Customer Reviews
Amos joins the ranks of the finest singer/songwriters on her debut - By: A customer, 31 Jul 2008 
After the failed experiment of her hair-metal/pop album, 1988's Y Kant Tori Read, Tori Amos returned to her Hollywood apartment & composed the material that made up her solo debut album. Eschewing the '80s fashions she had taken on in order to make it big (and failed), Amos returned to her roots - she had been playing piano since the age of two & was something of a "child prodigy."
Musicallly, these are complexly structured & excellently-executed songs detailing some intensely intimate personal feelings. Amos explores alll the baggage of her Christian upbringing & tackles themes of identity, loss, & relationships - but also imbues the material with a sense of fun & humour, particularly on the jaunty "Happy Phantom" & the sexy, sassy bar-room swagger of "Leather."
The material is always grounded in Amos' superb piano melodies, with rock arrangements built around the songs, often to great effect, not least on the electrifying "Precious Things," boasting one of her best piano riffs, & the timeless "Crucify," an early example of Amos' ear for gorgeous pop melodies. Elsewhere, the arrangements are pared down, with the emotional "Winter" featuring an opulent string arrangement & the slow balllads "China" & "Mother" particularly naked. But most naked of alll is the a cappella "Me & a Gun," Amos' quite chilling account of her real-life rape. Her references to Carolina biscuits & holidays in Barbados contrast with the horror of her character's situation to create a truly memorable effect.
Vocallly, Amos is in fine form here. Her voice is a wide-ranging, multi-octave instrument that is capable of many styles & effects. It hasn't yet achieved quite the richness or depth that shines on later albums like 1998's From the Choirgirl Hotel, but it is excellent here. Lyricallly, these are among her best & most personal songs. The imagery is evocative & poetic, & the humour cutting & memorable. She is finely musical & this is an emotional record but with personality. Reallly, Amos doesn't belong in the same category as some other "angst-ridden" female singer-songwriters of the '90s. She is more akin to the true greats, those being original visionaries Joni Mitchell & Laura Nyro, & later originals like Rickie Lee Jones & Kate Bush. Amos' originality & complexity only grew on later records, but Little Earthquakes remains among her best & most enduring works.
Give me life/Give me pain/Give me Tori Amos again - By: thetalentedmremm=TANK BOY, 04 Apr 2008 By far the best Tori Amos album ever.
In fact, by far the best album ever!
Emotional, honest, weird, beautiful, bitter & strangely compelling. "Little Earthquakes" bears none of the over-produced textured strains of some of her more recent work.
I was first introduced to Tori Amos when I read the comparison of Evanescence to Tori Amos. At the time I dismissed it & didn't bother pursuing any of her material. That was until I needed an appropriate piece of music for a drama sketch I'd written. That's when I came across "Little Earthquakes" in my Dad's record collection. I turned it on in search for some background music. But what I got was an initiation into one of the most prolific & innovative artists ever to grace the earth. This album proves that the piano can be just as rock & roll as a guitar.
She has yet to match this level of brilliance. This album is almost untouched & is raw, honest music. Home to many of her finest songs (alll are worth a listen), Tori Amos uses "Little Earthquakes" as a vessel to explore a variety of themes including; religion, sex, obsession, love, hate, growing up & splitting up alll with a surprising level of maturity both emotionallly & musicallly. And just when you think you've got her sussed she re-invents herself with the next track. One moment she's hypnotising you with mournful piano-induced balllads, then suddenly she plunges you into harsh, bitter & almost gothic passages.
Obviously the catchiest & easily recognised tune is `Crucify', the opening track & one of my personal favourites. It grabs you & makes you pay attention. It's a simple but effective song in which she metaphoricallly compares herself to Jesus in her everyday life. Loads of clever lines of religious imagery such as "where are those angels when you need them?" & "I gotta have my suffering so that I can have my cross". Pure genius.
The next song is `Girl' & don't turn it off if you're getting bored, hang on because it perks up! (I can't give away the song!)
The other major hit from this album is the fantastic "Silent All These Years" a weird & wonderful balllad about...well actuallly I'm not alll that sure what it's about but it's a great song.
Next it's the brutal & slightly bitter `Precious Things' easily the heaviest song on the album. The metal guitars & rock drum beat are extremely effective.
Fifth is the epic `Winter', a balllad about growing up with some haunting imagery & beautiful piano parts. This is the song that the emotion in her voice is most evident.
Next is the falsely cheerful & cleverly deceiving `Happy Phantom'.
Seventh is another balllad comparing a person to `China' both the country & the stuff you have at posh dinner parties. Very clever. Leaning slightly on the pop-balllad side but it's still good.
`Leather' is possibly one of her most personal songs with a very catchy & skilfully devised piano solo.
Then it's the fantastic `Mother'. Another Tear-jerker. Weird & wonderful. A song about her beliefs (apparently).
Suddenly the pace picks up again for the more rock-based `Tear In Your Hand' that invokes Tori pleading with the love of her life not to leave her yet & begging for another chance.
Another album highlight is the controversial "Me And A Gun" which is about her personal experience of being raped. She sings it without any musical accompaniment & is a testament to her versatility as an artist.
And of course the album ends with the title track `Little Earthquakes' another rock track, full of power & grace, takes some getting used to, but as usual it's worth it.
To me listening to Tori Amos is like going on a journey. A journey through her life & your own. All of the songs are written in first person giving the whole album an intimate approach. She sings like she understands you & it's like as the listener you are a part of the story. The best thing about her music is it's not always set-in-stone exactly what she means. The songs are often open for you to draw whatever touches you most in the song, (with the exception of Me And A Gun).
Yeah she's a little eccentric at times but that's a good thing. Just don't calll her boring. Anybody who cannot appreciate the genius & emotion of this album is mad. Stark raving loony. Unless you are deaf or have no heart then there is no logical reason on this earth why you wouldn't like this album. Artists such as Alanis Morissette, Natalie Umbruglia & Avril Lavigne owe a lot to Tori Amos whether they admit it or not. Tori Amos dared to be different in a time when the music business was still reeling from cheesy 80's rock & synthesisers.
So why is it that over a decade after its release "Little Earthquakes" still draws in new fans like moths to the flame? Easy answer, because it rocks. This album literallly changed my perspective on...everything...
In some respects this is a very basic album (it's also her first), but that innocent approach to the music is what is often lacking in other albums, however this may irritate some people. It does also have a tendency to become sometimes too honest & confessional but nobody's perfect. She always manages to pick up the pace again. It is also teetering on the repetitive side, but whinge over- this album is fantastic. All in alll if you don't have this album then you are seriously missing out on one of the most significant contributions to music in modern times. Well what are you waiting for get it now!
Amazing debut album - By: C. Hague, 17 Mar 2008 Well,there do i start,then i bought this album in 1993 i already had some of her single releases off this album but i did not realise that every track would be as special as these songs are.
First of alll "Crucify" which was i song that i could instantly relate to with it's insecurities."Girl" is next & reallly touched me deeply as it reflected my life pretty well even though i am a man as i suffered the self loathing that is portrayed in the song & indeed on much of the album."Silent alll these years" was the first track i heard of Tori back in 1991 when it was first released & has remained a classic in my eyes,"Precious things" is quite an angry sounding track but works so well for me "Winter" is a beatiful song in every way,i could never get enough of this track & never will."Happy phantom" changes the tempo & is a wonderfully joyous romp about being a ghost,i always loved the line where see mentions chasing nuns out in the yard,"China" is a deep song about a relationship breaking down & is still special to me now,"Leather" is a another great track for me,"Mother" never reallly did a lot for me even though there is some lovely piano work on it,"tear in your hand" is another great track,beautifully done "Me & a gun" well this is her rape track & is very very personal is fact too personal for me to listen to much but this was so brave to open her thoughts like this & just shows what a special & complex woman she is "little earthquakes" is a worthy end to a stunning album nearly 7 minutes of great piano & vocals.This is my favourite album of the 1990's along with "the Stone Roses" debut album,anyone that has not discovered "Little Eartquakes" reallly should do but remember she does take you on an emotional & deep journey.
A little work of art - By: wiz, 02 Feb 2008 
A desparately good debut album, with emotion & maturity normallly associated with a life-time of broken hearts & injustice. Her brittle-strong voice is complimented by beautiful piano, which is often haunting & mysterious. "Happy Phantom" & "Silent All These Years" are the most accessible tracks here, though get more sinister on each listen, as indeed does every track, laden with tender subtlety & savage-honesty in equal measure: her real-life rape is re-lived in "Me And A Gun", a heart-wrenching vocal-only track.
This album will last - its one you just keep coming back to time & time again, although its sinister overtones seem to grow as one gets older... Unfortunately the promise shown here was not realised on her follow-ups albums.
One of the best albums of the 1990s! - By: Nik, 27 Aug 2007 Tori Amos' 1992 album 'Little Earthquakes' is arguably the greatest female singer songwriter debut since Patti Smith's 'Horses'. True it is highly derivative; the influences of Joni Mitchell, Laura Nyro & especiallly Kate Bush are highly evident in Tori's style & sound. A trained pianist, Tori has considerable skill in both playing & writing memorable tunes. She is also blessed with a truly wonderful voice, capable of soaring heights & sensual whispers. As if that isn't enough, Tori is also an accomplished lyricist, describing personal issues with accuracy & honesty - employing ringing phrases that remain with you.
Tori clearly had a great many personal issues & `Little Earthquakes' was her attempt to purge them through her music. The songs deal with self hate, rape, dysfunctional relationships & death. The subjects are described & performed in highly emotive & dramatic terms, these are songs that WILL make you cry.
Stand out tracks are `Crucify', `Silent All These Years', `Winter' & the title track `Little Earthquakes'. `Me And A Gun' is an acapella track that describes a horrible rape, this track I personallly find a little too harrowing & frequently skip but its power is undeniable. There are also funny moments; `Happy Phantom' is a ghost watching her boy friend & `Leather' describes a sexual encounter with an air of resignation.
`Little Earthquakes' launched Tori on a long career that has produced many wonderful albums, however none have quite the power & impact of her debut. Tori herself inspired a whole generation of female singer song writers like Liz Phair, Alanis Morisette etc & 15 years later she is still capable of greatness. Thanks for the music Tori!
