Under the Pink

Under the Pink is the second studio album by singer-songwriter Tori Amos. Upon its release in January 1994, the album debuted atop the UK Albums Chart[11] on the back of the hit single "Cornflake Girl", and peaked at number 12 in the US.[12]

Under the Pink
Studio album by
Tori Amos
ReleasedJanuary 31, 1994
RecordedFebruary–October 1993
Studio
Length56:50
Label
Producer
Tori Amos chronology
Little Earthquakes
(1992)		 Under the Pink
(1994)		 Boys for Pele
(1996)
Singles from Under the Pink
  1. "Cornflake Girl"
    Released: January 10, 1994 (UK)
  2. "God"
    Released: February 3, 1994 (US)
  3. "Pretty Good Year"
    Released: March 7, 1994 (UK)
  4. "Past the Mission"
    Released: May 16, 1994 (UK)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Chicago Tribune[2]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[3]
Entertainment WeeklyB[4]
Los Angeles Times[5]
NME6/10[6]
Pitchfork8.1/10[7]
PopMatters9/10[8]
Rolling Stone[9]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[10]

The album was certified double Platinum in the US by the RIAA in October 1999,[13] for sales exceeding 2 million copies. It was the 61st highest-selling album of 1994 in the UK and was certified platinum by the BPI in February 2007,[14] for sales exceeding 300,000 copies.

Under the Pink was included in Blender magazine's list of 500 CDs You Must Own,[15] and was voted among the greatest albums of the 1990s by Rolling Stone magazine some years later.[16] A special double-disc tour edition was released exclusively in Australia and New Zealand in November 1994, titled More Pink: The B-Sides.

Background

On Tori Amos' second solo album, the singer-songwriter continued to offer piano-driven rock songs dealing with religion, gender, and sexuality. In addition to featuring more cryptic lyrics and experimental song structures, Amos invited in reggae influences on the single "Cornflake Girl", prepared piano on "Bells for Her" by John Philip Shenale,[17] and Debussy-inspired piano lines on "Yes, Anastasia".

Amos performed the Under the Pink tour from February through November 1994, encompassing many of the same stops as on the previous world tour. A limited edition release of the album commemorating the Australian tour included a second disc entitled More Pink, a collection of rare B-sides like "Little Drummer Boy" and a cover version of Joni Mitchell's "A Case of You", was issued in November 1994. During this period, she also contributed the song "Butterfly" to the soundtrack for the 1994 movie Higher Learning, as well as a cover of the R.E.M. song "Losing My Religion".

The original track listing included the B-side "Honey", which was left off the album at the last minute. Amos has since voiced great regret for this:

"There were certain songs that were supposed to be on the record that got kicked off. 'Honey' was supposed to be on the record and, in retrospect, I wish it had been. I kicked it off for 'The Wrong Band'. Under the Pink wept when 'Honey' wasn't on, and she still is angry with me about it."[18]

Amos made a similar reference to the song "Here. In My Head" which was originally featured as a B-side to the UK single of "Crucify".[19]

The album was recorded in Taos, New Mexico in a hacienda. The album artwork features several Native American and New Mexican references in the photography. The album is also notable as the last Amos album to feature the production of Eric Rosse as they split that year.

Singles

Under the Pink produced four singles. "Cornflake Girl" was released as the first single from the album in Europe (January 1994) and Australia (February 1994), and as the second single in North America (May 1994). It became Amos's biggest international hit at the time, peaking at number 4 in the UK.[20] "God" was released as the first single in North America in February 1994, where it became her first Billboard Hot 100 chart entry, peaking at number 72.[21] "God" was released as the second single from the album in Australia in May 1994, and as the fourth single in Europe in October 1994. "Pretty Good Year" was released as the second single in Europe in March 1994 and the fourth single in Australia in November 1994, but was not released as a single in North America. "Past the Mission", featuring backing vocals from Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails, was the third single from the album in all territories, released in Europe in May 1994, Australia in July 1994, and North America in September 1994.

B-sides

European pressings of the "Cornflake Girl" CD single, and the US pressing of the "God" CD single, contained the B-sides "All the Girls Hate Her" and "Over It". "Sister Janet" appeared on both the European and US pressing of the "Cornflake Girl" single, and a B-side of the US cassette single for "God", while the US CD single of "God" also contained "Home on the Range – Cherokee Edition". The US "Cornflake Girl" CD single, which had different artwork to international pressings, contained a radio edit of the title track, plus the songs "Daisy Dead Petals" and "Honey". A limited edition second CD single for "Cornflake Girl" was issued in the UK, containing cover versions of Joni Mitchell's "A Case of You", Jimi Hendrix's "If 6 Was 9", and Billie Holiday's "Strange Fruit".

Part one of the UK CD single "Pretty Good Year" contained the B-sides "Home on the Range – Cherokee Edition" and "Daisy Dead Petals". The latter track was used as a B-side on the US pressing of "Cornflake Girl". "Honey" and "Black Swan" appeared as B-sides on part two of the UK "Pretty Good Year" CD single.

Seven live tracks were spread across a two-part CD single release for "Past the Mission" in the UK. Live versions of "Upside Down", "Past the Mission", "Icicle" and "Flying Dutchman" appeared on the limited edition part one disc, and live versions of "Winter", "The Waitress" and "Here. In My Head" appeared on part two.

The UK release of "God" contained several remixes of the title track.

Reissues

A double-disc version of Under the Pink was released on November 14, 1994[22] by East West to coincide with Amos's tour of Australia and New Zealand. The second disc, titled More Pink: The B-Sides was never released separately, and is a rarity amongst Tori Amos collectibles. Amos would not release another collection of B-sides until 2006's A Piano: The Collection. The packaging simply inserted the normal Australian release of Under the Pink in a double jewel case, and altered the back insert artwork so that instead of being blank it featured the track listing of the second disc as well as production information for the songs. The title More Pink may be misleading, as many of the B-sides on the disc did not come from Under the Pink singles but in fact from the 1992 album Little Earthquakes, and in one case, from a Christmas compilation.

The double-disc set entered the Australian ARIA Charts Top 100 Albums chart on the week ending December 11, 1994, peaking at number 44 and spending 6 weeks on the chart.[23] However, it was listed on the chart as a re-entry of Under the Pink, with its weeks spent charting added to the 21-week tally achieved earlier by the album.[23]

A 2-disc deluxe edition of the album was released on April 14, 2015 by Rhino Records.[24] This bonus disc included seven b-sides, one remix and seven live performances from the various singles released from the album in 1994. Three b-sides were missing from this release; a cover of "A Case of You" by Joni Mitchell, a cover of "If 6 Was 9" by The Jimi Hendrix Experience and a cover of "Strange Fruit" by Billie Holiday, all of which were exclusively released in the United Kingdom on a limited edition CD single of "Cornflake Girl".

Track listing

All songs written by Tori Amos. All songs produced by Eric Rosse and Tori Amos.

Under the Pink track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Pretty Good Year"3:25
2."God"3:58
3."Bells for Her"5:20
4."Past the Mission"4:05
5."Baker Baker"3:20
6."The Wrong Band"3:03
7."The Waitress"3:09
8."Cornflake Girl"5:06
9."Icicle"5:47
10."Cloud on My Tongue"4:44
11."Space Dog"5:10
12."Yes, Anastasia"9:33
Total length:56:50
More Pink: The B-Sides
No.TitleLength
1."A Case of You"" (B-side to "Cornflake Girl")4:38
2."Honey" (B-side to "Pretty Good Year")3:47
3."Daisy Dead Petals" (B-side to "Pretty Good Year")3:02
4."Sister Janet" (B-side to "Cornflake Girl")4:02
5."Sugar" (B-side to "China")4:27
6."Take to the Sky" (B-side to "Winter")4:20
7."Upside Down" (B-side to "Silent All These Years")4:2
8."Flying Dutchman" (B-side to "China")6:31
9."Here. In My Head" (Live version from "Past the Mission" single)6:05
10."Black Swan" (B-side to "Pretty Good Year")4:04
11."Little Drummer Boy" (From Kevin & Bean: We've Got Your Yule Logs Hangin')3:20
Total length:48:49
2015 deluxe edition bonus disc[25]
No.TitleLength
1."Sister Janet" (B-side to "Cornflake Girl")4:00
2."Honey" (B-side to "Pretty Good Year")3:44
3."Daisy Dead Petals" (B-side to "Pretty Good Year")3:02
4."Over It" (B-side to "Cornflake Girl")2:09
5."Black Swan" (B-side to "Pretty Good Year")4:01
6."Home on the Range" (B-side to "Pretty Good Year")5:20
7."All the Girls Hate Her" (B-side to "Cornflake Girl")2:22
8."God" (CJ Bolland Remix)5:58
9."Here, in My Head" (Live 1994)6:00
10."Upside Down" (Live 1994)4:57
11."Past the Mission" (Live 1994)4:14
12."Icicle" (Live 1994)4:47
13."Flying Dutchman" (Live 1994)6:15
14."Winter" (Live 1994)6:19
15."The Waitress" (Live 1994)3:23

Personnel

Band

String section
  • John Acevedo – viola
  • Michael Allen Harrison – violin
  • Melissa "Missy" Hasin – cello
  • Ezra Killinger – violin
  • Dane Little – cello
  • Cynthia Morrow – viola
  • Chris Reutinger – violin
  • Jimbo Ross – viola
  • Nancy Roth – violin
  • Nancy Stein-Ross – cello
  • Francine Walsh – violin
  • John Wittenberg – violin

Production & art
  • Paul McKenna – producer, engineer
  • Eric Rosse – producer, engineer
  • Ross Cullum – mixing
  • Shaun DeFeo – assistant engineer
  • John Fundi – assistant engineer
  • John Beverly Jones – engineer
  • Kevin Killen – mixing
  • Julie Larson – production coordination
  • Bob Ludwig – mastering
  • Avril McIntosh – mixing assistant
  • Cindy Palmano – art direction, photography
  • Alan Reinl – design

Charts

Singles
Year Title Chart Position
1994 "Cornflake Girl" Australia (ARIA)[43] 19
Germany (Media Control Charts)[44] 73
Irish Singles Chart[45] 9
Netherlands (MegaCharts)[46] 26
New Zealand (RIANZ)[47] 41
UK Singles Chart[20] 4
US Modern Rock Tracks[48] 12
"God" Australia (ARIA)[49][50] 65
UK Singles Chart[20] 44
US Billboard Hot 100[21] 72
US Modern Rock Tracks[48] 1
"Pretty Good Year" Australia (ARIA)[51][50] 85
Irish Singles Chart[52] 26
UK Singles Chart[20] 7
"Past the Mission" Australia (ARIA)[53] 116
Irish Singles Chart[54] 25
UK Singles Chart[20] 31

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[55] Gold 50,000^
Germany — 120,000[56]
Netherlands (NVPI)[57] Gold 50,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[14] Platinum 300,000^
United States (RIAA)[13] 2× Platinum 2,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Songs included in TV series

In 2015, "Pretty Good Year" was featured in television series Casual (Season 3, Episode 12).[58]

In 2022, "Cornflake Girl" featured in the Irish drama television series Conversations with Friends (Season 1, Episode 10).[58]

In 2023, "Cornflake Girl" was featured in the drama television series Yellowjackets (Season 2, Episode 1: Friends, Romans, Coyntrymen)[59][60] and the Netflix dramedy Beef (Season 1, Episode 2: The Rapture of Being Alive).[61]

"Bells For her" was featured in Yellowjackets (Season 2, Episode 3: Digestif).[62][63][64]

References
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  2. Webber, Brad (February 10, 1994). "Tori Amos: Under the Pink (Atlantic)". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved August 10, 2015.
  3. Larkin, Colin (2011). "Amos, Tori". The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0-85712-595-8.
  4. Sandow, Greg (February 4, 1994). "Under the Pink". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved August 10, 2015.
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  8. Ramon, Alex (June 2, 2015). "Tori Amos: Little Earthquakes / Under the Pink (reissues)". PopMatters. Retrieved June 20, 2015.
  9. St. Leger, Marie Elsie (February 24, 1994). "Under The Pink". Rolling Stone. No. 676. Retrieved August 10, 2015.
  10. Edmonds, Ben (2004). "Tori Amos". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 17–18. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
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  61. Bitran, Tara (April 7, 2023). "Rock Out to the Angsty '90s Songs in the 'BEEF' Soundtrack. Music supervisor Tiffany Anders threw all her rules "out the window" for Lee Sung Jin's new series". Netflix.
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  64. Zuckerman, Esther (April 7, 2023). ""Yellowjackets" Season 2, Episode 3 Recap: Hunger Games". The New York Times.
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