"Talula" is a song by American singer-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 as the second single from her third studio album, ''

Boys for Pele ''Boys for Pele'' is the third studio album by American singer and songwriter Tori Amos. Preceded by the first single, "Caught a Lite Sneeze", by three weeks, the album was released on January 22, 1996, in the United Kingdom, on January 23 in the ...

'' (1996). It reached number 22 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

and appeared in the

Jan de Bont Jan de Bont (; born 22 October 1943) is a Dutch cinematographer, director and film producer. He is best known for directing the films ''Speed'' (1994) and '' Twister'' (1996). As a director of photography, de Bont also worked on numerous blockb ...

film ''

Twister Twister may refer to: Weather * Tornado Aviation * Pipistrel Twister, a Slovenian ultralight trike * Silence Twister, a German homebuilt aircraft design * Wings of Change Twister, an Austrian paraglider design Entertainment * ''Twister'' (1 ...

''. The single version, titled "The Tornado Mix", is remixed by BT, who went on to work with Amos on " Blue Skies", and includes a minor dance beat. In the UK, "Talula (The Tornado Mix)" replaced the original version of the song on the album and eventual re-pressings in the US and Australia. BT also remixed an extended mix called the "Synesthasia Mix" which appeared on copies of the single.

Meaning

The song is about the concept of ideal woman and the fear of losing someone. The lyrics includes references to queens like

Marie Antoinette Marie Antoinette Josèphe Jeanne (; ; née Maria Antonia Josepha Johanna; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was the last queen of France before the French Revolution. She was born an archduchess of Austria, and was the penultimate child ...

and

Anne Boleyn Anne Boleyn (; 1501 or 1507 – 19 May 1536) was Queen of England from 1533 to 1536, as the second wife of King Henry VIII. The circumstances of her marriage and of her execution by beheading for treason and other charges made her a key f ...

. The B-side "Sister Named Desire" is a reference to

Delirium Delirium (also known as acute confusional state) is an organically caused decline from a previous baseline of mental function that develops over a short period of time, typically hours to days. Delirium is a syndrome encompassing disturbances ...

's sister/brother

Desire Desires are states of mind that are expressed by terms like " wanting", "wishing", "longing" or "craving". A great variety of features is commonly associated with desires. They are seen as propositional attitudes towards conceivable states of aff ...

of ''

Sandman The Sandman is a mythical character in European folklore who puts people to sleep and encourages and inspires beautiful dreams by sprinkling magical sand onto their eyes. Representation in traditional folklore The Sandman is a traditional charact ...

'', created by Amos' friend

Neil Gaiman Neil Richard MacKinnon GaimanBorn as Neil Richard Gaiman, with "MacKinnon" added on the occasion of his marriage to Amanda Palmer. ; ( Neil Richard Gaiman; born 10 November 1960) is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, gr ...

. The character of Delirium is frequently inspired by Tori, although Delirium was created before Gaiman met her. "Desire" was later remastered for the compilation ''

Where's Neil When You Need Him? ''Where's Neil When You Need Him?'' is a tribute album based on the works of fantasy writer Neil Gaiman. Overview The album was released on Dancing Ferret Discs on July 18, 2006. The CD has cover art by Dave McKean and extensive new liner notes f ...

'', which featured tracks inspired by Gaiman's work. This is not the first nor last time Tori has mentioned Neil Gaiman; he is referenced in her songs: "Tear in Your Hand", "Space Dog", "Horses", "Hotel", "Carbon", and "Not Dying Today".

Critical reception

Larry Flick Larry Flick is an American journalist, former dance music columnist, single reviewer, and Senior Talent Editor for ''Billboard'' magazine, where he worked for 14 years. Now he produces and hosts Sirius XM radio shows. Flick started in the music ...

from ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' wrote, "Typically beady and tough to penetrate on a lyrical level, this is a roller coaster of musical sounds, rapidly swerving from sweeping acoustic strumming to electro-hip funk beats."

Track listings

* US maxi-CD single # "Talula" (Tornado album version) – 3:43 # "Samurai" – 3:03 # "Frog on My Toe" – 3:40 # " London Girls" (

Chas & Dave Chas & Dave (often billed as Chas 'n' Dave) were a British pop rock duo, formed in London by Chas Hodges and Dave Peacock. Hodges died in 2018. They were most notable as creators and performers of a musical style labelled ''rockney'' (a port ...

cover) – 3:20 # "Talula" (BT's Synethasia mix) – 11:27 * UK CD1 and Australian CD single # "Talula" (the Tornado mix) – 3:43 # "Talula" (BT's Synethasia mix) – 11:27 # "

Amazing Grace "Amazing Grace" is a Christian hymn published in 1779 with words written in 1772 by English Anglican clergyman and poet John Newton (1725–1807). It is an immensely popular hymn, particularly in the United States, where it is used for bot ...

/ Til' the Chicken" – 6:48 * UK CD2 # "Talula" (the Tornado mix) – 3:43 # "Frog on My Toe" – 3:40 # "Sister Named Desire" – 5:29 # "Alamo" – 5:11 * UK cassette single # "Talula" (the Tornado mix) – 3:43 # "Sister Named Desire" – 5:29

Personnel

Personnel are lifted from the ''

'' album booklet. * Tori Amos – writing, vocals,

harpsichord A harpsichord ( it, clavicembalo; french: clavecin; german: Cembalo; es, clavecín; pt, cravo; nl, klavecimbel; pl, klawesyn) is a musical instrument played by means of a musical keyboard, keyboard. This activates a row of levers that turn a ...

, production *

George Porter Jr. George Porter Jr. (born December 26, 1947) is an American musician, best known as the bassist and singer of The Meters. Along with Art Neville, Porter formed the group in the mid 1960s and came to be recognized as one of the progenitors of fun ...

– bass *

Manu Katche Manu may refer to: Geography * Manú Province, a province of Peru, in the Madre de Dios Region ** Manú National Park, Peru ** Manú River, in southeastern Peru * Manu River (Tripura), which originates in India and flows into Bangladesh * Manu T ...

– drums *

Mino Cinelu Mino may refer to: Places in Japan * Mino, Gifu, a city in Gifu Prefecture * Mino, Kagawa, a former town in Kagawa Prefecture * Mino, Tokushima, a town in Tokushima Prefecture * Mino, an alternate spelling of Minoh, a city in Osaka Prefecture * ...

– percussion * Steve Caton – mandolins, all guitars * Alan Friedman – drum programming * Tracy Griffin –

flugelhorn The flugelhorn (), also spelled fluegelhorn, flugel horn, or flügelhorn, is a brass instrument that resembles the trumpet and cornet but has a wider, more conical bore. Like trumpets and cornets, most flugelhorns are pitched in B, though some ...

* Brian Graber – flugelhorn * Clarence J. Johnson III –

tenor saxophone The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while ...

* Mark Mullins – trombone, horn arrangement *

Craig Klein Bonerama is a brass funk rock band from New Orleans. Bonerama was formed in 1998 by trombone players Mark Mullins and Craig Klein, who, from 1990

–

sousaphone The sousaphone ( ) is a brass instrument in the tuba family. Created around 1893 by J. W. Pepper at the direction of American bandleader John Philip Sousa (after whom the instrument was then named), it was designed to be easier to play than t ...

* Mark Hawley – recording * Marcel van Limbeek – recording * Rob van Tuin – recording assistant *

Bob Clearmountain Bob Clearmountain (born January 15, 1953) is an American recording engineer, mixer and record producer. He has worked with many major acts, including Bruce Springsteen, the Rolling Stones, Toto, Bon Jovi and Bryan Adams, with whom he has a very l ...

– mixing *

Ryan Freeland Ryan Freeland is an American record producer, songwriter, engineer, and mixer based in Los Angeles. Freeland is a five-time Grammy Award winner and is best known for his work with Bonnie Raitt, Ray LaMontagne, Aimee Mann, Joe Henry, Gra ...

– mixing assistant *

Brian Transeau Brian Wayne Transeau (born October 4, 1971), known by his initials as BT, is an American musician, DJ, singer, songwriter, composer and audio engineer. An artist in the electronic music genre, he is credited as a pioneer of the trance and intell ...

– Tornado mix reworking *

Tim Weidner Tim Weidner is an engineer and producer, best known for his work with Trevor Horn. Biography Weidner has produced for Dead or Alive. He has done mixing for artists including Seal, Mike Oldfield (''Tubular Bells II''), Art of Noise, Captain and Gun ...

– Tornado mix engineering and Sound Tools *

Bob Ludwig Robert C. Ludwig (born c. 1945) is an American mastering engineer. He has mastered recordings on all the major recording formats for all the major record labels, and on projects by more than 1,300 artists including Led Zeppelin, Lou Reed, Quee ...

– mastering

Charts

References

{{Authority control Tori Amos songs 1996 singles 1996 songs Atlantic Records singles East West Records singles Music videos directed by Mike Lipscombe