Tales of a Librarian
Compilation album by
Tori Amos
ReleasedNovember 17, 2003
Recorded1990 – Summer 2003
Length78:00
LabelAtlantic
Producer
Tori Amos chronology
Scarlet's Walk
(2002) 		Tales of a Librarian
(2003) 		The Beekeeper
(2005)
Singles from Tales of a Librarian
  1. "Mary"
    Released: 2003
  2. "Angels"
    Released: 2003
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Mojo[2]
musicOMH(positive)[3]
Q[4]
Uncut[5]

A Tori Amos Collection: Tales of a Librarian is the first retrospective compilation album by American singer-songwriter Tori Amos. Given the option to be involved in the project, Amos elected to take a central role in the production of the collection, released in 2003 on her former label Atlantic Records.

Amos described the compilation as a "sonic autobiography", a title derived from her dislike of the term "greatest hits".[6] Recording under the premise that a librarian is a "chronicler", Amos pieced together the collection in accordance with the Dewey Decimal System; so, for example, "Sweet Dreams", which contains the lyrics "Land, land of liberty / We're run by a constipated man", is listed as "973.938: History of North America -- Politics of Illusion".[7] Amos revisited the mixing of many of her own favorite songs from her career, focusing on those she thought were not fully realized in their original recordings and those that she felt explained her life story. Additionally, Amos added two new songs and two re-recorded B-sides: "Angels", "Snow Cherries from France", "Sweet Dreams", and "Mary", respectively. The latter two compositions were originally recorded in 1990 during sessions for Little Earthquakes (1992).

"Mary" and "Angels" were released as promotional singles from the album.

Track listing

CD

All tracks are written by Amos

No.TitleOriginal appearanceLength
1."Precious Things"Little Earthquakes (1992)4:29
2."Angels"previously unreleased4:27
3."Silent All These Years"Little Earthquakes4:10
4."Cornflake Girl"Under the Pink (1994)5:05
5."Mary" (re-recorded)B-side to "Crucify" (1992)4:42
6."God"Under the Pink3:54
7."Winter"Little Earthquakes5:43
8."Spark"From the Choirgirl Hotel (1998)4:13
9."Way Down" (Extended)Boys for Pele (1996)1:50
10."Professional Widow" (Armand's Star Trunk Funkin' Mix) (Radio Edit)Boys for Pele3:48
11."Mr. Zebra"Boys for Pele1:05
12."Crucify"Little Earthquakes5:00
13."Me and a Gun"Little Earthquakes3:43
14."Bliss"To Venus and Back (1999)3:35
15."Playboy Mommy"From the Choirgirl Hotel4:06
16."Baker Baker"Under the Pink3:12
17."Tear in Your Hand"Little Earthquakes4:38
18."Sweet Dreams" (re-recorded)B-side to "Winter" (1992)3:39
19."Jackie's Strength"From the Choirgirl Hotel4:25
20."Snow Cherries from France"previously unreleased2:56

Deluxe Edition Bonus DVD

Live

All tracks are written by Amos

No.TitleLength
1."Pretty Good Year" (Recorded live during soundcheck from Welcome to Sunny Florida, September 4, 2003)3:47
2."Honey" (Recorded live during soundcheck from Welcome to Sunny Florida, September 4, 2003)4:00
3."Northern Lad" (Recorded live during soundcheck from Welcome to Sunny Florida, September 4, 2003)4:27

Others

All tracks are written by Amos

No.TitleLength
1."Putting the Damage On" (Remixed; runs over photo gallery.)5:08
2."Mr. Zebra" (Instrumental; runs over photo gallery and navigation menu)1:05
3."Putting the Damage On" (Instrumental)5:08

iTunes bonus tracks

All tracks are written by Amos

No.TitleOriginal appearanceLength
21."Putting the Damage On" (Album version)Boys for Pele5:08
22."Pretty Good Year" (Live from Sound Check)Under the Pink4:12

Charts

Chart performance for Tales of a Librarian
Chart (2003) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[9] 93
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[10] 72
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[11] 34
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[12] 93
Irish Albums (IRMA)[13] 67
Italian Albums (FIMI)[14] 65
Scottish Albums (OCC)[15] 77
UK Albums (OCC)[16] 74
US Billboard 200[17] 40

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[18] Gold 35,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[19] Silver 60,000^
United States — 295,000[20]

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ^ AllMusic review
  2. ^ Mojo review
  3. ^ musicOMH.com review
  4. ^ Q review
  5. ^ Uncut review
  6. ^ "Tori Amos - Tales of a Librarian". yessaid.com. Archived from the original on 2007-05-09. Retrieved 2006-11-12.
  7. ^ Kelefa Sanneh (2003-12-05). "Tales of a Librarian". The New York Times.
  8. ^ "A Tori Amos Collection - Tales of a Librarian". Apple Music. 17 November 2003. Retrieved 14 January 2024.
  9. ^ "ARIA.net Week of 08/12/2003: Issue #720" (PDF). Pandora. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2003-12-06. Retrieved 2008-09-15.
  10. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Tori Amos – A Tori Amos Collection - Tales of a Librarian" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 15, 2021.
  11. ^ "Ultratop.be – Tori Amos – A Tori Amos Collection - Tales of a Librarian" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 15, 2021.
  12. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Tori Amos – A Tori Amos Collection - Tales of a Librarian" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 15, 2021.
  13. ^ "Irish-charts.com – Discography Tori Amos". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 15, 2021.
  14. ^ "Italiancharts.com – Tori Amos – A Tori Amos Collection - Tales of a Librarian". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 15, 2021.
  15. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 21, 2021.
  16. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 15, 2021.
  17. ^ "Tori Amos Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved February 15, 2021.
  18. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2008 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved December 28, 2021.
  19. ^ "British album certifications – Tori Amos – Tales of a Librarian". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved July 4, 2012.Select albums in the Format field. Select Silver in the Certification field. Type Tales of a Librarian in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  20. ^ "Ask Billboard". Billboard.
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