Track Listing

1. Crucify
2. Girl
3. Silent All These Years
4. Precious Things
5. Winter
6. Happy Phantom
7. China
8. Leather
9. Mother
10. Tear In Your Hand
11. Me And A Gun
12. Little Earthquakes

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3259 in Music
• Published on: 1992
• Released on: 1992-02-25
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.com
Emotionally and musically intense, Little Earthquakes shows that the piano is as much a rock & roll instrument as the guitar. Tori Amos's debut (if one disregards Y Kant Tori Read, as one would be well advised to do) is at once listenable and challenging; she takes on every topic, from sex to gender to religion, in an uncompromising manner. Her music appears gentle at first, but this appearance is deceiving, as one quickly learns upon listening to the wrenching "Crucify" or the almost violent "Precious Things." By the time the album gets around to "Me and a Gun," sung hauntingly by Amos without accompaniment from her piano, the juxtaposition of Amos' sweet voice and the emotional complexity of her lyrics is both familiar and shocking. Sandman fans should listen for a reference to author Neil Gaiman in "Tear in Your Hand." --Genevieve Williams

Customer Reviews

Little Earthquakes - Tori Amos
A beautiful CD, especially when I'm relaxing.
The music reminds me on Kate Bush's melodious & powerful songs.

Seismic Event
When this album was released in 1992, I was in high school. One night, I was fortunate enough to stumble across a stunning redhead performing on what I believe was ABC's In Concert. Her piano playing was mesmerizing and her voice was an instrument in and of itself. Later in the show, she did "Me and a Gun", an a cappella piece about her own rape. I was completely stunned. I'd never heard such a personal emotional statement by a performing artist before. The next day, I went in search of Little Earthquakes and was unable to find it, settling for purchasing the Crucify EP. For the next week or so, I haunted the record store, checking every other day until the album was stocked again. It was worth the wait. Very rarely does a performer make their debut with such an articulate, mature recording. Now granted, Little Earthquakes wasn't technically her first album, but it still amazes me that she was able to write such compelling songs so early in her career, and these songs are light years beyond Y Kant Tori Read. I've waxed rhapsodic over "Winter" on my Crucify review, so I won't recap here, other than to say that it remains my favorite song of Tori's. She's made better albums, but Little Earthquakes has withstood the test of time, remaining valid. I won't go into a song by song breakdown, but this album opened my eyes to many things, not the least of which was the female perspective and how it often differs from the male point of view. Her song structure and vocals, which could go from a whisper to a scream, were markedly different than any of the other music I was listening to at that time. This album more than any other encouraged me to listen with an open mind.

Excellent Debut, Though Not My Favorite Tori Project
For me, listening to Tori Amos is a guilty pleasure. I despise a lot of her lyrics, but I love her music. Her debut project is an excellent exhibit of her music.

My favorites on this are "Crucify", "Precious Things" (musically -- definitely not lyrically), "Winter" (my favorite of this project), and "Leather". Can I really call "Me And A Gun" a favorite? Not in the sense of it being a song I could enjoy, but it is definitely an important song. I applaud artists who take risks, and Ms. Amos is good at that.