Full disclosure: I have long suspected that idiosyncratic carrot-tressed singer/songwriter Tori Amos might be a little, uh, goofy, if you know what I mean. But this version of "Smells Like Teen Spirit" is fricking brilliant.
Really -- transforming an angsty grunge guitar assault into a Joni Mitchell-esque confessional piano ballad is, how you say, a conceptual masterstroke. In fact, I'll go out on a limb here and say that in the face of an accomplishment of that magnitude, who cares that Tori's 1992 Crucify EP (featuring the studio version of the Cobain song) has a cover photo of the artiste in which she's nude save for a necklace made out of what appear to be wild scallions? I mean, c'mon -- really, who?
It is perhaps also worth noting that the aformentioned EP also includes a slightly less audacious but equally effective voice and piano version of the Rolling Stones' "Angie".
What she wore to the recording session -- no man can say!
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6 comments:
I've always wanted to hear Springsteen do a just-his-acoustic-guitar-and-his-voice cover of this song, or maybe "Heart-Shaped Box."
A good song can be stripped down or heavily produced into a different genre and still shine on.
Tori Amos is wired into the cosmic ether, man. Us regular mortals have trouble comprehending some of the stuff she channels from beyond the spheres, but it sure is nine kinds of awesome.
What Tori Amos does to thees song geeves me the hairballs.
Eef Courtney Love ever cared one whit for that talented wastoid Curt, she would box carrot-top's ears good for wringing every last shred of what was good out of thees song, and letting the poor depleted husk settle and deflate slowly as Tori draaaaaaags out the coup de grace.
The original SLTS was a parody of useless teen consumerism bound up weeth power chords and yelling. I can barely conceive of a song less deserving of "the Tori process" (The EnTori-ing?).
What's next, a whingey rumination on "Takin' Care of Business"? An angsty diatribe culled from what was once "Everybody Wang-Chung Tonight"? Maybe a long-drawn-out, warbly-vocal vivisection of the Misfit's "Last Caress"?
Pfui, thees woman sure can ruin a good song, no?
Pfui.
El Gato, you are one funny cat.
Trey (who hit the link because he likes scallions)
El Gato --
Don't mince words, tell us what you really think...
Joo know, eef had been "All apologies" I would have nothing to meow about.
Or even "Lithium", or, meowtf, she could go rrreally edgy and do "Rape me".
¿But Smells Like Teen Spirit?
Eet's a beet like covering Barber's "Adagio for Strings" weeth a washboard & jug band.
Por supesto, jour mileage, she may vary.
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