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List Price: $10.98 | | Label: Atlantic / Wea
Salesrank: 364159
Released: February 25, 1992 |
| Our Price: $4.99 |
| Used Price: $1.00 |
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| Media: Audio Cassette |
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Little Earthquakes 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
Editorial Review:
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
Little Earthquakes Reviews:
A poignant document of the anti-commercial wave of the early '90s 
2008-09-30 - Tori Amos may be her own running gag these days (what with the wigs and costumes), but no one can argue that she made it big for no reason. In 1992, Tori had to prove that a singer-songwriter album made entirely on piano can achieve commercial success. It sold over two million copies worldwide and gave her a cult following. All these years later, it's still a testament for this woman and her fading talent. After the embarrassment of the "Y Kant Tori Read" project, Amos turned to her true love--composing the piano pieces and intimate lyricism. The pop accessibility of the record is timeless and the stark lyrics set to excellent piano playing make it an everlasting piece of art. Every song on the record is a gem of its own.
The opening track and the first single, "Crucify", discusses the suffering we undergo for love and approval. "Girl" is about accepting one's own self and becoming an independent individual. "Silent All These Years" is about finding one's own voice, while "Precious Things" brings back memories of childhood. "Winter" is about losing a safety net and standing up for yourself. Tori's topics include, but aren't limited to, religion and sexuality. Even if things get too melodramatic, she creates some space for a lighthearted number such as "Happy Phantom". "China" includes some of the best lyrics on the whole album ("sometimes, I think you want me to touch you/but how can I, when you've built a Great Wall around you?") and "Leather" has a wonderful strings arrangement.
The orchestration of the record is complementary to the songs, to say the least, always adding a nice touch to them and improving on Amos' lone instrumentation (strings are put to good use in "Girl", "Winter" and "Leather"). "Mother" is something of a weak track on the record, but it's no less endearing than the rest of the material found on "Little Earthquakes". The record ends on a high note with three amazing songs in a row--"Tear in Your Hand", which namedrops the world's most googled Neil (Tori's chum Gaiman), "Me and a Gun" which relives some of the most terrifying moments in Amos' life and the closing title track which remains the strongest song of her entire career.
The often overlooked therapeutic role of the record is one of its main strengths. "Little Earthquakes" ostensibly shows Amos as a truly honest human being who was as powerful as much as fragile. It's still a poignant document of the anti-mainstream wave of the early '90s and it is one of its greatest albums. Amos kept growing as an artist on the subsequent records before reaching an artistic breakdown and making some perplexing choices, but "Little Earthquakes" showcases her at her most mature and confident stage in life. After listening to this record, you'll feel like you've been hanging out with the dream king yourself.
great cd
2008-09-18 - it is a great cd i love the cd it is great oh my god it is so sweet i just cant believe it.
Little Earthquakes - Tori Amos 
2008-05-26 - A beautiful CD, especially when I'm relaxing.
The music reminds me on Kate Bush's melodious & powerful songs.
Seismic Event
2008-02-25 - 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
2008-01-13 - 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.
