Corre l'anno 2001, una delle piu' importanti cantautrici dei '90 decide di uscire con un album di cover… Perche'?
Boh, probabilmente non lo sapremo mai, a mio modo di vedere passate le turbulenze affettivo-intimiste della precedente decade Tori neomoglie, neo mamma si trova appagata e le idee scarseggiano, gli anni successivi in un certo senso daranno corpo a quest' ipotesi non tanto per la qualita' tecniche, che rimarranno indiscutibili, ma in un certo senso per un'incapacita' nel ritrovare un filo conduttore tra le proprie idee e la scrittura vera e propria, bisogna ammettere comunque che album come "Scarlet's Walk" e "The Beekeeper" fossero stati scritti da qualche pianista patinata di moda adesso sarebbero stati accolti come capolavori, ma si sa da gente come Tori si pretende di piu'…
Comunque a meta' 2001 esce questo "Strange Little Girls": 12 tracce, 12 canzoni scritte da uomini, 12 tematiche care alle donne, questo essenzialmente il filo conduttore che caratterizza l'opera… Opera che a dire la verita' e' difficile anche classificare come Cover Album perche' Tori non solo ripropone le canzoni ma spesso le smonta e poi le rimonta secondo parametri puramente soggettivi, e questa e' la forza e anche la debolezza di quest'album: perche' come spesso accade la soggettivita' porta sia cose positive che inevitabili critiche, ma come al solito la rossa riga dritta per la sua strada.
Cosi' capita di sentire canzoni di Eminem o degli Slayer riproposte come struggenti nenie per pianoforte o altre, come nel caso dei Depeche riproposte nude e crude, ma questa e' Tori.. prendere o lasciare, un'operazione abbastanza insolita spesso talmente minimale da risultare opprimente e in cui i vari fans dei citati possono anche essere scontentati, qualche anno dopo un' opera simile (parlando di destrutturazione\ricostruzione e non ovviamente di tecnica e uso dei strumenti) verra' proposta dai A Perfect Circle in "Emotive" ma questa e' un'altra storia..
Purtroppo parlando di Cover e' inevitabile una track by track, portate pazienza, provero' ad essere sintetico:
New Age, Velvet Underground: una delle poche abbastanza fedeli all' originale, pianoforte e arrangiamento minimale e la voce di Tori a riempire esemplarmente i vuoti.
97' Bonnie and Clyde, Eminem: La Amos stravolge completamente la ritmica e trasforma un rap violento e misogino in una ossessiva nenia per pianoforte in cui la sua voce e' solo di sottofondo, Eminem non apprezzera'
Strange Little Girl, The Stranglers: una ballata rock trasformata in un dolce pop per pianoforte, una delle meno cupe dell' album, molto riuscita.
Enjoy the Silence, Depeche Mode: un simbolo dell' elettronica dei '90 riproposta nel suo canovaccio per pianoforte, Tori nuota qui nel suo ambiente naturale.
I'm not in Love, 10 cc. : discorso simile alla title track, qui pero' un' amarezza di fondo e' presente nell' arrangiamento decisamente spartano.
Rattlesnakes, Lloyd Cole: a mio avviso una delle piu' riuscite , pianoforte in evidenza ma la rossa non rinuncia al blues di fondo.
Time, Tom Waits: Tori qui compie un atto d'amore, non vorrei dire nulla da ascoltare senza pregiudizi.
Heart of Gold, Neil Young: la piu' fedele, riproposta pero' in chiave piu' drammatica.
I don't like Mondays, Boomtown Rats: La Amos qui gioca semplicemente con la melodia e non lascia spazio a troppi fronzoli.
Happiness is a Warm Gun, The Beatles: Citare i fab four e' sempre un rischio ma la nostra non ha paura e devia completamente la struttura del pezzo, ad arricchire le polemiche le voci dei due Bush e quelle della notizia della morte di Lennon nella fase centrale, ogni riferimento non e' casuale.
Raining Blood, Slayer: Tori riscrive tutto da capo ed era inevitabile, i Slayer la ringraziarono personalmente mandandole una shirt di "God Hates us All"…
Real Men, Joe Jackson: entrambi gli artisti hanno il piano come strumento principe, la cantautrice americana quindi non cambia molto, solo un paio di versi, Jackson lo noto' ed in un concerto in Europa ripropose il pezzo cosi' come reinterpretato dalla Amos., chiedendosi prima se Tori avesse cambiato le parole di proposito (domanda retorica?)
Come conclusione, nessuna conclusione e nessun voto a chi vuol ascoltare la parola definitiva.
Elenco tracce testi e video
02 '97 Bonnie & Clyde (05:46)
Baby your da-da loves you
And I'm always gonna be here for you
No matter what happened
You're all I got in this world
I'd never give you up for nothin'
Nobody in this world is ever gonna keep you from me
I love you
C'mon Hai-Hai, we goin to the beach
Grab a couple of toys and let da-da strap you in the car seat
Where's mama? She's takin a little nap in the trunk
Oh that smell -- da-da musta runned over a skunk
Now I know what you're thinkin - it's kind of late to go swimmin
But you know your mama, she's one of those type of women
That do crazy things, and if she don't get her way, she'll throw a fit
Don't play with da-da's toy knife, honey, let go of it
And don't look so upset, why you actin bashful?
Don't you wanna help da-da build a sand castle?
And mama said she wants to show you how far she can float
Don't worry about that little boo-boo on her throat
It's just a little scratch - it don't hurt
her was eatin dinner while you were sleepin and spilled ketchup on her shirt
Mama's messy isn't she? We'll let her wash off in the water
Me and you can pway by ourselves, can't we?
Just the two of us
Just the two of us
Just the two of us
See honey -- there's a place called heaven and a place called hell
There's a place called prison and a place called jail
And da-da's probably on his way to all of em except one
Cause mama's got a new husband and a stepson
And you don't want a brother do ya?
Maybe when you're old enough to understand a little better I'll explain it to ya
But for now we'll just say mama was real real bad
She was bein mean to dad and made him real real mad
But I still feel sad that I put her on time-out
Sit back in your chair honey, quit tryin to climb out
I told you it's okay HaiHai wanna ba-ba take a night-night? Nan-a-boo, goo-goo ga-ga?
Her make goo-goo ca-ca? Da-da change your dia-dee
Clean the baby up so her can take a nighty-nighty
Your dad'll wake her up as soon as we get to the water
Ninety-seven Bonnie and Clyde, me and my daughter
Me and my daughter
Me and my daughter
Just the two of us
Just the two of us
Just the two of us
Wake up sweepy head we're here
Before we pway we're gonna take mama for a wittle walk along the pier
Baby, don't cry honey, don't get the wrong idea
Mama's too sweepy to hear you screamin in her ear
That's why you can't get her to wake, but don't worry
Da-da made a nice bed for mommy at the bottom of the lake
Here, you wanna help da-da tie a rope around this rock?
We'll tie it to her footsie then we'll roll her off the dock
Ready now, here we go, on the count of free
One.. two.. free.. oh-weeeeeee
There goes mama, splashin in the water
No more fightin with dad, no more restraining order
No more step-da-da, no more brother
Blow her kisses bye bye, tell mommy you love her
Now we'll go play in the sand, build a castle and junk
But first, just help dad with two more things out the trunk
Just -- the two - of us
04 Enjoy the Silence (04:09)
Words like violence
Break the silence
Come crashing in
Into my little world
Painful to me
Pierce right through me
Can't you understand
Oh my little girl
All I ever wanted
All I ever needed
Is here - in my arms
All I ever wanted
All I ever needed
Is here - in my arms
Vows are spoken
To be broken
Feelings are intense
Words are trivial
Pleasures remain
So does the pain
Words are meaningless
And unforgettable
All I ever wanted
All I ever needed
Is here - in my arms
All I ever wanted
All I ever needed
Is here - in my arms
Words are very unnecessary
They - can only do harm
Words like violence
Break the silence
Come crashing in
Into my little world
Painful to me
Pierce right through me
Can't you understand
Oh my little girl
All I ever wanted
All I ever needed
Is here - in my arms (x3)
Vows are spoken
To be broken
Feelings are intense
Words are trivial
Pleasures remain
So does the pain
Words are meaningless
And - forgettable
All I ever wanted
All I ever needed
Is here - in my arms (x3)
Words are very unnecessary
They - can only do harm
Can only do harm
06 Rattlesnakes (03:59)
Jodie wears a hat although it hasn't rained for six days
She says a girl needs a gun these days
Hey, on account of those rattlesnakes
She looks like Eve Marie Saint
In on the waterfront
She reads Simone de Beauvoir
In her American circumstance
She's less than sure if her heart has come to stay in San Jose
And her neverborn child still haunts her now as she speeds down the freeway
As she tries her luck with the traffic police out of boredom more than spite
She never finds no trouble, she tries too hard
She's oblivious despite herself
She looks like Eve Marie Saint
In on the waterfront
She says all she needs is therapy
All you need is, love is all you need
Jodie never sleeps 'cause
There are always needles in the hay, hey
She says that a girl needs a gun these days
Hey, on account of all the rattlesnakes
Hey, on account of the rattlesnakes
She looks like Eve Marie Saint
In on the waterfront
Ss she reads Simone de Beauvoir
In her American circumstance
Her heart's like crazy paving
Upside down and back to front
She says ooh, it's so hard to love
When love was your great disappointment
07 Time (05:22)
the smart money's on harlow
and the moon is in the street
and the shadow boys are breaking all the laws
you're east of east st. louis
and the wind is making speeches
and the rain sounds like a round of applause
and napoleon is weeping in a carnival saloon
his invisible fiance is in the mirror
the band is going home
it's raining hammers, it's raining nails
it's true, there's nothing left for him down here
and it's time time time
and it's time time time
and it's time time time
that you love
and it's time time time
well they all pretend they're orphans
and their memory's like a train
you can see it getting smaller as it pulls away
and the things you can't rememeber
tell the things you can't forget
that history puts a saint in every dream
well she said she'd stick around
until the bandages came off
but these mama boys just don't know when to quit
matilda asks the sailors, are those dreams
or are those prayers
so just close your eyes, son
this won't hurt a bit
and it's time time time
and it's time time time
and it's time time time
that you love
and it's time time time
well, things are pretty lousy for a calendar girl
the boys just dive right off the cars
and splash into the street
and when they're on a roll
she pulls a razor from her boot
and a thousand pigeons fall around her feet
so put a candle in the window
and a kiss upon his lips
as the dish outside the window fills with rain
just like a stranger with the weeds in your heart
and pay the fiddler off till i come back again
and it's time time time
and it's time time time
and it's time time time
that you love
and it's time time time
it's time time time
and it's time time time
and it's time time time
that you love
and it's time time...time
09 I Don't Like Mondays (04:20)
The silicon chip inside her head
Gets switched to overload.
And nobody's gonna go to school today;
She gonna make them stay at home.
Daddy doesn't understand it;
He always said she was good as gold.
And he can see no reasons
'Cause there are no reasons
What reasons do you need to be shown?
Tell me why
I dont like mondays.
Tell me why
I dont like mondays.
I dont like, I don't like, I don't like mondays.
Tell me why I don't like mondays.
I want to shoot the whole day down.
Down, down, shoot it all down.
And all the playing's stopped in the playground now;
She wants to play with her toys a while.
And school's out early and soon we'll be learning
And the lesson today is how to die.
And then the bullhorn crackles
And the captain tackles
With the problems and the how's and why's.
And he can see no reasons
'Cause there are no reasons
What reason do you need to die?
Tell me why
I dont like mondays.
Tell me why
I dont like mondays.
I dont like, I don't like, I don't like mondays.
Tell me why I don't like mondays.
I want to shoot the whole day down.
Carico i commenti... con calma
