''Strange Little Girls'' is a

concept album A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. So ...

released by singer-songwriter

Tori Amos Tori Amos (born Myra Ellen Amos; August 22, 1963) is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. She is a classically trained musician with a mezzo-soprano vocal range. Having already begun composing instrumental pieces on piano, Amos won a full ...

in 2001. The album's 12 tracks are covers of songs written and originally performed by men, reinterpreted by Amos from a female point of view. Amos created female personae for each track (one song featured twins) and was photographed as each, with makeup done by

Kevyn Aucoin Kevyn James Aucoin (; February 14, 1962 – May 7, 2002) was an American make-up artist, photographer and author. In the 1990s, Aucoin was wholly responsible for the "sculpted" look of many celebrities and top models, including Whitney Houston, ...

. In the United States the album was issued with four alternative covers depicting Amos as the characters singing "Happiness Is a Warm Gun", "Strange Little Girl", "Time", and "Raining Blood". A fifth cover of the "I Don't Like Mondays" character was also issued in the UK and other territories. Text accompanying the photos and songs was written by novelist

Neil Gaiman Neil Richard MacKinnon GaimanBorn as Neil Richard Gaiman, with "MacKinnon" added on the occasion of his marriage to Amanda Palmer. ; ( Neil Richard Gaiman; born 10 November 1960) is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, gr ...

. The complete short stories in which this text appears can be found in Gaiman's 2006 collection '' Fragile Things''. As with Amos's previous two studio albums, the cover album was recorded at her

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlan ...

studio. The album received mixed reviews upon its release in September 2001 with critics largely seeing the album as a mixed bag, praising the unlikely re-workings of

Eminem Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem (; often stylized as EMINƎM), is an American rapper and record producer. He is credited with popularizing hip hop in middle America and is critically acclai ...

's " '97 Bonnie & Clyde" and Slayer's "

Raining Blood "Raining Blood" is a song by the American thrash metal band Slayer. Written by Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King for the 1986 studio album ''Reign in Blood'', the song's religious concept is about overthrowing Heaven. The song is four minutes and f ...

", while panning the versions of

the Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developm ...

' "

Happiness Is a Warm Gun "Happiness Is a Warm Gun" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1968 album ''The Beatles'' (also known as "the White Album"). It was written by John Lennon and credited to the Lennon–McCartney partnership. The song was co ...

" and

Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian-American singer and songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, joining Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Richie Fu ...

's " Heart of Gold". Amos also tackled songs by artists such as

Tom Waits Thomas Alan Waits (born December 7, 1949) is an American musician, composer, songwriter, and actor. His lyrics often focus on the underbelly of society and are delivered in his trademark deep, gravelly voice. He worked primarily in jazz during ...

the Velvet Underground The Velvet Underground was an American rock band formed in New York City in 1964. The original line-up consisted of singer/guitarist Lou Reed, multi-instrumentalist John Cale, guitarist Sterling Morrison, and drummer Angus MacLise. MacL ...

Depeche Mode Depeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in Basildon, Essex, in 1980. The band currently consists of Dave Gahan (lead vocals and co-songwriting) and Martin Gore (keyboards, guitar, co-lead vocals and main songwriting). Depech ...

, and

the Stranglers The Stranglers are an English rock band who emerged via the punk rock scene. Scoring 23 UK top 40 singles and 19 UK top 40 albums to date in a career spanning five decades, the Stranglers are one of the longest-surviving bands to have origin ...

. The album's greatest attention was garnered from Amos's cover of Eminem's "'97 Bonnie & Clyde", a

rap Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

song. The album's cover of "Happiness Is a Warm Gun" was translated into a discussion on the

right to bear arms The right to keep and bear arms (often referred to as the right to bear arms) is a right for people to possess weapons (arms) for the preservation of life, liberty, and property. The purpose of gun rights is for self-defense, including securi ...

, and included soundbites from both

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

and

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushSince around 2000, he has been usually called George H. W. Bush, Bush Senior, Bush 41 or Bush the Elder to distinguish him from his eldest son, George W. Bush, who served as the 43rd president from 2001 to 2009; p ...

, as well as from Amos's own minister father. The album entered the charts at US No. 4, selling 111,000 copies, making it her third album to debut in the US Top 10, her second-highest debut in terms of sales, and her best position in the US for almost six years. A planned commercial EP " Strange Little Girl" (originally by the Stranglers), including " After All" (originally by

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

) and "

Only Women Bleed "Only Women Bleed" is a song by Alice Cooper, released on his debut solo album '' Welcome to My Nightmare'' in 1975. It was written by Cooper and Dick Wagner, and was the second single from the album to be released. Background It is a ballad a ...

" (originally by

Alice Cooper Alice Cooper (born Vincent Damon Furnier, February 4, 1948) is an American rock singer whose career spans over five decades. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusions, including pyrotechnics, guilloti ...

), was pulled from shelves soon after being shipped to stores in Europe. Despite being recalled from the shelves, limited copies of the single were sold and a promotional video was made. Additionally, Amos later acknowledged that she had attempted to reinterpret four other songs that she "couldn't find her way into." They were "

Fear of a Black Planet ''Fear of a Black Planet'' is the third studio album by American hip hop group Public Enemy. It was released on April 10, 1990, by Def Jam Recordings and Columbia Records, and produced by the group's production team The Bomb Squad, who expan ...

" by

Public Enemy "Public enemy" is a term which was first widely used in the United States in the 1930s to describe individuals whose activities were seen as criminal and extremely damaging to society, though the phrase had been used for centuries to describe ...

, "

Hoover Factory The Hoover Building is a Grade II* listed building of Art Deco architecture designed by Wallis, Gilbert and Partners located in Perivale in the London Borough of Ealing. The site opened in 1933 as the UK headquarters, manufacturing plant and repa ...

" by

Elvis Costello Declan Patrick MacManus OBE (born 25 August 1954), known professionally as Elvis Costello, is an English singer-songwriter and record producer. He has won multiple awards in his career, including a Grammy Award in 2020, and has twice been nom ...

, "I'm Sick of You" by

Iggy Pop James Newell Osterberg Jr. (born April 21, 1947), known professionally as Iggy Pop, is an American singer, musician, songwriter and actor. Called the " Godfather of Punk", he was the vocalist and lyricist of proto-punk band The Stooges, who w ...

and "Marlene Dietrich's Favorite Poem" by Peter Murphy. These tracks have not been released. She also mentioned later in a 2012 interview that, with drummer

Matt Chamberlain Matthew Chamberlain (born April 17, 1967) is an American session musician, drummer, producer and songwriter. Biography Life and career Chamberlain was born in San Pedro, California on April 17, 1967. He began learning how to play the drum ...

, she had recorded " Growin' Up" by

Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He has released 21 studio albums, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Originally from the Jersey Shore, he is an originat ...

for this album, but it has also not been released although she has played it live. Amos received two 2002

Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

nominations: Female Rock Vocal Performance for "Strange Little Girl", and Alternative Music Performance for the album.

Track listing

B-sides

Like most of Amos' albums, this one also features B-sides on its singles, but this time only two were released.

Personnel

*Tori Amos – lead vocals,

Wurlitzer The Rudolph Wurlitzer Company, usually referred to as simply Wurlitzer, is an American company started in Cincinnati in 1853 by German immigrant (Franz) Rudolph Wurlitzer. The company initially imported stringed, woodwind and brass instruments ...

Bösendorfer Bösendorfer (L. Bösendorfer Klavierfabrik GmbH) is an Austrian piano manufacturer and, since 2008, a wholly owned subsidiary of Yamaha Corporation. Bösendorfer is unusual in that it produces 97- and 92- key models in addition to instru ...

Rhodes Rhodes (; el, Ρόδος , translit=Ródos ) is the largest and the historical capital of the Dodecanese islands of Greece. Administratively, the island forms a separate municipality within the Rhodes regional unit, which is part of the S ...

, ARP *

– drums,

military drum Military drums or war drums are all kinds of drums and membranophones that have been used for martial music, including military communications, as well as parade (military), drill, honors music and military ceremonies. History Among ancient ...

, taos drums *

Adrian Belew Robert Steven "Adrian" Belew (born December 23, 1949) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. A multi-instrumentalist primarily known as a guitarist and singer, he is noted for his unusual and impressionistic approach to ...

– guitars tracks 1, 3, 10, 12; Drill guitar track 5; acoustic guitar and rattlesnake track 6 *

Justin Meldal-Johnsen Justin Meldal-Johnsen (born March 26, 1970) is an American musician, record producer, songwriter and musical director. He is best known for his work with artists such as Beck, Paramore, Nine Inch Nails, M83, Air, and St. Vincent. Meldal-Johns ...

–

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and s ...

tracks 1, 3, 8; "bass painting" tracks 5, 11 *

John Philip Shenale John Philip Shenale (often mentioned as Phil Shenale) is a Canadian composer, arranger, musician and producer based in Los Angeles. Background Shenale was born in Canada in 1951. His family relocated to the United States in the late-1950s ...

– music arrangements and performance track 2; strings and synths track 4 *Jon Evans –

tracks 4, 6, 9, 10, 12 *Dr. Edison Amos, Daniel Bocking,

– voices track 10 *M & M – additional guitars, string pads track 6

Charts

Sales

References

External links

* {{Authority control 2001 albums Covers albums Tori Amos albums Concept albums Atlantic Records albums