She may be the daughter of a reverend, but Tori Amos never seemed the likeliest candidate for a Christmas album; she might sing about "God", but her music always seemed secular and never seasonal, but in a year that brought holiday albums by Bob Dylan and Sting, it makes perfect sense that Tori should deliver one, too.
Amos' entry, Midwinter Graces, may be as unlikely as Dylan's, but it's closer in tenor to Sting's: it's deliberately reserved and chilly, capturing the wintriness of the season while studiously avoiding the joy.
Tori reworks many familiar carols, tweaking lyrics and pushing them together into a medley, so they sound quite similar to the newly written tunes that comprise the rest of the record.
Thanks to some familiar melodies, it can sometimes seem seasonally appropriate, but it always seems purely Tori, who has somehow managed to deliver an easy listening version of all her signatures in one tidy, not so-Christmasy, package.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | What Child, NowellTori Amos, Traditional | Tori Amos | Play | 03:41 | 8 MB | 22 MB |
| 2 | Star of WonderTori Amos, Traditional | Tori Amos | Play | 03:47 | 8 MB | 26 MB |
| 3 | A Silent Night With YouTori Amos | Tori Amos | Play | 03:17 | 7 MB | 19 MB |
| 4 | Holly, Ivy, and RoseTori Amos, Traditional | Tori Amos | Play | 04:18 | 9 MB | 23 MB |
| 5 | Harps of GoldTori Amos, Traditional | Tori Amos | Play | 03:07 | 7 MB | 22 MB |
| 6 | Snow AngelTori Amos | Tori Amos | Play | 03:37 | 8 MB | 21 MB |
| 7 | Jeanette, IsabellaTori Amos, Traditional | Tori Amos | Play | 04:23 | 10 MB | 29 MB |
| 8 | Pink and GlitterTori Amos | Tori Amos | Play | 04:53 | 11 MB | 31 MB |
| 9 | EmmanuelTori Amos, Traditional | Tori Amos | Play | 02:57 | 6 MB | 16 MB |
| 10 | Our New YearTori Amos | Tori Amos | Play | 03:56 | 9 MB | 23 MB |
| 11 | Candle - Coventry Carol | Tori Amos | Play | 03:15 | 7 MB | 16 MB |
| 12 | Winter's Carol | Tori Amos | Play | 05:09 | 11 MB | 31 MB |
| 46 mins | 106 MB | |||||
| 46 mins | 284 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mac Aladdin | Guitar |
| 2 | Tori Amos | Arranger, Composer, Harpsichord, Piano, Primary Artist, Producer, Vocals, Wurlitzer |
| 3 | Jon Astley | Mastering |
| 4 | Peter Barnes | Harpsichord Technician |
| 5 | Karen Binns | Stylist |
| 6 | Samuel Paul Bortka | Clarinet (Bass), Sax (Tenor) |
| 7 | Sandy Brummels | Art Direction |
| 8 | Benedikt Brydern | Violin |
| 9 | Denyse Buffum | Viola |
| 10 | Bruce Burchmore | Lute |
| 11 | Mark Cargill | Violin |
| 12 | Matt Chamberlain | Bells, Drums, Percussion |
| 13 | Jenni Clark | Make-Up |
| 14 | Giovanna Clayton | Cello |
| 15 | Ronnie Cuber | Sax (Baritone) |
| 16 | James De La Garza | Trumpet |
| 17 | Kelsey Dobyns | Guest Artist, Vocals |
| 18 | Ernest Ehrhardt | Cello |
| 19 | Jon Evans | Bass |
| 20 | Charles Everett | Violin |
| 21 | Lawrence Feldman | Clarinet, Sax (Alto) |
| 22 | Armen Garabedian | Violin |
| 23 | Mark Hawley | Engineer, Mixing |
| 24 | Natashya Hawley | Vocals |
| 25 | Norm Hughes | Violin |
| 26 | Tony Kadleck | Flugelhorn, Trumpet |
| 27 | Christopher Kornmann | Art Direction, Design |
| 28 | Armen Ksajikian | Cello |
| 29 | Razdan Kuyumjian | Violin |
| 30 | Chelsea Laird | Management |
| 31 | Dan Levine | Trombone |
| 32 | Timothy Loo | Cello |
| 33 | Bob Malach | Clarinet, Sax (Tenor) |
| 34 | Tom "Bones" Malone | Trombone |
| 35 | Calabria McChesney | Violin |
| 36 | Bob Millikan | Flugelhorn, Trumpet |
| 37 | Barry Lee Moe | Hair Stylist |
| 38 | Dan Neufeld | Viola |
| 39 | Keith O'Quinn | Trombone |
| 40 | Brian Pareshi | Flugelhorn, Trumpet |
| 41 | Bob Peterson | Violin |
| 42 | Lon Price | Orchestration |
| 43 | Gil Romero | Violin |
| 44 | Jimbo Ross | Viola |
| 45 | Nancy Ross | Cello |
| 46 | John Philip Shenale | Brass Arrangement, Conductor, Sampling, String Arrangements, Synthesizer |
| 47 | Harry Shirinian | Viola |
| 48 | Haim Shtrum | Violin |
| 49 | Adam Spry | Assistant |
| 50 | Dave Taylor | Trombone (Bass) |
| 51 | Traditional | Composer |
| 52 | Miranda Penn Turin | Photography |
| 53 | Philip Valman | Violin |
| 54 | Marcel VanLimbeek | Engineer, Mixing |
| 55 | Ann Walker | Piano Technician |
| 56 | Francine Walsh | Violin |
| 57 | Evan Wilson | Viola |
| 58 | John Witherspoon | Management |
| 59 | John Wittenberg | Violin |
| 60 | Margaret Wooten | Violin |
| 61 | Shari Zippert | Violin |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |