"Hey Jupiter" is a song written and performed by American singer-songwriter Tori Amos. It was released as the fourth single from her third studio album, Boys for Pele (1996), and was her first extended play (EP) since Crucify in 1992. The US EP Hey Jupiter features a re-recorded version of "Hey Jupiter" followed by four live tracks recorded during her Dew Drop Inn Tour of 1996. The song is also featured on the double A-sideCD singles released in the UK and Australia.
Live versions can be found on the US "Bliss" single in 1999, the London show of her The Original Bootlegs series (2005), and the 27 shows part of the Legs and Boots series, released over 2007 and 2008. The music video is on the collection Fade to Red and was released in 2006.
The version released on all but the UK 12-inch vinyl single, entitled "Hey Jupiter (The Dakota Version)", differs substantially from the version that appears on Boys for Pele in that it is a full re-recording rather than a remix. While the studio album version is largely a piano solo track, the Dakota version adds many more layers including bass, guitars, and a rhythm track taken from the earlier B-side track "Sugar" (though slowed down). Lyrically, new bridges and an extended coda are added, making the song even longer despite the fact that the third verse from the album version is omitted. The Dakota version also emphasises the song's chordal similarity to Prince's power ballad "Purple Rain," which also features an extended instrumental coda. The UK 12-inch vinyl single version also differs from the Boys for Pele version in that it contains a radio edit of the Dakota version.
The Dakota version has been performed on each of Amos' tours since the Dew Drop Inn Tour (1996). Traditionally, Amos performs the album version when on solo piano, although the Dakota version was performed on the vast majority of nights of the American Doll Posse world tour. A remaster of the Dakota version is included on the anthology box setA Piano: The Collection.
Critical reception
Daina Darzin from Cash Box wrote, "With her Boys For Pele disc double platinum and counting, Tori Amos has firmly established herself in the pantheon of quirky, smart female vocalists right alongside Alanis Morissette. This is an atmospheric, edgy ballad, at once ethereal and dark, buoyed by Amos' evocative, emotion-laden voice. An instant-add ot a number of formats including CHR, Adult Contemporary and Modern Rock."[1] Kevin Courtney from Irish Times viewed it as "a plangent ballad which never spins out of orbit".[2]
Sales and chart performance
The US EPHey Jupiter debuted at number 94, its peak, on the Billboard 200 on September 7, 1996; it remained on the chart for three weeks before falling off.[3][4] As of May 2008, 12 years after its release, the Hey Jupiter EP had sold 172,000 copies in the US, according to Nielsen SoundScan.[5] The "Hey Jupiter/Professional Widow" double A-side single release peaked at number 20 on the UK Singles Chart.[6] The Australian double A-side release debuted at number 68 on the ARIA Singles Chart in October 1996 and peaked at number 17 in February 1997, maintaining its peak position for three weeks.[7][8] The double A-side single remained on the chart for 31 weeks throughout 1996 and 1997, ranking at number 65 on the Australian year-end chart for 1997.[7][9]
Music video
The accompanying music video for "Hey Jupiter" was directed by Earle Sebastian who has worked with Bono, Madonna, the Fugees, Missy Elliott, and others.[10] The video is set to the Dakota version radio edit, as opposed to the extended Dakota or the Boys for Pele versions of the song.[11]
The video features Amos being guided through a burning building by a small girl. According to Amos in the audio commentary provided with the video collection Fade to Red (2006), the small girl represents an angel who is "taking her to a different dimension, another reality."[12]
Amos describes the spectators watching the event: "...this women that they knew, some knew better than others, is in a fire. If you see it as an emotional fire, well, maybe it's someone who can't get out of a relationship or an addiction or another type of situation. But, you know, there's nothing you can do but watch them burn. And, that's really how I saw it poetically."[12]
Track listings
All tracks are written by Tori Amos, except where noted
