Description TORI AMOS -From the Choirgirl Hotel- NEAR MINT PLAYED ONCE TO RECORDFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaJump to navigationJump to searchFrom the Choirgirl HotelStudio album by Tori AmosReleasedMay 5, 1998RecordedSeptember 1997 – February 1998StudioMartian Engineering, CornwallEnglandLength57:00LabelAtlanticProducerTori AmosTori Amos chronologyBoys for Pele (1996)From the Choirgirl Hotel (1998)To Venus and Back (1999)Singles from the Choirgirl Hotel"Spark" Released: April 20, 1998"Jackie's Strength" Released: September 15, 1998"Cruel"/"Raspberry Swirl" Released: November 24, 1998From the Choirgirl Hotel is the fourth studio album by American singer and songwriter Tori Amos, released on May 5, 1998. A departure from her previous albums, it was more a heavily produced project featuring 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.[1] As of 2008 it has sold 778,000 copies in US. [2] In 1999, Amos received two Grammy nominations: Alternative Music Performance, and Female Rock Vocal Performance for "Raspberry Swirl".The lead single "Spark" 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"/"Raspberry Swirl" (November 1998).The accompanying tour, Amos's first with a full band (using the album's personnel of Matt Chamberlain 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.Contents1Album description2Critical reception3Track listing3.1B-sides4Personnel5Charts5.1Weekly charts5.2Singles6Certifications7ReferencesAlbum description[edit]The album began recording in September 1997, with mastering complete by early February 1998.[3] 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.[4]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.[5]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.[6]Critical reception[edit]Professional ratingsReview scoresSourceRatingAllMusic[7]Chicago Sun-Times[8]Entertainment WeeklyB+[9]The Guardian[10]Los Angeles Times[11]NME6/10[12]Pitchfork6.7/10[13]Q[14]Rolling Stone[15]Spin8/10[16]"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.[14] "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."[14]Track listing[edit]All tracks written by Tori Amos.No.TitleLength1."Spark"4:132."Cruel"4:073."Black-Dove (January)"4:384."Raspberry Swirl"3:585."Jackie's Strength"4:266."i i e e e"4:077."Liquid Diamonds"6:218."She's Your Cocaine"3:429."Northern Lad"4:1910."Hotel"5:1911."Playboy Mommy"4:0812."Pandora's Aquarium"4:4513."Purple People" (Japanese edition bonus track)4:12B-sides[edit]The album, as with most of Amos's albums, is also known for its collection of original b-sides. Amos recorded a host of songs that did not make the album, but were released as b-sides to various singles or performed live in concerts. The songs "Cooling," "Never Seen Blue," and "Beulah Land" were originally written and recorded for 1996's Boys for Pele album. In 2010, several tracks from a demo CD for the album leaked online, including a new track entitled "Violet's Eyes".[17] Parts of this song were included in two tracks on 2007's American Doll Posse, "Almost Rosey" and "Miracle".B-side titleSingle"Purple People""Spark" (1998)"Bachelorette""Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas""Spark" (UK CD1) (1998)"Do It Again""Spark" (UK CD2) (1998)"Cooling""Spark" (UK CD2) (1998) (Recorded during Boys for Pele sessions)"Never Seen Blue""Jackie's Strength" (US) (1998) (Recorded during Boys for Pele sessions)"Beulah Land""Merman"No Boundaries: A Benefit for the Kosovar Refugees (1998)"Violet's Eyes"unreleased, leaked in 2010Personnel[edit]Tori Amos - keyboards, vocalsSteve Caton - acoustic and electric guitar; mandolin on "Black-Dove (January)"George Porter Jr., Justin Meldal-Johnsen - bassMatt Chamberlain - drums; marimba on "Cruel"Andy Gray - programmingwith:Stewart Boyle - guitar on "Northern Lad"Willy Porter - guitar on "Playboy Mommy"Al Perkins - steel guitar on "Playboy Mommy"Sinfonia of London - on "Jackie's Strength", conducted by David Firman, strings arranged by John Philip ShenaleCharts[edit]Weekly charts[edit]Chart (1998)Peak positionAustralian Albums (ARIA)[18]8Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[19]11Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[20]13Canadian Albums (Billboard)[21]10Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[22]24French Albums (SNEP)[23]30German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[24]13New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[25]26Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[26]9Scottish Albums (OCC)[27]11Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[28]26Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[29]31UK Albums (OCC)[30]6US Billboard 200[31]5Singles[edit]TitleChartPosition"Spark" (1998)US Modern Rock Tracks13UK Singles Chart16Canadian Hot 10025US Adult Top 4032Irish Singles Chart35US Billboard Hot 10049Australian Singles Chart50US Billboard Hot 100 Singles Sales61US Billboard Hot 100 Airplay65"Jackie's Strength" (remix) (1999)US Hot Dance Music/Club Play01US Billboard Maxi-Singles05"Jackie's Strength" (1998–99)Canadian Hot 10012US Billboard Hot 100 Singles Sales33US Billboard Hot 10054"Raspberry Swirl" (1998)Canadian Hot 10020Australian Singles Chart57"Raspberry Swirl/Cruel" (1998)US Billboard Hot 100 Singles Sales38Certifications[edit]RegionCertificationCertified units/SalesCanada (Music Canada)[32]Gold50,000^United Kingdom (BPI)[33]Gold100,000^United States (RIAA)[34]Platinum1,000,000^Summaries*sales figures based on certification alone ^shipments figures based on certification alone