Review-Tori Amos-Abnormally Attracted to Sin

Maybe its the social networking sites to blame or possibly the reduction of artists vision to individual track downloads on i-tunes but our attention spans are not what they once were. Whatever the cause, around 2/3 of the way through the new Tori Amos’ album Abnormally Attracted to Sin, your interest will have waned.

Don't misinterpret me. I'm a fan. This is very close to being an excellent album. Unfortunately, like the Eagles' "Long Road Out of Eden" and other Tori Amos albums I could name it is simply too long. I think Tori's motivation here is a genuine attempt to add value to this collection...and to the listener. The problem is that the substandard material runs the risk of alienating fans before they hear all the good stuff.

The album kicks off on a high note. 'Give' is dark with a salacious offhand lyric that could be interpreted as anything from S&M to vampirism. The new single 'Welcome to England' is a return to form and could become a classic. This track signals Tori seems to be abandoning the concept album trappings that have framed most of her recent work. This album purports to be a study in sin...but the songs that work the best come from somewhere more personal. For eight tracks we get Tori at the top of her form, telling stories and deriving universal truths in well crafted songs.

Unfortunately this leads us to the 'bonus' disc. This is where things get uneven. I can forgive Tori some self indulgence simply because she has been one of the most profoundly original artists in music for the better part of 20 years. Still 'Police Me,' 'Abnormally Attracted to Sin,' and 'That Guy' should have been re-worked or canned. Things begin to pick up a bit with 'Fast Horse' and 'Mary Jane' which are fairly good quality lead ins for the closing moments of the album-and some of Tori's finest work...'Lady in Blue' is melodic with a lounge jazz-esque feel that echos recent Joni Mitchell albums-but doesn't suck. "Oscar's Theme" carries the album to a close with such understated sadness that is a perfect album closer. Had these two songs shown up a half an hour back, this would be the perfect Tori Amos album.

This is an album that would have been better with some self editing on the part of its writer. Incredibly, "Abnormally..." still has moments that hit the spot. Tori's songs here are often vague or lack cohesion and are certainly self indulgent...but this album still is a good example of the breadth and depth of Tori Amos' talent. Listen without prejudice and download the ones you like. I know I will.

"Abnormally Attracted to Sin" 3-1/2 out of 5