News: Get Ready For The Rarities Box Set


Following up on the previous item we posted about an upcoming rarities box set, Undented has received a copy of the press release containing details of the set. A PIANO: THE COLLECTION, will be a five-disc, career-spanning box set consisting of classics, rarities, demos, B-sides and unreleased tracks. And yes, indeed, very exciting news for Toriphiles … Tori will finally introduce us to five very special songs: “Not David Bowie,” “Zero Point,” “Peeping Tommi,” “Ode To My Clothes” and “Dolphin Song.”

Presented in deluxe packaging that resembles a piano’s keyboard, this set will be released by Rhino Records on September 26, 2006, at will be available at regular retail outlets and at the Rhino Records website for a suggested price of $74.98.

Produced by Tori, the career-spanning collection highlights selections from her studio albums as well as b-sides and songs that debuted on Tales of a Librarian. Featuring numerous unreleased songs, the box set contains a total of 86 tracks that combine well-known studio versions with rare alternative mixes, including several songs Tori remixed for this project. A PIANO: THE COLLECTION also offers a revealing and extensive track-by-track commentary penned by Tori, who discusses the inspiration behind the songs and albums and explains why they were chosen for this box set.

The compilation’s first disc includes an extended version of Tori’s 1992 debut, Little Earthquakes. The classic album has been augmented not only with a different song sequence and alternate mixes but it also features it’s four original b-sides “Upside Down,” “Take To The Sky (Russia),” “Sweet Dreams” and an alternate mix of “Flying Dutchman,” as well as the previously unreleased, unedited single version of “Crucify.”

Spotlighting music recorded between 1994 and 1996, the second disc includes songs from Under the Pink and Boys for Pele. The 18 tracks blend original and remixed versions of albums cuts with the b-side “Honey” and “Professional Widow” performed live. Also included is “Take Me With You,” an unreleased song intended for Little Earthquakes. “At the time I just couldn’t finish it,” Tori writes in the liner notes. “When we found it, there were no lyrics to speak of, just music. So you’ll have something partly recorded in 1990 but with a vocal recorded in 2006…”

The third disc also includes songs associated with Boys for Pele plus 1999’s To Venus and Back and Tales of a Librarian: A Tori Amos Collection. The 15 songs feature original and remixed versions of album tracks as well as “Hey Jupiter” (Dakota Version) and “Professional Widow” (Armand’s Star Trunk Funkin’ Mix). Also featured is “Walk To Dublin (Sucker Reprise),” an unreleased track from the Pele sessions.

From the Choirgirl Hotel (1998), Scarlet’s Walk (2002) and The Beekeeper (2005) are the focus of the fourth disc, which contains 15 songs including original and remixed versions of album tracks. Also featured is the unheard intro for “Marys Of The Sea” from The Beekeeper as well as four previously unreleased songs “Not David Bowie,” “Zero Point,” “Ode To My Clothes” and “Dolphin Song.” In the liner notes, Tori writes: “Some songs seem to have a timeline for when they want to be finished and put out to the world. At the time when we were working on ‘Dolphin Song,’ I had all kinds of ideas for her development after the basic tracking had been done. Instead she got set aside for a while. But once we started to go through the tape library we put ‘Dolphin’ up on the faders again, and I realized we didn’t need to record anything else; it was finished.”

The final disc features 22 tracks spotlighting Tori’s impressive list of renowned b-sides and includes the exclusive digital release “Merman” from 1999. For what could be the most intriguing addition to the collection, Tori invites listeners into her artistic process with a medley of demos for the songs, “Fire-Eater’s Wife/Beauty Queen,” “Playboy Mommy” and “A Sorta Fairytale.” Amos explains in the liner notes: “I’m usually pretty reticent to expose the musical development process…The demo medley was a choice I made so that other songwriters can feel an affinity with the idea that songwriters have to push themselves and not just accept the first incarnation that you are presented with. Each of these three songs are presented here in their completed form somewhere within the box set so you can see conception to development.”

The track listing for A PIANO: THE COLLECTION is as follows:

* = previously unreleased
Disc 1
1. “Leather” (Alternate Mix)
2. “Precious Things” (Alternate Mix)
3. “Silent All These Years”
4. “Upside Down”
5. “Crucify” (Unedited Single Version)*
6. “Happy Phantom”
7. “Me And A Gun”
8. “Flying Dutchman” (Alternate Mix)
9. “Girl”
10. “Winter”
11. “Take To The Sky (Russia)”
12. “Tear In Your Hand”
13. “China”
14. “Sweet Dreams”
15. “Mother” (Alternate Mix)
16. “Little Earthquakes”

Disc 2
1. “Cornflake Girl”
2. “Honey”
3. “Take Me With You”*
4. “Baker Baker” (Alternate Mix)
5. “The Waitress” (Alternate Mix)
6. “Pretty Good Year”
7. “God”
8. “Cloud On My Tongue”
9. “Past The Mission” (Alternate Mix)
10. “Bells For Her”
11. “Yes, Anastasia” (Alternate Mix)
12. “Blood Roses”
13. “Mr. Zebra”
14. “Caught A Lite Sneeze” (Alternate Mix)
15. “Professional Widow” (Merry Widow Version – Live)
16. “Beauty Queen/Horses”
17. “Father Lucifer”
18. “Marianne”

Disc 3
1. “Walk To Dublin” (Sucker Reprise)*
2. “Hey Jupiter” (Dakota Version)
3. “Professional Widow” (Armand’s Star Trunk Funkin’ Mix)
4. “Putting The Damage On”
5. “Bliss” (Remixed Version)
6. “Suede”
7. “Glory Of The 80’s”
8. “1000 Oceans”
9. “Concertina” (Single Remix Version)
10. “Lust”
11. “Datura”
12. “Sugar” (Live from sound check)
13. “The Waitress” (Live)
14. “Snow Cherries From France”
15. “Doughnut Song” (Remixed Version)

Disc 4
1. “A Sorta Fairytale”
2. “Not David Bowie”*
3. “Amber Waves”
4. “Iieee” (Remixed Version)
5. “Playboy Mommy” (Remixed Version)
6. “The Beekeeper”
7. “Jackie’s Strength”
8. “Zero Point”*
9. “Sweet The Sting”
10. “Ode To My Clothes”*
11. “Spark”
12. “Intro Jam”* and “Marys Of The Sea”
13. “Cruel” (Remixed Version)
14. “Dolphin Song”*
15. “Gold Dust”

Disc 5
1. “The Pool”
2. “Never Seen Blue”
3. “Daisy Dead Petals”
4. “Beulah Land”
5. “Sugar”
6. “Cooling”
7. “Bachelorette”
8. “Black Swan”
9. “Mary” (Tales Version)
10. “Peeping Tommi”*
11. “Toodles Mr. Jim”
Demo Medley:
12. “Fire-Eater’s Wife/Beauty Queen” (Demo)*
13. “Playboy Mommy” (Demo)*
14. “A Sorta Fairytale” (Demo)*
15. “This Old Man”
16. “Purple People”
17. “Here. In My Head”
18. “Hungarian Wedding Song”
19. “Merman”
20. “Sister Janet”
21. “Home On The Range” (Cherokee Edition)
22. “Frog On My Toe”

From a totally selfish point of view, I'm happy it's not a strict b-sides comp because then there is still value in some of those rarities that I have collected throughout the years. And with all the new tracks and alternate versions/demos this is still something that I need to have.

Between this and the Björk 'Surrounded' box, I will be seriously broke by the end of the summer!

Wow... interesting.

Instead of doing strictly a b-sides/rarities collection, she has done a complete career overview which includes b-sides and rarities.

It looks wonderful, but I hope this doesn't preclude an eventual re-release of all of her studio albums, remastered.

Disc 1 looks like a re-visioning of Little Earthquakes.... I like it alot.

Can't wait to hear this!!!!

Looks nice.....but I don't want to deal with the songs I already have....especially for that price. I'd rather her just release a full on rarities set too.... rather than having already released singles on there. I guess it wouldn't have been enough songs to make a full box set....maybe just a rarities album instead with only demos, alternate versions, and unreleased songs.

AnckSuNamun said:

I made a 4 disc set with just b-sides alone, and that wasn't including any remixes.

Yeah, there was something floating around on Emule a while back a box set with 4 disc collection someone had made with only B-sides. Those B-sides are included on released singles though, so fans who bought the singles already have those B-sides.

AnckSuNamun said:

I made a 4 disc set with just b-sides alone, and that wasn't including any remixes.

sextonseven said:

Isn't the Bjork thing out tomorrow?

My b-side collection is also four discs. And I relegated all the live b-sides to a separate double disc so it could easily have been a six disc set. Add all the officially released remixes and we're talking eight discs.

man oh man oh man.

i've so much more than shot it in my pants.

looks very yummy

I just had a very concentrated listen to Under The Pink this morning. I'm still way behind ya'll.

Thank you Nathan ~ at least I'll have a couple months to save up ~ the Bjork coming out tomorrow will leave me broke for a while!

sextonseven said:

Care to share your tracklists? Art?

Perhaps I will post them later this week. Leaving work now. It's after midnight on the east coast!

O-M-G. This is a great set. although, i too, am happy and disappointed
at the same time.

Call me old fashioned but I still like to have unreleased material, an
ounce of remixes and the b-sides collected on a box set.

I don't really get the point of adding all these album tracks. that's
as if you can't make up your mind between a greatest hits/best off or
a rarities box.

I mean, a three disc rarities/bsides would have been cool with me but
perhaps I'm speaking too soon. After all, if she produced it herself,
I'm thrilled to hear what the discs sound like in this running order.

Oh and x infinity @ the unreleased tracks

Zero Point, your time has come!

IstenSzek said:

As always, completely sensible, smart and right.

Not David Bowie is that like Not The Red Baron?

IstenSzek said:

geez, i love you.

do you perhaps have some more info on those unreleased tracks
that will be included on the box set?

i've read a lot about "zero point" but the others are still a
bit unknown to me.



Not David Bowie is that like Not The Red Baron?