Search - Tori Amos :: Y Kant Tori Read

These are 99% bootleg listings

M. Daneker | Spinnerstown, Pa USA | 09/05/2005

(1 out of 5 stars)

"Any listing that is not Atlantic and has more than 10 tracks is a bootleg available for $10.00 elsewhere. Tori doesn't re-release this because, in her own words, the album does not represent what her fans are looking for and she feels like she would just be capitolizing and doesn't want to release sub-par material.



The album is mostly awful, 80's pop trash, even the songs that aren't bad are scared by terrible synth garbage. I have a bootleg I paid too much for before I knew better.



I personally wish Tori would put it out again just to squash the boot-leggers and save her fans the money and embarrasement of over-paying for rip-off copies."

For Tori fans, a CD worth owning

Daniel Maltzman | Arlington, MA, USA | 10/09/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Just by looking at the album cover of "Y Kant Tori Read," it's no small wonder why Tori Amos has decided to distance herself from this CD. Although its received some positive reviews from Amazon reviewers, among Tori Amos fans, it has a reputation as being utterly awful. "Y Kant Tori Read" is an almost infamous album, one that its creator herself has tried to erase from history.



Needles to say, I was extremely interested to hear such a legendary album. For some time now I had sought after this release. Even if it was as bad as I heard it was, I had to hear it for myself.



After happily finding this disc at a local CD shop and giving it a few spins, the verdict is in. Is it as bad as its reputation? No. Is it a lost gem that all Tori Amos fans have to hear? Well, not exactly.



Tori Amos is a gifted songwriter, so it goes without saying that the entire CD is well written. If these same songs had been recorded in the same style as "Little Earthquakes" (1991), stripped down on mostly piano, "Y Kant Tori Read" would have been a fine album. In other words, the ideas are all there-it's just that the CD is bogged down with synthesizers and a glossy production. I'm sure it's not Tori Amos's fault. Probably at the behest of the record label, she had to take her songs and make them overly assessable in order to make the CD radio/MTV friendly.



Be that as it may, I still enjoyed this album. It would be easy to label these songs as dance-pop, similar to Paula Abdul or Debbie Gibson-but unlike those artists, an actual band backed Tori Amos. "Y Kant Tori Read" doesn't have a drum machine, soullessly moving the songs along. Drummer Matt Sorum (The Cult, Guns N' Roses, Velvet Revolver) gives the songs some life and makes this more of a rock album.



"Y Kant Tori Read" is a very dated album. It screams "80s." But even if these songs are overly glossy and assessable and bogged down with synthesizers, it is still an enjoyable listen. Because Amos is such a gifted songwriter, it is hard not to enjoy her work. Therefore, "Y Kant Tori Read" makes for a guilty pleasure.



If you're a fan of Tori Amos and are interested in this CD, it would be best to look around some privately owned CD stores first, before spending a hundred dollars at Amazon. Some places will sell this CD for ten to fifteen dollars. If you can get over how dated and cheesy this album is, you will hopefully be able to enjoy it. While it may not be Amos's best work, it's still worth listening to. And from a historical perspective, it's worth owning.





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CAREFUL!

S. R. Aichinger | Omaha, NE USA | 08/03/2005

(1 out of 5 stars)

"While the album is a great throwback to 80's pop, more than likely the CDs being sold here are the bootlegs. The original release did NOT include Ode to the Banana King, Song for Eric, Happy Phantom (live), Ring My Bell, Happy Workers, or Workers. If you pay $125 and you get a cd that includes any of these songs, you've been sold a cheap bootleg that you could have gotten for $10.



And to be honest... would the original Y Kant Tori Read album actually be worth spending that much money? Probably not."