#musichead

For my first album review, it’s only fitting to start with my favorite- Boys for Pele by Tori Amos.

To describe this album simply, it is the best breakup album I’ve ever heard. It explores all of the intense emotions that come with a breakup. Throughout this album, Tori shows how a breakup can change your perception of the world, turn you into a shell of your former self, and dig up dirt from the past. Amos explains the album as ‘Taking the fire back from the men in her life.’ It’s named after Pele, a volcano goddess, who took sacrifices from men in Hawaiian mythology.

This album is disorienting and not for the faint of heart. It’s unafraid to get ugly. Amos utilizes the entire range of her voice and boasts a new plethora of instruments that she had never experimented with before, such as brass and harpsichord. The album's narrative follows the emotional journey she takes resulting from the breakup of her boyfriend, depicted through stories, flashbacks, hallucinations, and confessions. After a haunting opening track, the album explodes with rage and pain on the second song titled Blood Roses. This song introduces the pain she has experienced. From here, she explores her dark side on the next two tracks: Father Lucifer, where she meets with the devil, and Professional Widow, where she sings from the perspective of a woman exploiting a man for his money before convincing him to kill himself. After a short, comedic, yet profound interlude, the album continues with a track titled Marianne, which is about a girl she knew in school who died. This song introduces another layer to the album, the systematic mistreatment of women. It depicts this girl as the first of many victims of a misogynistic society. The album bounces around for the next few songs, exploring various topics such as desperation, loneliness, religious misogyny, trauma, self-fulfillment, etc.

The album then takes a turn with the track ‘Not the Red Baron.’ Throughout the album, Tori writes about women being hurt by men. In this track, however, she describes men falling victim to women. This song marks a distinct tone shift, where her emotions change from abstract to rational. In the proceeding three songs, she acknowledges the hurt and accepts it. She is no longer playing characters, telling stories, or sharing memories. She is confessing her pain. The penultimate track, Putting the Damage On, describes how her ex-boyfriend hurt her, but she still finds him beautiful. This heartbreaking track marks the point where her feelings are rationalized and she no longer views him as evil but simply a man who hurt her. Finally, the album concludes with the song Twinkle, ending the journey with peace acceptance, and a glimmer of hope.

This album is complex, ugly, messy, and unorganized, but that’s what makes it great. Humans are not perfect or rational when we are hurt. Boys for Pele represents these emotions beautifully and does not shy away from a single messy detail. Almost thirty years after its release, this album still resonates every time, making it my favorite album of all time.

Janet Jackson- The Velvet Rope

This album always will hold a special place in my heart and is one of my all time favorites. There aren’t many albums that I strongly believe everybody must listen to, but I think this is one of them. This is Jackson’s best album, and arguably one of the best R&B albums of all time. This album is sonically innovative and completely changed the R&B game, introducing a new style of alternative style that can still be heard today by many artists including Tinashe, SZA, and even Rihanna. 

This entire album uses the metaphor of a Velvet Rope to explore vulnerability and the need to belong. The album opens with an interlude titled Twisted Elegance, where she states “It is my belief that we have the need to feel special, and its this need that can bring out the best in us, yet the worst in us. This need created the velvet rope.” This sets up the whole tone of the album, where she then elaborates on this theme with the introduction and title track, titled Velvet Rope. From here, she describes her mental health struggles with a track simply called “You” and relationship struggles with the song “Got ‘Til It’s Gone” which samples Big Yellow Taxi by Joni Mitchell. She then explores other layers of herself in different sections of the album, separated by interludes. With “My Need” and “Go Deep”, Jackson explores her sensual side. With the track “Free Xone”, she tackles homophobia and with “Together Again”, she grieves but also celebrates the life of her friend who died in the AIDS epidemic. She discusses the loneliness of online relationships with the song “Empty” and domestic abuse with the theatrical “What About”. She dives deeper into relationships with the tracks “Every Time”, “Tonight’s the Night”, and “I Get Lonely”, and her sexual desires with the tracks “Rope Burn” and “Anything”. From here, she looks deep into herself, admits her faults, and looks towards a more hopeful perspective in the concluding track titled “Special”. This song ends with a sudden stop in the music and Janet speaking the words “Work in Progress.” 

This album explores such a wide variety of topics, but each song flows into itself beautifully. It’s cohesive but sonically innovative, and modern sounds can be traced back to this album. More importantly however, this album is an emotional journey and is a classic example of how to execute a stripped back personal album and has inspired generations of music fans. The Velvet Rope is a seamless blend of personality, creativity, introspection, and sensuality, making it one of the best albums of all time. 

Rating: 10/10

Favorite Track: Velvet Rope

Skip(s): None. If I had to choose one, it’d be Tonight’s the Night simply because it’s a cover.