Tori/Kate Bush connections.

[kosky@saul.cis.upenn.edu (Anthony Kosky)]

I posted this on the Really-Deep-Thoughts mailing list a few days ago. Someone
just pointed out that there was still alot of Tori traffic on this group, so I
thought I'd have a look (I don't normally read this group, so email me any
responses). People seemed to still be wondering if Tori listened to or was
influenced by Kate Bush. Here's her answer:

>From interview in Keyboard Review, Feb 1992:

	By now you'll have gathered that Tori Amos is her own woman
	with a distinctive style. However writers and critics still
	want to pigeonhole her, likening her to Kate Bush
	(particularly the vocal style), Laura Nyro and Joni Mitchel.

	But she's not intimidated or angry. "I have great respect for
	the people I'm compared with, and find it really fun. I love
	what Kate Bush does but we're very different people. I've been
	hearing comparisons with Kate for 10 years --- before I'd
	heard her work. But people don't say I sound like many guys
	and I've been influenced by more men than woman. It's an
	energy --- people are missing the energy. We all compare
	people to sonics instead of vibes. I don't get compared much
	to Elton John of Ray Charles," she laughs. "As a woman you do
	get compared to other women and I feel that's not the whole
	picture because I'm sure that a lot of women and men are
	inspired by the opposite sex".

>From a Tower Records magazine (Top, Febuary 1992):

	Having done the apples and tea, Tori now begins the vigorous
	production of an omletter. Clearly she dislikes inactivity.
	Certain songs on the new album, for example "Crucify" the
	first track, have led people to compare Tori to Kate Bush, as
	previously mentioned. Does she mind this?

	"I don't mind at all. The truth is that I think there's maybe
	a quality, an energy that people sense that we have in
	common.In fact, if you put our songs back to back, they're as
	alike as night and day. I'm a huge fan of hers, of course, but
	this comparison was first made ten years ago in a club and at
	that time I hadn't heard any of her work. When I did hear her
	work, I loved it, but I made it a rule not to get _every_
	record she made because I didn't want to cop (sic). Let's face
	it, when you're compared to somebody that you like, it doesn't
	get much better than that".

So hopefully we can stop Kate Bush comparisons now :-).

While I'm here I'll give another plug to Really-Deep-Thoughts, the Tori mailing
list. It's available as either a regular bounce list, or in digest form. To
subscribe send mail to rdt-request@gradient.cis.upenn.edu.

-Anthony