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Scarlet's Walk | 
 enlarge | Artist: Tori Amos
Label: Sony
Category: Music
List Price: $11.98
Buy Used: $1.50
You Save: $10.48 (87%)
New (51) Used (51) Collectible (3) from $1.50
Avg. Customer Rating:  323 reviews
Sales Rank: 5622
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.7 x 4.9 x 0.5
MPN: 86412
UPC: 696998641228
EAN: 0696998641228
ASIN: B00006I4YD
Release Date: October 29, 2002
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Tracks:
| • | Amber Waves | | • | a sorta fairytale | | • | Wednesday | | • | strange | | • | Carbon | | • | Crazy | | • | wampum prayer | | • | don't make me come to Vegas | | • | Sweet Sangria | | • | your cloud | | • | pancake | | • | I can't see New York | | • | mrs. jesus | | • | Taxi Ride | | • | another girl's paradise | | • | Scarlet's Walk | | • | Virginia | | • | gold dust |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
From the confusion and chaos that marked one of the most harrowing episodes in American history comes Tori Amos's masterwork. Scarlet's Walk, the follow-up to her critically acclaimed covers LP, Strange Little Girls, was written on a cross-country road trip shortly after the terrorist attacks on New York City and Washington, D.C. Over the course of 3,000 miles and 18 tracks, the crimson-haired singer encounters rogue lovers ("A Sorta Fairytale"), reformed porn stars ("Amber Waves"), and an entire cast of characters who embody the spirit of a country suddenly searching for an identity. The album serves as both an ambitious travelogue and as a graceful rejoinder to the bitterness and frustration that inspired it, with Amos wading through swells of sadness ("I Can't See New York"), anger ("Don't Make Me Come to Vegas"), and insecurity ("Your Cloud") with velvety grace. --Aidin Vaziri
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| Customer Reviews: Read 318 more reviews...
 A slight improvement October 19, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Amos mellowed down after giving birth to her daughter, and that's best witnessed on "Scarlet's Walk" and "The Beekeeper". "Scarlet" may not be the first time Tori played with a concept (some note how "Under the Pink" is conceptualized around femininity), but it's the first time that a concept brought things down. The album lasts 74 minutes and has eighteen tracks on it, which is too much, even for her fans. She continued in that fashion on her subsequent albums, since they both have a concept and last too long. "Scarlet" is a slight improvement for Amos in terms of instrumentation. While her last couple of records were weak and short on quality material, "Scarlet's Walk" has a handful of highlights in its run and can be considered as Amos' misconception of what "back to basics" meant for her.
The album starts with "Amber Waves", a track that is lacking originality (the cliched vocal melody of "into every young man's bedroom/he gave it up"), but serves as an opener that is exemplary of the material found on "Scarlet's Walk". "A Sorta Fairytale" proves that she is playing it too safe, not taking any risks instrumentally or doing anything specifically interesting lyrically. Worse still, she is completely stiff vocally in "Carbon", "Crazy", "Strange" and "Your Cloud", all lacking instrumental power. "Don't Make Me Come to Vegas" does not evoke emotions in the listener which means that one isn't hearing anything worth hearing. It seems as if every good track on the first half of the record is followed by a bad one. Things improve on the second half where Tori at least seems to be doing interesting things, melody-wise.
She can do good with a sheer power of her voice, as witnessed in the excellent a capella "Wampum Prayer". "Sweet Sangria" starts out promising with bass and organ that work perfectly together. The song doesn't grow, but at least it remains pretty. "Wednesday" and "Pancake" are pure standouts, the former bringing some life into a rather limp release, and the latter being one of the most beautiful songs Amos has crafted to date. Even if there's not much going on lyrically, Amos can make things sound good, as in "Taxi Ride", "Mrs. Jesus", "Another Girl's Paradise" and "Scarlet's Walk". The album closes decently with "Virginia" and "Gold Dust".
While it's good to hear Tori going for a more full-bodied sound, she's still sinking, quality-wise. All she's doing now is creating material she was once above of. Tori seems to be enjoying making bland, radio-friendly, easy-on-the-ears songs and since most of her listeners aren't complaining, she's got no reason to change her approach. "Scarlet's Walk" isn't a bad album, but its first half contains so much filler that one has to wonder why Amos can't stick to a twelve song format instead. Much of the material here should have been left off and she can't seem to separate the bad songs from the good ones. If she simply made shorter albums, the listening experience would not be so dreadful. Even if Amos managed to improve on "Scarlet's Walk", her true talents are nowhere to be seen.
 Top 5 June 13, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I love this disc. It would make my top 5 all time
should I be dumped on an island - and given the choice.
Pancake is my fav. tune on the disc but when I put it
on I never skip tracks, they are all worth a listen.
Many hard core Tori fans tell me Scarlets Walk is a
bit 'down to earth' given some of her other releases -
but regardless of what planet she is from...
This is great music.
 Took a minute to get into it November 8, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
It took me forcing myself to listen to this cd several times to get to where I could differentiate between the songs and enjoy the cd. At first I felt I didn't like it much but I've changed my mind. I actually like it a lot. It's a little more subdued than her other cds. It's great to have playing in the background when company is over and you don't want something too obtrusive, or if you want to have quiet music playing to lull you to sleep. The last song on the album, Gold Dust, is probably one of Tori's most beautiful songs ever. That song alone is worth buying the cd I think.
Volatile August 1, 2007
I really wanted to like this CD, but I just couldn't get into it. I admire what she was sharing, her feelings about humanity's treatment of itself... It just did not convey into musical scores I wanted to listen to.
The Greatest Album of All Time. Period. July 5, 2007
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
For years, I toyed with the idea of writing a review for this, my most favorite album of all time. Then I decided that nothing I could possibly write could do it justice, and that I would have to instead write a book about it.
In the meantime, heres a rundown - do yourself a favor and get this, no matter WHAT your musical tendencies. Here are a few things of note:
1. Every song is memorable and replayable - An achievement in this day and age. No two songs have the same melodies or musical styles.
2. The lyrics are the best Tori has ever put to paper. These are her most accessible lyrics - this is one album on which she put aside her eccentric songwriting in favor of more obviously meaningful words.
3. The Flow - The seamless transition from one song to the next in terms of narrative should be heard to be believed. Every song links to the next, but they also work wonderfully when listened to separately.
4. The Message - Tori has made a record for America, but its also her least American record, in many ways. It is so blatantly anti-American at some points, but not in a critical fashion, but more like 'Look at what we've done!' - amazing.
5. The voice - I own all Amos' albums, and I can honestly report that she sounds the best on "Scarlet's Walk".
6. The Replay Factor - This is the only Amos album I find myself reaching for even when I have newer albums with me that need playing. This is an achievement, yes, but if you think of music as an artistic investment, this is the only CD I can think of that will pay you back so richly.
The Music:
1. "A Sorta Fairytale" : Perhaps her greatest single - and her most politically controversial. She obviously sides with the Native Indians on this one. This is a song to memorize and sing to yourself - in fact, you will remember most of the lyrics within two listens!
2. "Another Girls' Paradise" : An underrated Tori gem, this track is found tacked toward the end of this 80 minute album. Its soaring chorus, amazing play on flower-names, and gorgeous imagery - a truly remarkable song indeed.
3. "Wednesday" - Tying in with Neil Gaiman's "American Gods", this is one song that instantly won me over and is the most playful, in a 1960s retro style, on the record. One for keeps.
4. "Carbon"/"Strange"/"Crazy" : The best trilogy of songs in recorded music history. Listen, and become a believer.
This is as musically rich and empowered an album as they come.
Thinking of it while I write, I am tempted to tell you about the stark beauty of "Virginia", or the goosebump inducing lyrical quality of "Gold Dust". But then I would also have to tell you about the snazzy production on "Don't Make me come to Vegas", as well as the chorus-dominated opener "Amber Waves".
There is a reason this is No. 1 of all-time albums, on my list. No other album on earth mixes musical genre, stellar songwriting, and breathtaking vocals, as much as this one does.
Years after its release, Tori Amos "Scarlet's Walk" remains the Greatest Album ever recorded.
Words do not do it justice. Get this now, and discover it for yourself.
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