Scarlet's Walk is the upcoming seventh studio album by the lovely and talented
Tori Amos. The album was produced by Tori and will hit US stores on
October 29, 2002, just in time for
Halloween gift giving. It contains
eighteen tracks, as well what proves to be a stunning
multimedia portion. A special code on the disc will allow you to access a special
web page which holds such things as a timeline and map of
Scarlet's journey. The web site also houses some tracks that didn't make the final release.
The album itself is a story, the journey of Tori's alter ego, Scarlet. She begins her journey in LA and slowly makes her way east. . The tracks touch on everything from death, to love and redemption. When asked by an interviewer from CFNY 102.1 The Edge Interview (Toronto) she had this to say about the inspiration for this album.
Well, its been a - a busy year because, I think, touring after that tragedy happened and being in different parts of the country and then being in different parts of the world, you began to see people's impressions. How they saw the event and how they began to see the world. And that was really the key for me because people started asking questions like, why? Why shouldn't we ask The Question? And in some parts of America that wasn't a good thing - you were made to feel shameful if you said, "What did we do that would create this kind of hatred?" Besides that you have lunatics all over the place who just are malicious and will kill anybody without thinking about it - yeah, that, we know that - but people started asking these questions and so that started to spur on my own questioning. So, Scarlet is looking for what she believes in and who this being we call America is. Not the being that gets pimped out by our leaders or misrepresented - instead of being "Miss America" she gets to be "Miss Represented"
Each track is a vignette which makes up a touching story. The tracks tell everything from a story about a
porn star, to the tale of a young girl on a flight which will never reach it's destination. Tori's friend author
Neil Gaiman has had this to say about
Scarlet's Walk.
America's in there, and specific places and things, Native American history and pornography and a girl on a plane who'll never get to New York, and Oliver Stone and Andrew Jackson and madness and a lot more. Not to mention a girl called Scarlet who may be the land and may be a person and may be a trail of blood.
So far the only song released has been
A Sorta Fairytale, which has only been released as a promo so far. One listen and I was hooked. The music is Tori at her best and the lyrics are exactly what you would come to expect from this accomplished lyricist. In a recent interview with MIX 100 fm, Tori had this to say about the upcoming first release from
Scarlet's Walk.
A Sorta Fariytale finds Scarlet back in LA with a man she has convinced herself is her life's soul mate. They take the big trip in the classic car up the Pacific Coast Highway and across the desert. But as they go on, the masks drop away and they discover the fantasy they have of each other isn't who they really are." They end up back where they started and Scarlet leaves. They did care. But somehow they lost each other. Which is why it's only A Sorta Fairytale...".
There are also some lyrics and snippets of the other songs out there if you look hard enough. This album has been carefully guarded to keep it off of the
internet before the release date. Any
critics or others
lucky enough to get a promo copy have gotten not just the cd. All promos were sent out glued into a
Walkman which has the earphones glued in as well to keep it from making the internet before it does the stores.
As I wait with great anticipation for it's release I am certain Scarlet's Walk will prove to be a turbulent yet ultimately beautiful ride.
Track List
Amber Waves
A Sorta Fairytale
Wednesday
Strange
Carbon
Crazy
Wampum Prayer
Don't Make Me Come To Vegas
Sweet Sangria
Your Cloud
Pancake
I Can't See New York
Mrs. Jesus
Taxi Ride
Another Girl's Paradise
Scarlet's Walk
Virginia
Gold Dust
References
www.thedent.com
www.hereinmyhead.com
www.neilgaiman.com
www.kimn100.com