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Zero 7
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed albums.
Scarlet's Walk
Generally favorable reviews
Based on 21 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 87 votes
Read user comments
Rate this album >
Album Info
Label: Epic
Release Date: 29 October 2002
Discs: 1 disc
Genre(s): Alternative, Rock, Singer-Songwriter
Summary
The suddenly prolific Amos returns with 18 new tracks, begging the question: Y Kant Tori Capitalize Her Song Titles? The album, her first for Epic, is structured as a cross-country journey through the U.S.
Also By This Artist: Abnormally Attracted To Sin American Doll Posse Strange Little Girls The Beekeeper
Also On The Web: Fan Site: The Dent Official Artist Site Official Fanzine
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Blender
Uncommonly rich and unfashionably gynocentric, Scarlet's Walk makes the personal universal, using the stories of women lost, left and unseen to chart a map of the American psyche. [#11, p.124]
Amazon.com
The album serves as both an ambitious travelogue and as a graceful rejoinder to the bitterness and frustration that inspired it, with Amos wading through swells of sadness ("I Can't See New York"), anger ("Don't Make Me Come to Vegas"), and insecurity ("Your Cloud") with velvety grace.
Read Full Review >Spin
As usual, her melodies stubbornly refuse to turn into hooks, preferring to twirl into new territory. But her approach suits the material, which flows like the colors on a weather map, from Los Angeles to Nevada, from New York to Virginia, gathering thunder along the way. [Nov 2002]
PopMatters
As ambitious as anything in recent pop music memory.... One of the most invigorating and arresting works of her career.
Read Full Review >Austin Chronicle
Scarlet's Walk not only evinces Amos' musical maturation, it's also the singer's most ambitious lyrical work.
Read Full Review >Billboard
Similar to the artist's Under the Pink in tone and continuity, Scarlet demands repeated spins to fully appreciate its chapters' musical and lyrical complexities.
Read Full Review >Uncut
One of Amos' most deeply felt, spiritually astute and finest albums. [Dec 2002, p.138]
Alternative Press
The new album's themes show that Amos is energized with stories to tell once again - making Scarlet's Walk at once ambitious and also one of her most moving collections yet. [Nov 2002]
All Music Guide
It marks a return to the sound and feel of Under the Pink and is her best album since then.
Read Full Review >Stylus Magazine
Yes, it’s a concept album, but it’s not crap. Actually, Scarlet’s Walk is very suitable for an artist with Amos’ capacity for spewing drama from her intense and highly articulated words.
Read Full Review >Launch.com
Musically, the tunes are more cohesive this time around, with more of a "band" feel then simply people accompanying Amos and her Bosendorfer.
Read Full Review >The Onion (A.V. Club)
Amid all the elegantly sweeping, minor-key arrangements are the usual aggravating moments.
Read Full Review >E! Online
Walk isn't groundbreaking as much as typical Tori Amos--a dramatic menagerie of atmospheric tracks filled with manic piano, morose characters and so many literary allusions you'll need CliffsNotes to figure 'em out.
Read Full Review >CDNow
Her message, so powerful when unadorned, tends to get diluted by the awkward arrangements that accompany it.
Read Full Review >Rolling Stone
There's an army of voices inside Tori Amos, and the girl knows how to use them.
Read Full Review >Vibe
Ultimately, the moments of bare beauty on such tracks as "Your Cloud" and "Crazy" set Amos apart as a true original. [Dec 2002]
Mojo
While her writing is often flattened by the ungainly toil of navvying away for the Big Idea, the flame of toriamosness burns through at times. [Nov 2002, p.114]
Q Magazine
The music here only rarely matches up. [Nov 2002, p.96]
Entertainment Weekly
Cumulative effect? Soul-depleting. [1 Nov 2002, p.70]
What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this album is 9.1 (out of 10) based on 87 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
john s. gave it a7:
not brilliant but not bad either her 2 nd worst after the flop the beekeeper. a bit boring but still better than most overrated artists album. if you are new 2 her music give this a pass and buy the brilliant american doll posse. thats more like it! thanx heavens.
Mark gave it a10:
Several years after it's release I keep returning to this album. For those of you out there listening only to MP3's, do yourself a favor and get the CD and a good stereo. You'll be amazed at what you've been missing and how good the production is. On "I Can't See New York," the first crash of the piano after "Is there a signal there" lyric will take your breath away. I rate this album as tied with Little Earthquakes as my favorite Tori album, but having a slight edge due to the quality of the sound engineering.
Robbie C gave it a9:
A near perfect album. Powerful, beautiful tale-telling. I would give it a 9.5 if I could, but it isn't quite a 10.
Karen gave it a10:
I have read in several arenas the question regarding Tori's lyrics making sense. I have also seen them labeled as ramblings or another genius offering that she is simply trying to to keep the melody of the song in tact. I could not disagree more. What no one seems to offer is this; Tori is a person, a living human being with stories of her own. Do you NEED to know what Dahli was thinking when he painted? Or can you just appreciate it for what it is - Art and nothing more. Beautiful, moving and powerful. I am inclined to believe these songs would make perfect sense to all if we were part of her everyday life. Consider this, if I were to tell you a short story relating to a relationship in my life using catch phases, cute names or local street talk would you know what I am talking about? Exactly! So why do you expect a few paragraphs offered in 10-12 songs every one or two years to be wrapped up in a pretty ribbon and laid at your feet in clear and concise terms? The underlying theme to all of her music is the passion behind it - you KNOW what she is trying to say or relate to us. Sorrow, happiness, silliness all easily read through in her lyrics. Even if I don't know who "Crazy" is, I understand completely. Catch the gist, the theme the message and forget everything else. I don't NEED to know why she was scared by paper tigers to understand what this song is about because I get it! Point taken. I relate. Perhaps she is writing for herself and is kind enough to share it with us. Has anyone consider this? She is first and foremost a human being the Star part came later.
Mark S gave it a10:
Tori lost me for a while. After Boys for Pele, I sorta gave up and it was time to move on from my "high school favorites" on the Little Earthquakes and Under the Pink albums. Just stumbled upon Scarlett's Walk on iTunes and decided to give it a go. I haven't stopped listening for two weeks--at work, at home and in the car. This CD brings me back to the initial infatuation I had with Tori's musical prowess that I discovered in High School. Many of the tracks are simply dramatic. LOVE "Gold Dust"--it's incredible. "Strange" brings me back to Little Earthquakes. Every song in between is equally amazing. Good good stuff.
Adri J gave it a10:
Despite not being a Tori fan prior to this album, and discovering it a whole 4 years after its release, I have heard no other album so completely enchanting and captivating as Scarlet's Walk. The wistfulness of "A Sorta Fairytale", the addictive sound of "Taxi Ride", the beauty of "Your Cloud" and the musical masterpiece "Gold Dust" would all move a heart of stone....
Stephen gave it a9:
Tori's best album. I agree that there are problems with it: production, and at times, the lyrics. Wah wah, 9/11 = sad. But most of the time, she does pretty well, makes me feel like I'm traveling through America, both historically and physically.
