Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #669 in Digital Music Album
• Published on: 2009-11-10
• Released on: 2009-11-10
• Running time: 2872 seconds

Customer Reviews

Best Holiday Album Ever
I was pretty skeptical at first. I don't usually even listen to seasonal music, its just not to my taste usually. Tori making a seasonal album? Really? Could easily have been a disaster. However, this album is quite the opposite. It is easily her best since Scarlet's Walk. All of the songs are gorgeous and most have these incredible layers that just wrap you in a wintery kind of audio sauna.
The reworked old carols really shine under Tori's care. She found a great balance between respecting the original while giving them a totally different feel, changing lyrics here and there making it very inclusive of people of all faiths and not rehashing Christian ideaologies over and over. She's celebrating something older than Christmas here guys...this is a real Midwinter Festival kind of record. No santa claus hats and puppy dogs. In the reworded hymns there is the Tori element but you can still imagine the ancestors from centuries past filling the streets to this stuff. (this is excluding Harps of Gold, which is the most modern of the reworkings...and probably as upbeat as it gets, you can barely recognize the "Gloria" elements to it, not that its a bad thing!)Her originals are even better. Pink and Glitter has an old hollywood vibe, amazing. Snow Angel is so haunting, and the strings on this one are just impeccable.Winter's Carol, the star of this production, takes my breath away. There is not a dull moment in that song. It is so very well put together and a rather dark and beautiful kind of way.
I could go on forever about this piece of holiday magic, seriously. Hear for yourself! You won't be sorry!

Buy this for yourself, your friends, and anyone who loves holiday or simply amazing music.
This one's got something for everyone.

A very beautiful album everyone will enjoy
I was pleasantly surprised by how mellow and smooth this album is. Once you start listening to it, you'll get into such a relaxed mood that all you'll want to do is sit in a comfy chair and sip coffee or tea. I'm listening to Midwinter Graces as I type this review and I have a cup of coffee right next to me :)

I can honestly say that even my parents would appreciate hearing these songs over the Christmas holidays. Now don't get the idea that this album is totally mainstream or lame, because it's not, remember this is Tori Amos were talking about. But it's so well done that non-Tori fans will be asking "Who IS this? And where can I get the CD?".

It's the perfect holiday album to listen to with loved ones but it can also help you introduce Tori's brilliant music to new listeners. Don't be surprised if months from now, your mother discovers 'Little Earthquakes' and shouts to the world that 'Cornflake Girl' is her new favorite song, lol. Trust me, by listening to this album with your family it's ridiculously possible. Of course you'll have to explain to your mom what 'Cornflake Girl' is about and that's it's not just a catchy tune, but a song with a deep message.

Now back to Midwinter Graces...

My favorite songs on this album include:

1. Star of Wonder (my #1 favorite)
2. Holly, Ivy, and Rose (a believe she sings this song with her young daughter)
3. Snow Angel
4. Jeanette, Isabella
5. Emmanuel (a beautiful version of the holiday classic)
6. What A Child, Nowell
7. Winter's Carol

At times it doesn't even feel like I'm listening to a holiday album at all, just a mellow Tori album. I highly recommend getting/downloading it and listening to Midwinter Graces all year round. It's really that good.

Best Tori Amos album in years
For those old Tori Amos fans who became disenchanted with her later work, this album is a return to form. It is tight and beautiful while still full of surprises to keep your interest. Similarly, for those who have become disenchanted with the celebrity artist holiday fare, this album blows away nearly everything else on the market. Tori Amos manages to create an album for the holidays that can also stand on its own at any other time of the year.

Highly recommended.