No Subject

[Donna Henderson <donna@math.uconn.edu>]

------- Forwarded Message Follows -------
From:          Self <Single-user mode>
To:            Love Hounds
Subject:       Documented Evidence of Tori/Kate marketing
Date:          Fri, 16 May 1997 13:58:59

Ok, this is my first post (working on the assumption that my previous
attempts have been lost for all time_.)  I know it is HUGE, but_. 

In the eternal Kate / Tori debate I have documented evidence that the
Label put forth promotional material dripping with Kate
Komparisons_. I was working for a Prerecorded Music Distributor when
Tori was being promoted.  I got this item right before Little
Earthquakes was released.  I saw the BOLD KATE BUSH comparisons and
demanded a promo from our buyer.  So, I can testify that the
marketing worked.  I also remember flyers being passed around at the
first show she did in Minneapolis, they asked that we all call the
local radio stations (Call letters, phone numbers were listed on the
flyer) and request Tori..  The single's titles were even listed.  I
liked the album, but was turned off by the intense marketing.  After
her second show in Minneapolis  and then the 2nd album, I lost
interst_

In talking with others at the second show I found a large percentage
who viewed Tori as a Kate stand in, since she wouldn't tour_..

All of the following articles were distributed in a psuedo magizine by
the label shortly before Little Earthquakes was released in US.  All
Page numbers refer to the page of the special issue "magazine".  I
have included the title of the original article and the publication /
date it appeared as noted in the "magazine".

Cover Page - Special Issue
Entertainment weekly
Faces to watch Tori Amos

Page 2 - Beginning of article "Can we Talk" Q Magazine Feb 92.  Runs
to _..

Page 3 
"Both American and English Names have already been bandied: Kate Bush,
Patti Smith, Joni Mitchell, Laura Nyro."

Side Bar (Page 4) BOLD and LARGE TYPE from billboard, January 11, 1992
"AMOS ARRIVES _If Elton John's Madman Across the Water were a woman,
she'd likely sound like (bold) Tori Amos, whose debut album, "Little
Earthquakes," is set for release from Atlantic Records.  Amos arrives
from North Carolina via Britain, where her songs of emotional turmoil
and stormy piano playing earned her reams of critical notice (as well
as the inevitable comparisons to (bold) Kate Bush)_"

Page 5 - "Ginger Nut" from New Musical Express 11 January 1992
"..Without the 'crazy' angle, Tori, despite being interesting,
personable and talented, would have merited perhaps a lazy Kate Bush
comparison_"

Page 6 - "Vote Tori" Time out Jan 22-29, 1992
"Yes, Tori Amos sounds from time to time like the expulsive kick
inside Kate Bush (Bush, of course, has never been interested in
confession); and no, Amos lacks the delirious all-round originality of
Mary Margaret O'Hara."

Page 7 - Full page photo - No direct Kate references.

Ditto Page 8

Page 9 - Beginning of article "Songs from the Soul" Keyboard Review,
Feb 1992 - that runs to _

Page 10  -Middle column of three, Bold Large type fills half the page
"I've been hearing comparisons with Kate Bush for over 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 women."

In body of article, same page "By now you'll have gathered that Tori
Amos is her won 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 Mitchell. But
she's not intimidated or angry.  "I have great respect for the people
I'm compared with, and I find it really fun.  I love what Kate Bush
does but we're very different people.  I've been hearing_(see above)
..As a woman you do get compared to other women and I fell that's not
the whole picture because I'm sure that a lot of women and men are
inspired by the opposite sex."

Page 11 - "Victim in search of her true voice" The Guardian November
1991 "The burned out whiz-kid is currently in London, being hailed as
the next Kate Bush or Patti Smith."

Page 12 - Article from International Musician (very small, focus on
technical aspect of her recording.  No KT reference)

Page 13 - "Breaking the Silence" What's on Birmingham (no date)
First Sentence
"She's been spoken of in the same breath as Joni Mitchell but a more
accurate comparison for Tori Amos, the copper-haired 28 year old
daughter of a North Carolina Methodist minister and potentially most
exciting female singer-songwriter of the '90's, would be a cross
between Janis Ian and Kate Bush.  Not only does Amos Play piano, but
the voice and lyrical concerns conjures up parallels to both Bush's
Hounds of Love and Ian's Between the Lines. "

Page 14 - "Strange in a strange land" The Daily Telegraph - Weekend
December 1991 "Amos's dexterous piano melodies track her sudden shifts
of mood, while her voice can swap registers like Kate Bush or shift
between vulnerability and aggression like Sinead O'Connor"

Page 15 - No KT reference in this article that is pretty much one long
Tori quote outlining her biography.

Page 16 - Full page photo

Page 17 - "Is Tori the next star?" Manchester Evening News - December
1991 First sentence "Talking with Tori Amos is an overwhelming
experience.  I was in the presence of the next big start someone in
the mould of Kate Bush, or Joni Mitchell." Last Paragraph "Her songs
often have weird chord sequences, part reason why perhaps some bring
the name of Kate Bush into play, but when Tori's song Winter reminds
of Kate's The Fog, and her vocal mannerisms have something of the
British artist's strangeness, but wow, she can sing, she can
communicate."

Same Page (17) "Heart to heart" - What's On - October 1991
First Sentence
"So this singer-songwriter girl Tori Amos, who tends to be described
as 'a more deranged version of Kate Bush' or whatever, is chatting
away."

Page 18 - "Disturbing" Q Magazine February 1992
"The list of Post Suzanne Vega female songwriters who never got off
the starting blocks continues to grow.  _. Only Vega herself and the
increasingly reclusive Kate Bush appear capable of sorting themselves
out.  The omens do not look good for Tori Amos.  Additionally, she has
a patently preposterous name, a Kate Bush fixation, _."

Page 19 - "Vote Tori" - Melody Maker January 4, 1991
"The most obvious reference points here are Kate Bush and Joni
Mitchell.  The restive spirit of Bush seems to ram fancifully though
'Girl' and "Precious Things"__ "For the record, it must be said that
this song {Leather} features the steamiest post-coital vocal since
Bush moaned her way through "Cloudbursting"{idiots!}."  {Items in {}
added by DJH}

Page 20 - short album reviews, no KT reference

Page 21 - "Tori Triggers an emotional earthquake" Today January 11 ,
1992 "Musically there are many reference points - Joni Mitchell, Kate
Bush, Patti Smith"

Page 22 - 7 clippings
"If this cross between the ethereal soul strokings of Kate Bush, Sarah
McLaclan and even Julia Fordham_." The Star - January 8, 1992
"Clocking in somewhere between Kate Bush and Patti Smith.." For Him
Magazine Feb 1992 "Actually, comparisons with this pair,, or more
pertinently, the likes of Mary Margaret O'Hara or Kate Bush aren't
really valid"  Melody Maker - October 1991
 "Little Earthquakes:  Tori Amos  She sounds like a bad beach near
 Benidorm, but is set to be the Kate Bush of the Nineties.  The debut
 album is full of quirky songs and not recommended for those of a
 nervous disposition."  Album review Daily Mirror Jan 17 1992
 (Complete review)
"Forget comparisons with Edie Brickell, Kate Bush_ Tori Amos
resolutely refuses to be pigeonholed with any of them." The
Independent Jan 1992

Page 23 - 6 clippings
"You keep willing yourself not to think okf Kate Bush (too obvious,
too lazy a comparison) but it's hard to get away from the notion, and
a song like Winter has a lot in common with Kate's The fog in that it
deals with childhood trust and growin up and stuff."  NME - September
14, 1991 "As if one heavy singer-songwriter album wasn't enough for
one week, diminutive songstress Tori Amos's debut album seethes with
torrid emotions, repressions and a combination of eroticism and
fragility that's reminiscent of Kate Bush."  The Independent January
9, 1992

Back Cover - 6 clippings
"..Amos, 28, last year took refuge in Britain, where critics regularly
compare her to Laura Nyro, Kate Bush and even Patti Smith." 
Entertainment Weekly January 31, 1992 "Imagine Mary Margaret O'Hara
without the confused babble, Kate Bush without the winsome whimsy -" 
Melody Maker January 1992 "Her introspective, piano-based compositions
will make comparisons to Kate Bush inevitable.." New Music Express
September 1991 "Sounding a bit like Kate Bush on speed_" New Woman
February 1992 "People will compare her with Kate Bush and with Stevie
Nicks, but the combination at least is unique."  Evening Standard,
January 1992

@+@+@+@+@+@+

for what it's worth....
DJH


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