Tori Amos’ ‘To Venus And Back’
not as solid as previous albums
Tori Amos
“To Venus And Back”
Atlantic Records
Grade: B
Tori Amos carved herself a niche in
the music world many years ago with
“Little Earthquakes,” and she’s never
looked back. Her career has been filled
with ups and downs, solid albums and
one less than great album.
Originally, “To Venus And Back”
was to be an odds ’n’ ends compilation -
mostly B-sides - but instead, the muse
struck, and Tori whipped out an album
and packaged it with a disc full of live
tracks.
Is it as good an album as “From the
Choirgirl Hotel”? No. Is it a solid
release worth buying? Sure is.
The first disc is a collection of orig
inals, and the main criticism is that they
aren’t great - they’re merely good. A
few of them descend into the nonsensi
cal gibberish, of lyrics that plagued
“Boys For Pele,” but for the most part,
they are solid, enjoyable tunes. Only a
few of them are truly memorable, such
as “Concertina” and “1000 Oceans.”
The live disc is where Tori really
shines. The live group backing her up
brings new definition to old classics
such as “Little Earthquakes” and
“Cornflake Girl.” Songs once iacking
that extra power at live concerts have
more life breathed into them. The occa
sional chatting between songs gets old,
but on the whgle, it’s a solid disc.
“To Venus And Back” feels a little
rushed, though. The music never seems
to flow from one song to another, mak
ing it easier to pick up and put down and
harder to listen to as a whole.
And, to nit pick, a cardboard case
might be cheaper to produce, but it also
makes it easier to scratch your CDs.
Better alternatives to this packaging are
out there.
As a whole, Toriphiles already own
this CD, while us casual Tori fans will
find something to like, but little to love.
-CliffHicks
Flashy attitude makes ‘Trickstyle’ fun
Game: Trickstyle
Publisher: Acclaim
System: Dreamcast
Grade: B
Way back when the movie “Back to
the Future Part ll” came out, people
who watched Michael J. Fox’s character
skate on a hoverboard thought, “That
looks so cool. I wish I could do that.”
Welcome to ‘Trickstyle.”
One of the launch games for the
Dreamcast system, “Trickstyle” is part
racing game, part skateboarding game
and all flashy attitude. The storyline?
Dismiss it. It’s the future, no one works,
everyone plays, and hoverboarding is in.
That’s all you need to know.
At the outset, it’s clear there’s a lad
der to work your way up. At first, you
have only a handful of tricks and just
one hoverboard to choose from. As you
heat challenges, new tricks and boards
open up.
Make no mistake about it;
“Trickstyle” can be hard. The last race is
so hard the Marquis De Sade stares in
awe and goes “Damn, that looks tough.”
Other than this last track, the rest are
great. They have hidden shortcuts,
places designed just for people to show
off and, best of all, they backtrack.
Unlike most racing games, the idea
of “Trickstyle” is to open a sense of free
space. Each group of five tracks is des
ignated a set location - the United
Kingdom, the United States and Japan.
Sometimes, a track seems identical to
another until you realize you’re racing
backward. Other times, you merely
cross a location you raced through
before. This gives you a little help on
knowing when to show off.
And, man, can you show off. In
either you-against-the-computer mode
or when racing another player, the score
for tricks may not win you anything. But
they’re a constant source for one
upmanship. Being first isn’t always as
important as looking good, and a com
bination of backflips, 1080s and boo
gieluges can win you points for style.
Graphically, the game looks great.
The control can be a bit touchy, but
“Trickstyle” is a good game for anyone
who fondly remembers days spent play
ing “720 Degrees” in the arcade.
Yeah, baby!
-CliffHicks
Thursday is Night
(L mat 8:30)
Friday, Oct. 8
BOSSPHILLY
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Classic Rock Rhythm & Blues
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Sunday, Oct. 10
SANDY CREEK &
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