Read an article and see a photo from the German Magazine Musikexpress. I am uncertain as to the exact issue date of this Magazine, but I think it was sometime in 1999.

Karolyn Gehrig and Richard Handal made me aware of a Tori article that appeared in the December 1999/January 2000 issue of Top Magazine, which is a free publication available at Tower record stores in Europe.

Read this Top Magazine article.

You can read an interesting Tori interview at VH1.com as a feature in The Wire section of their web site. The interview is called "Stars, Planets, Wine and Song" Tori talks about "to venus and back" and other interesting topics. This is a must read. If the VH1.com link has expired, you can read it on the Dent here.

Allstar, CDNow's Daily Music news, has been asking several artists to name their Top 10 Lists for 1999. Edwin Mccain placed Tori's "to venus and back" at #4 in his list, which CDnow posted on December 7, 1999. Here is his top ten list:

1. Beth Hart, Screaming For My Supper
2. Kid Rock, Devil Without A Cause
3. Francis Dunnery, Let's Go Do What Happens
4. Tori Amos, To Venus And Back
5. Doyle Bramhall, Jellycream
6. Fiona Apple, When the Pawn...
7. Sting, Brand New Day
8. Beastie Boys, Hello Nasty
9. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Echo
10. Gov't Mule, Live With a Little Help From Our Friends

Late last Fall 1999, I directed your attention to a Greatest Entertainers Of The Future Poll at the Entertainment Weekly web site. Tori was one of the nominees in the Best Female Musician category. Initial results from the poll were published in the Winter 1999 (#510) issue of Entertainment Weekly magazine. In those results, Tori was #3, Jewel was #2 and Alanis Morissette was #1. However, the online polling was kept open for some time after that, and according to Toriphile OnlyBride, you can now see the FINAL results of the online poll at the Entertainment Weekly web site. As the site says, Tori "soared past Alanis (the former frontrunner) to the top female musician spot." Tori was #1 with 22,071 votes, Alanis was #2 with 11,409 votes, and Britney Spears #3 with 6,961 votes. Thanks to all of you who voted!

There is an odd article in the Village Voice called "All's Well That Ends Well: Much Ado About Nothing Records," which focuses on the music that Tori and Trent have produced over the last decade. It is a strange article that seems less than flattering to me, though to be honest I can't get into it very well. Read it yourself and see what you think.

Heather G. reports that the readers of the Wall of Sound web site voted on the Top 25 Albums of 1999 and 'to venus and back" was #17

Toriphile Michael sent me a good review of "to venus and back" that appeared in the December 1999 issue of Drum Magazine:

On the heels of Tori Amos's From the Choirgirl Hotel, To Venus and Back (Atlantic) was an unexpected release. It was originally intended to be a collection of B-sides and rarieties from the archive, but Amos found her creativity flowing in midpreproduction, and wrote and album's worth of new material without breaking a sweat. To Venus and Back is the second Amos release to include her "touring" band, adding an overall heaviness absent in her earlier, dearer piano productions.

Though Amos and her keyboards remain the stars of the show, the four piece outfit on Venus plays with an ear for sweet spaciousness. The lineup included Matt Chamberlain, former drummer with Edie Brickell & the New Bohemians, Saturday NIght Live and Pearl Jam, who also currently has a new album out with his instrumental Seattle band Critters Buggin'. A modern-day Jimmy Keltner, Chamberlain delivers thick, dense grooves using any and all means at his disposal: electronics, acoustics, hand percussion -- whatever works. His parts groove like mad. They're spare, hypnotic constructions that ignore many drum-set traditions and go far beyond the note values.

The first half of this two-disc set features new material, recorded in the studio while the band was in Cornwall, England. The second dics includes 13 tunes recorded live during her Choirgirl tour (five from Under the Pink, three from Little Earthquakes, one from Boys for Pele, another from Choirgirl, plus 3 B-sides). It's more of a grab bag than a greatest hits package, though. The band voted for cuts that they believed represented their best individual performances, and the winning sonds wound up on the CD.

Throughout Venus, you hear a band playing at its peak -- working quickly on new songs in the studio and improvising on older material on stage. It's an impressive document, even if you aren't particularly a Torihead.

--Andy Doershuk

Alisha Parker found a review of the entire KROQ Almost Acoustic Christmas show that took place on December 11, 1999 at The Pond in Anaheim, CA. It is from the December 13, 1999 edition of the Los Angeles Times. Tori is mentioned, along with all the other acts. You can read in on my KROQ Reviews Page.

I found the following news item on the wonderful From The RaysinGyrl Hotel web site. An article was posted to the Sonicnet Online Music Network on December 9, 1999 which describes Tori as a "cyberspace pioneer". I found it very interesting, and I encourage you to read it on the Sonicnet web site. I have also placed it below:

Digital Flashback: One Small Step For Tori Amos ...

One giant leap for artists using cyberspace to get their music to listeners before release.

Contributing Editor Eric Arnum reports:

Four years ago this week, Tori Amos took a defining step toward establishing herself as a cyberspace pioneer by posting an unreleased song online.

It was one of the earliest examples of a now-commonplace practice that has revolutionized the way listeners are exposed to music.

On Dec. 11, 1995, Amos, whose albums have sold in the millions worldwide, posted the single "Caught a Lite Sneeze" (RealAudio excerpt) for previewing online in RealAudio format. Boys for Pele, the album the track came from, wouldn't hit stores for another six weeks.

Maintaining a dedicated fanbase on the Net, Amos has continued to make inroads there, most recently in connection with this year's to venus and back.

In August, she began using the Web not only for the increasingly common goal of promoting singles but also to actually sell them in downloadable form. Online retailers such as CDNow and Tower Records sold the single "Bliss" in the Liquid Audio and Windows Media formats for $1.99 or less.

Also in August, and into September, Amos co-headlined the 5 1/2 Weeks tour with Alanis Morissette. The outing was sponsored by downloadable-music site MP3.com.

"I'm excited about the whole MP3 thing," Amos recently told VH1.com. "I think it works for some people, but I'm really into the integrity of people showing appreciation for the artists. Not everything is free. Good wine is not free. As a hostess, when people come, I always serve them good wine. But, I think, if [I'm] going to a vineyard, ... they give me things to drink, but there is reciprocity. I'll usually buy a case. With computers, there's also a way to be generous but a way to give respect."

On the same day Amos posted "Caught a Lite Sneeze," Grateful Dead veterans Phil Lesh and Mickey Hart took part in an online chat, from the Fillmore Auditorium, during which they previewed tracks from the band's Dick's Picks live album series.

And last year at this time, Billy Idol posted the songs "Find a Way" and "Sleeping With an Angel" on the MP3.com website. The songs were removed soon after, when Capitol Records demanded the songs be taken down, a source close to the rocker said at the time. A Capitol Records spokesperson did not respond to the claim.

The December 23 - 30, 1999 issue of The Boston Phoenix, a weekly newspaper in Boston, MA, named "Cornflake Girl" as one of their 90 best songs of the '90s. You can see the entire list at the Boston Phoenix web site. (The songs are in alphabetical order and do not appear to be ranked.) For each song they have a short description. You can read the Tori comments on their site or below:

Cornflake Girl
Tori Amos
(Atlantic, 1994)

The explicit fun and implicit challenge of listening to Tori Amos has to do with peeling away the layers of meaning buried inside her highly imaginative, phenomenally abstruse lyrics. "Cornflake Girl," from her second full-length, Under the Pink, is no exception. What makes the song one of her best isn't just the elastic, jazzy swing of the arrangement, which features an ornate latticework of instrumentation -- mandolins, guitars, and what sounds like a winter storm of sleigh bells swirling around Amos's exquisite piano fills. Much of its appeal and power has to do with the feeling you get that, despite the sly asides and veiled confessions about "hangin' with the raisin girls," you somehow know what she's talking about: identity and social acceptance, being an outsider amid the cruel cliques of adolescence. Or maybe it's just about breakfast cereal.

-- Jonathan Perry

Toriphile heles from Italy has transcribed from Italian to English an article that appeared in the Italian Paper 'D: la Repubblica delle donne' on December 21, 1999. You can read it in my Article Archive. Many thanks to heles for doing this for us! You can also see 2 photos from the article.

Tori is part of a special millennium issue of Rolling Stone magazine (The December 30, 1999 - January 6, 2000 double issue (#830/831). Tori is one of the "guests" at the "Millenium Party 2000." Rolling Stone asked many musicians, entertainers, movie stars, etc. their predictions and resolutions for the new year, and to comment on the current state of things. Read what Tori has to say and see a drawing they included of her in my Article Archive. I also include a drawing of all the artists at this "party" and it includes Tori as #38. Thanks to Karla Canales, sweetcan, Khaleem and Charity for sending this to me.

There is a small interview with Tori in the December 1999 issue of Interview Magazine (with Christina Ricci on the cover). Thanks to Marla Antigone, Phillip Garcia, and Olivia Darzell for alerting me to it. The interview covers Tori's views about the internet and MP3s. There are no photos published with it. It is on page 52 under the heading "Tomorrows View". If anyone can send me the full text of the interview that would be great! There is also a Tori mention in an interview with Bif Naked in that same issue. It reads as follows:

Dudley Sanders: You don't seem to shy away from many subjects.

Bif Naked: I've written about being raped, my parents divorce, necking with girls....I've written a song about my bicycle, too. It's all the same to me. I just don't believe in hiding anything....i used to sing this song about sexual assault to open the show. And I used to get people yelling at me to shut up and get off the stage....It was almost like self-punishment, but I kept doing it, I didn't care.

Dudley Sanders: That kind of attitude has given Tori Amos a lot of fans.

Bif doesn't agree or disagree - she just responds by saying she gets a lot of heart-felt letters, and it reminds her of what Madonna meant to her as a little girl.

The December 3, 1999 edition of the Courier Mail newspaper in Brisbane, Australia included an article on Tori. Thanks to Heidi Maier and Benjamin Y. Law for sending it to me. Read it in my Article Archive.

I added to the 1999 HFS-Mas Holiday Nutcracker Reviews Page a few hilarious quotes from Tori during her performance at this radio festival in Washington D.C. on December 6, 1999. These quotes were printed in an article at Allstar Daily Music News at CDNOW's web site.

The December 9-16, 1999 edition of the Boston Phoenix weekly newspaper reviewed Tori's AIDS benefit concert for the FNX Radio Network in Boston, MA on December 3, 1999.

Read the review.

The SonicNet Music News Of The World web site posted on December 7, 1999 a review of Tori's AIDS benefit concert for the FNX Radio Network in Boston, MA on December 3, 1999.

Read the review.

The December 4, 1999 edition of the Boston Globe reviewed Tori's AIDS Benefit concert for the FNX Radio Network in Boston, MA on December 3, 1999.

Read the review.

A few months ago the catalog Alloy and web site alloy.com had a poetry contest. The winner, chosen by Tori, would get to see her in concert and meet with her backstage. The winner was Iris Moulton, age 14. The 1999 Holiday issue of Alloy had a photo of Iris & Tori and a short interview with the contest winner. See the photo and read the interview in my Articles Archive. Robyn reports that the Winter 2000 issue of Alloy also mentioned Tori, and you can read that in my Articles Archive as well. Thanks to Kristy, Doug Smeath, Kay-Tee, and Kimberly for telling me about all this. Finally, it has been reported that Alloy contributed $10,000 recently to RAINN (Rape, Abuse * Incest National Network).

mr sparkle sent me an article and review that appeared in the December 1999 (#568) issue of Rolling Stone in Australia. Read it in my Article Archive.

Pete Lambert and Thomas Lauritsen inform me that Tori is in the December 1999 issue of Q Magazine in the U.K. They include a review of Tori's concert in Seattle, WA on October 7, 1999 (along with an interview), and also mention Tori in an article about the 90's. Read all of this and see the photos in my Articles Archive.

Tracy Streimish informs me that Tori is mentioned a few times in the December 1999 issue of Spin Magazine (Beck on the cover). It includes a mention of Tori in a review of Fiona Apple's new album and a review of Tori's single, Bliss:

On page 54 is a full-page alert for a Chicago charity:

You Can Buy Happiness. [can underlined in red]
TWICE. [underlined in red]
The Christmas Is For Kids
Rock 'N Roll Charity Auction
When you buy an item, you help bring
happiness to needy children
throughout Chicagoland.
Thursday, December 2, 1999
at Chicago's Park West
For details call 312-255-9454
or check us out at
www.rockforkids.org
[this is written inside a purple rectangle:]
[in red lettering] Featuring cool stuff signed by:
[among 22 others...] Tori Amos ....and hundreds more!

About the look of the page:
Top left: signed 6 string electric guitar
Top right: little girl smiling, holding present
Bottom left: [small black box, white lettering
inside:] A Jam Production
Bottom right: [same:] 93 XRT
Bottom middle: Art Direction: Jim Hoffman - JTH
Designs


On page 66 is an Virgin Megastore full-page ad promoting [among others] TVaB for $14.99 CD. Sale dates: 11.16.99 - 1.9.99. No stores in Boston, unfortunately, but they can alternately be reached at www.virginmega.com.

On page 82 in "Ask The Experts: Weighing In On Fiona Apple" Todd Pruzan states:

Alarmingly self-confident pop pianist Fiona Apple released the world's first album with a 90 word title - a mouthful of mixed chess and boxing metaphors that practically dares consumers to switch to the competing brand, Tori Amos.

On page 90 in "The Hit List: More New Artists You Need To Know About" Erik Himmelsbach says of the band Splashdown:

When this drummer-free Boston trio actually do make a splash, unemployed skinpounders should talk to Alanis-guru Glen Ballard, who put these ex-music school students on his angst assembly line. With Melissa Kaplan's wildly elastic voice, Splashdown's mishmash of modern pop sounds a bit like Tori Amos with a dash of Garbage and the earnestness of the Cranberries. It's a genre smoothie that sounds like money in Ballard's bank account.

On page 215 in the "Reviews" section Eric Weisbard states this about Fiona Apple's new album-song "Mistake":

For all the Tori Amos comparisons that Apple will always endure, I'm not sure her royal Fairyness could ever write a song as straightforward as this one. Hammering home the point is one of this woman's chief rock virtues. In contrast, Apple isn't the driving piano player Amos is, easy to judge since both rely on drummer Matt Chamberlain.

On page 219 in the "Singles" section of "Reviews" Charles Aaron states about the song "Bliss":

She may speak with forked diva tongue, but she sings like a drunken angel rescuing you from life's never ending senior-prom bloodbath. "Bliss" is an ominous, extravagant swirl, with Amos' voice swelling out of the piano/machine beats, not sure if she's huging her father's neck or if he's choking her out of existence.