). The album debuted at number 5 on the ''Billboard'' 200 and number 6 in the UK. While falling short of the number 2 debut for her previous album, '' Boys for Pele'' (1996), ''From the Choirgirl Hotel'' is Amos's strongest debut to date in US sales, selling 153,000 copies in the first week. By 2008, it had sold 778,000 copies in US. In 1999, Amos received two Grammy nominations: Alternative Music Performance, and Female Rock Vocal Performance for "

Raspberry Swirl "Raspberry Swirl" is a song written and performed by Tori Amos. It was released as the second single from her 1998 album ''From the Choirgirl Hotel ''From the Choirgirl Hotel'' is the fourth studio album by American singer and songwriter Tori ...

". The lead single "

Spark Spark commonly refers to: * Spark (fire), a small glowing particle or ember * Electric spark, a form of electrical discharge Spark may also refer to: Places * Spark Point, a rocky point in the South Shetland Islands People * Spark (surname) * ...

" became a hit after its release in June 1998 (becoming her last UK Top 40 hit to date, as well as her highest charting US single, reaching number 49), and was followed by " Jackie's Strength" (September 1998) and " Cruel"/"

" (November 1998). The accompanying tour, Amos's first with a full band (using the album's personnel of

Matt Chamberlain Matthew Chamberlain (born April 17, 1967) is an American session musician, drummer, producer and songwriter. Biography Life and career Chamberlain was born in San Pedro, California on April 17, 1967. He began learning how to play the drums ...

on drums, Jon Evans on bass, and long-time collaborator Steve Caton on guitar), was known as the "Plugged '98 Tour" and took Amos through most of 1998. Performances from this tour were released on the live disc of her 1999 album '' To Venus and Back''.

Album description

The album began recording in September 1997, with mastering complete by early February 1998. Following the trend set by 1996's '' Boys for Pele'', Amos allowed several songs from the album to be remixed. Remixes of both "Raspberry Swirl" and "Jackie's Strength" were club hits. The album's theme dealt very closely with the first two in Amos's series of three miscarriages between 1996 and 1999. Thematically and conceptually, the "choirgirl hotel" of the title refers to the fictional, imaginary place where the songs "live". Amos pointed out that although the songs are recorded, they are also alive themselves – they can be re-modeled and reshaped in concert. Amos imagined the songs as living their own lives, all checking into the "choirgirl hotel" (i.e. the album) but living separate lives. In the artwork, Amos included a hand-drawn map detailing the stomping ground of these songs. The album artwork was created by the UK-based photographer, Katerina Jebb. The artwork features full-body color photocopies of Amos (in various couture outfits) as scanned by a human-sized photocopier.

Critical reception

"The kookiness isn't dominant, she's stopped the attention-seeking lyrics almost completely and, yes, her pianos don't try to be guitars too often," enthused John Aizlewood in '' Q''. "At last, she's putting the songs first, and the band-led ''From the Choirgirl Hotel'' is, by any reasonable yardstick, a glorious coming of age."

Track listing

Notes *The track 'Merman' was released as a pre-order bonus track*

B-sides

Like Amos's previous Atlantic albums, several songs recorded during the ''From the Choirgirl Hotel'' sessions were released as b-sides, and introduced into Amos's live performance repertoire. "Cooling," "Never Seen Blue," and "Beulah Land" were originally written and recorded for 1996's '' Boys for Pele'' album. Several tracks from a demo CD for the album leaked online in 2010, including "Violet's Eyes".Archived a
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Parts of this song evolved into "Almost Rosey" and "Miracle" from 2007's '' American Doll Posse''.

Personnel

* Tori Amos – keyboards, vocals * Steve Caton – acoustic and electric guitar; mandolin on "Black-Dove (January)" * George Porter Jr.,

Justin Meldal-Johnsen Justin Meldal-Johnsen (born March 26, 1970) is an American musician, record producer, songwriter and musical director. He is best known for his work with artists such as Beck, Paramore, Nine Inch Nails, M83, Air, and St. Vincent. Meldal-Johns ...

– bass *

– drums; marimba on "Cruel" * Andy Gray – programming with: * Stewart Boyle – guitar on "Northern Lad" * Willy Porter – guitar on "Playboy Mommy" *

Al Perkins Al Perkins (born January 18, 1944) is an American guitarist known primarily for his steel guitar work. The Gibson guitar company called Perkins "the world's most influential dobro player" and began producing an "Al Perkins Signature" Dobro in 2 ...

– steel guitar on "Playboy Mommy" *

Sinfonia of London Sinfonia of London is a session orchestra based in London, England, and conducted by John Wilson. The current orchestra is the third of three distinct ensembles of this name. The original Sinfonia of London was founded in 1955 by Gordon Walker ...

– on "Jackie's Strength", conducted by David Firman, strings arranged by John Philip Shenale

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:From The Choirgirl Hotel 1998 albums Tori Amos albums Atlantic Records albums