Midwinter Graces
| Tori Amos
Midwinter Graces
Midwinter Graces is the eleventh solo studio album by singer-songwriter Tori Amos released on November 10, 2009 (November 16, 2009 in the UK), through Universal Republic Records. It is the first seasonal album by Amos, and is also notable for marking her return to a more classical, stripped-down, baroque sound with various synths, string-instruments, the harpsichord and Amos's own signature Bösendorfer piano at center stage, once more. The album, like previous releases from Amos, is available in a single form CD or a Deluxe edition which includes 3 bonus tracks, a 20-page photo book, and a DVD containing an interview with Amos. The standard edition was not released in the US or Canada.-Wikipedia
Critic Reviews
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The Guardian
Amos sounds so tranquil she could almost be floating, but the stateliness of the orchestral backing keeps the songs grounded. You'd never know this was recorded last summer, so vividly does it evoke crunching snow and frosty nights.
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AllMusic
Thanks to some familiar melodies, it can sometimes seem seasonally appropriate, but it always seems purely Tori, who has somehow managed to deliver an easy listening version of all her signatures in one tidy, not so-Christmasy, package.
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Consequence of Sound
A few production missteps aside, she stayed on target to craft an impressive holiday-inspired album that you can comfortably play for the whole family without choking on a saccharine sentiment. That surprising fact might make Midwinter Graces one of Amos’ most shocking releases ever.
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Slant Magazine
As a subversion of religious themes, Midwinter misses the mark entirely; as a traditional holiday album courtesy of one of Christianity’s most astute pop-cultural critics, it’s an ironic, pleasantly competent oddity.
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Autostraddle
Midwinter Graces may not have succeeded in making me completely un-Grinch-like, but I think it’s fair to say that it did succeed in leaving my lump-of-coal-for-a-heart at least lukewarm. A word that coincidentally summarizes my overall assessment of this album.
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Independent
For a festive album with a difference, it's time to vote Tori
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Snob's Music
If you only wish to buy one seasonal album this holiday season you really won't find anything more beautiful than Midwinter Graces.
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E! News
Christmas with an edge, we're calling it.
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The Skinny
An unabashed attempt to bring some credibility to surely one of the most teeth-gritting genres known
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Anti Music
Tori collectors will want this set at least for her two original composition; "Pink and Glitter" and "Our New Year."
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The Scotsman
Tori Amos wins points on her Midwinter Graces (Universal Republic, 12.72) for choosing the sublime Coventry Carol over the regulation Silent Night.
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PopMatters
Imagine the surprise to find that a holiday album is Amos' best work in years.
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Paste Magazine
Famously idiosyncratic songwriter continues mid-career slump with album of holiday songs.
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Under The Radar
. . . overall, Midwinter Graces succeeds where so many other holiday classics fail miserably. I never thought I'd say this, but with Midwinter Graces, Amos has made a holiday album that deserves to sit alongside those classics that you'll actualy listen to this winter.
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The Line Of Best Fit
For those expecting these twelve songs- festive standards as well as five original compositions- to be deliberately self-aware and tentatively obscure, this record will be a disappointment; for the rest, it is a pleasant, tinselled surprise.
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Polari Magazine
. . . Amos has crafted an inspired and original seasonal album filled with references of light and rebirth and further celebrates the seasonal tradition by inviting her daughter and her niece along for the sleigh ride to keep it in the family.
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Drowned In Sound
Perhaps where Midwinter Graces suffers most is that it will be resigned to the world of the holiday album, making brief appearances from only late November to early January, garnering at most a passing mention the rest of the year. At the very least, though, it is a holiday record that will be remembered once a year.
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Complete Music Update
Instead of focusing on the holiday itself, it’s a reflection of frost and snow, which, and certainly for Britain, can extend for quite some time. It’s a seasonal album, but it’s also a relevant one, and a worthy contender for one of Amos’ best efforts to date.
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Music Radar
Tori Amos loves to stun and surprise, and with her newest album, Midwinter Graces, she's thrown another left curve at fans who delight in her idiosyncratic musical stylings.
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Elusive Disc
Tori Amos manages to create an album for the holidays that can also stand on its own at any other time of the year.
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Billboard
Her latest release, "Midwinter Graces," is a typically provocative-in the best possible way-entry in the yuletide canon. Amos reaches deep into the world of carols for ancient and less obvious fare that she subsequently recasts on string-laden songs . . . .
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Mother Jones
Rather than recording syrupy holiday tunes, Amos has crafted a collection of covers and originals filled with whimsy and melancholy—the musical equivalent of spiked eggnog.
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Glide Magazine
Tori Amos has made a career out of being unordinary, and most of her albums are better because of this fact. Here on Midwinter Graces, she’s still giving a max effort, it’s just that not much stands out.
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ellehermansen
I wouldn't label this a Christmas album, it's more like Winter Solstice material which I can enjoy months after the holidays - which I really enjoy.
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Undented
Amos extrapolates from the better parts of holiday tunes by combining them with her distinctive style. It won’t be your favorite Tori Amos album, but it will help rekindle the warmth of the excessively commercialized (and Barry Manilow-ified) holiday genre.
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Babyblaue-Seiten
The album is for Tori Amos fans who want everything from her to complete their collection. There is even variety on the album, even if the worn parts predominate. There is little excitement here, but there are at least a few successful positions. Maybe six months after a release is not enough to bring an album back onto the market.
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Wears The Trousers
. . . whereas Amos’s recent albums have seemed eternally lengthy, Midwinter Graces nips guilelessly in and out, never outstaying its welcome, and consequently leaves a rosy glow. What this album does return to is a sense of cohesion, which, for an artist as idiosyncratic as Amos, is key to maintaining integrity. This being a festive release, it might not be enough to win back some of her eroding fanbase, but if Amos employs a similar approach to her next ‘proper’ studio album, . . . .
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Musical Discoveries
Unsurprisingly, Amos hasn't released a Christmas album. She has dubbed it a solstice album, which means it encompasses songs from different belief systems and cultures, as well as a few original tracks. The result, Midwinter Graces (Epic / Sony Music (USA), 2009), is a pleasant and often gorgeous effort.
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American Songwriter
Overall though, the carols in Amos’ adept hands, sound gothic, inspired and winter-y more than merely merry like most holiday offerings.
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laut.de
It gets even better when you listen to the twelve songs without prejudice. Tori Amos has actually succeeded in an impeccable Christmas record, in which she skilfully mixes her own compositions with classic Carols.
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Het Parool
The plate is not as bad as the packaging, that's true. In fourteen tracks she mixed fragments of (often lesser known) Christmas hymns with her own lyrics. . . . But the rest is about as ludicrous as a white artificial Christmas tree.
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hifi.nl
Midwinter Graces is a highlight of the arts that Tori Amos can display without apparent effort. I think that the album can not only be played during the Advent period, but most tracks can be played all year round. In any case, Tori has managed to make a Christmas album, in which the party itself is transcended musically.
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Wilson & Alroy's Record Reviews
This holiday album presents an EZ-listening version of Amos, without the harshness, confrontation or iconoclasm.
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The Coast
. . . Midwinter Graces feels like a mid-career Amos album, To Venus and Back with bells: it's serviceable, with high points.
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The Digital Fix
It's refreshing, too, to have a Tori Amos album free of padding. . . . these 12 songs don't outstay their welcome in the same way. While it's unlikely to win her any new converts, non-fans exposed to the record won't find it as dense or impenetrable as some of her studio work.
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Metro Weekly
“Midwinter Graces” is a heartfelt and creative effort. . . . she created a warm and intimate album that is a true pleasure.
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Hot Press
There’s something Christmassy about Tori Amos already, so when you add harpsichords, festive string sections, jingle bells and weird folky melodies to her lovely wintery voice, it’s a nice fit.
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CONFESSIONINGS by Jon Verzosa
I just bought Tori Amos’ very first seasonal album called Midwinter Graces (released November 10) and I am addicted to it. From the moment I uncorked its first number called What Child, Nowell to the dark Our New Year, my spirit transformed into the Jon who stole Christmas.
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Style Weekly
. . . her resurrection of centuries-old carols comes off like a dry history lesson. “Pink and Glitter” at least wraps an Amos original in shiny big-band paper, and the jazzy setting suits her performance nicely. It'll make a good single, but otherwise this album is a lump of coal.
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MetroWest Daily News
Tori Amos’ seasonal collection, “Midwinter Graces,” strikes the right blend of originality and heart, without compromising her artistic soul. Not only is it refreshing to hear a record that doesn’t draw from the same pool of overplayed songs, but this one is also rich with spirituality.
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Mid-Day
What Amos does, bless her heart, is go back to the roots of this traditional music. She has done her homework, put in a fair amount of research, and reintroduced much that has, over the centuries, been lost in translation. The result is a Christmas album that like all art ought to makes the familiar seem new.
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Record Collector
Wisely edited to just 12 tracks – much shorter than other recent offerings – this gorgeous album is full of tenderness and warmth. Graceful indeed.
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