"Caught a Lite Sneeze" is a song by American 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 ...

, released by

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

and

EastWest East West Records (stylized as east''west'') is a record label formed in 1955, distributed and owned by Warner Music Group, headquartered in New York City. History After its creation in 1955 by Atlantic Records, the label had its first hit wit ...

as the first single from her third studio album, '' Boys for Pele'' (1996), on January 1, 1996. The song is about wanting to do anything to keep a relationship going, knowing that it is over. It references

Nine Inch Nails Nine Inch Nails, commonly abbreviated as NIN (stylized as NIИ), is an American industrial rock band formed in Cleveland, Ohio in 1988. Its members are the singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer Trent Reznor and his frequent col ...

's album '' Pretty Hate Machine'' in the lyrics "''Caught a lite sneeze / Dreamed a little dream / Made my own pretty hate machine.''" On December 11, 1995, Atlantic made the song available for streaming on their website, one of the earliest examples of a major label implementing such a feature. Following the song's release, it reached number 60 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, number three on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' Triple-A chart, and number 20 on the UK Singles Chart. Despite being one of Amos's higher-charting singles, it does not appear on her best-of collection, '' Tales of a Librarian''. In live performances from 1996 and 1998, Amos would frequently insert lines directly from and inspired by " Hurt", another song by Nine Inch Nails.

Critical reception

Larry Flick Larry Flick is an American journalist, former dance music columnist, single reviewer, and Senior Talent Editor for ''Billboard'' magazine, where he worked for 14 years. Now he produces and hosts Sirius XM radio shows. Flick started in the musi ...

from ''

'' felt the song "is easily her most viable bid for top 40 success to date." He added, "Literal, accessible lyrics waft over a rumbling rock-ish beat and a haunting blend of acoustic guitars and keyboard. Her often waif-like delivery is enhanced with throaty declarations and vamps that nicely punctuate the melody and flesh out the words. Nourishment for the intelligent pop music fan." Steve Baltin from ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' said "Wow", declaring the song as "simply stunning." He wrote, "If not the best singer in music right now, Amos is near the top of a very short list. Time and time again the passionate redhead has proven herself to be a vocalist capable of bringing listeners into her pain. “Caught a Lite Sneeze” begins with a very understated industrial feel and Amos showing great restraint in her vocals. By the end though, Amos has fans trembling with her cathartic rushes. A definite at

Modern Rock Modern rock is an umbrella term used to describe rock music that is found on college and commercial rock radio stations. Some radio stations use this term to distinguish themselves from classic rock, which is based in 1960s–1980s rock music. ...

and a smash at Triple A. The ''Cash Box'' psychic predicts that by the end of this year

will have broken through to be a true superstar in every sense of the word." Kevin Courtney from ''

Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It was launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is Ireland's leading n ...

'' noted that the song "has a contagious quality of its own." Andrew Mueller from ''

Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. In January 2001, it was merged into "long-standing rival" (and IPC Media sister publicatio ...

'' named it Single of the Week, adding, "The song itself is pleasant enough without being what you'd call memorable. The usual

Kate Bush Catherine Bush (born 30 July 1958) is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, and dancer. Bush began writing songs at age 11. She was signed to EMI Records after David Gilmour of Pink Floyd helped produce a demo tape. In 1978, at the ...

references will do the trick, or you could resort to some

Alanis Morissette Alanis Nadine Morissette ( ; born June 1, 1974) is a Canadian and American singer, songwriter, musician, and actress. Known for her emotive mezzo-soprano voice and confessional songwriting, she became a cultural phenomenon during the mid 199 ...

ones if you were feigning contemporaneity."

Track listings

* US maxi-CD single # "Caught a Lite Sneeze" (unedited version) # " This Old Man" # "That's What I Like Mick (The Sandwich Song)" # "Graveyard" # "Toodles Mr. Jim" * UK CD1 and Australian CD single # "Caught a Lite Sneeze" – 4:24 # "This Old Man" – 1:44 # "Hungarian Wedding Song" – 1:00 # "Toodles Mr. Jim" – 3:09 * UK CD2 # "Caught a Lite Sneeze" – 4:24 # " London Girls" – 3:20 # "That's What I Like Mick (The Sandwich Song)" – 2:59 # "Samurai" – 3:03 * UK and Australian cassette single, European CD single # "Caught a Lite Sneeze" – 4:24 # "Graveyard" – 0:54 # "Toodles Mr. Jim" – 3:09

Credits and personnel

Credits are lifted from the '' Boys for Pele'' album booklet. Recording and production * Recorded at a church ( Delgany, Ireland) and "a wonderfully damp Georgian house" (

County Cork County Cork () is the largest and the southernmost Counties of Ireland, county of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, named after the city of Cork (city), Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster ...

, Ireland) * Additionally recorded at The Egyptian Room and Dinosaur Studios (New Orleans, Louisiana) * Mixed at Jacobs Studios (

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

, England), Mix This!, and

Record One Record One is a recording studio complex in the Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles, Sherman Oaks neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. Originally founded in 1979, the studio has been the site of numerous commercially successful and award-winning record ...

(Los Angeles) * Mastered at Gateway Mastering (

Portland, Maine Portland is the List of municipalities in Maine, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine and the county seat, seat of Cumberland County, Maine, Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 at the 2020 census. The Portland metropolit ...

) Personnel *

– writing, vocals,

harpsichord A harpsichord is a musical instrument played by means of a musical keyboard, keyboard. Depressing a key raises its back end within the instrument, which in turn raises a mechanism with a small plectrum made from quill or plastic that plucks one ...

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 Imperial Bösendorfer, 97- and 92-Key (instrument) ...

, production * Alan Friedman – drum programming * George Porter Jr. – bass * Steve Caton – swells * Mark Hawley – recording * Marcel van Limbeek – recording * Rob van Tuin – recording assistance * Bob Clearmountain – mixing * Ryan Freeland – mixing assistance *

Bob Ludwig Robert Carl Ludwig (born December 11, 1944), is a retired American mastering engineer. He mastered recordings on all the major recording formats for all the major record labels, and on projects by more than 1,300 artists, including Led Zeppeli ...

– mastering

Charts

Release history

References

{{Authority control Tori Amos songs 1996 singles 1996 songs Atlantic Records singles East West Records singles Music videos directed by Mike Lipscombe Songs written by Tori Amos