Tori Amos confirms plans for 'Christmas' album

Songs will be themed around the winter solstice

A tiny, almost nonchalant mention in Rolling Stone magazine’s listings of forthcoming releases sparked off a mess of speculation about a so-called ‘Christmas’ album due on November 3rd from our favourite ivory tickler, Tori Amos, and now the lady herself has confirmed plans to a group of fans present at a recent radio session in Atlanta, Georgia. Except it won’t be a Christmas album of the conventional sort – that means no ‘Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer’ or, sadly, ‘I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus’. Instead, Tori has crafted an album based on the traditions of the winter solstice, revisiting some ancient carols and giving them a Tori-twist in an attempt, she says, to reclaim them from thousands of years of religious appropriations.

Tori is no stranger to recording seasonal songs, having previously tackled ‘Little Drummer Boy’ and ‘Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas’, and has apparently long harboured an ambition to make a full album of said songs. So why now? Well, she was asked to consider the project by returning mentor Doug Morris, chairman and CEO of her current label Universal and formerly head of Atlantic Records in the Little Earthquakes era. “Shock me by not shocking me,” he told her.

Responding to a question about the project, Tori told fans that they can expect to hear lots of strings, brass, tubular bells and harpsichord. “It’s a very different take on carols,” she promises. Watch her response in full below:

Alan Pedder

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