Y Kant Tori Read

Tori Amos' lost hair metal album 'Y Kant Tori Read' gets a digital release (listen)

Before she became known as the girl with the piano with the release of Little Earthquakes in 1992, Tori Amos released a very different kind of album. During the bombastic ’80s, dressed in acid wash jeans, crop tops, thigh high boots, and with a cloud of hairspray to hold up her sky-high ‘do, Tori helmed short-lived hair metal band Y Kant Tori Read. Steve Caton, Brad Cobb, and Matt Sorum (who went on to drum in The Cult, Guns N’ Roses, and Velvet Revolver) rounded out the band, whose sole self-titled album was a commercial and critical flop in 1988. That album has been unavailable aside from physical copies, but a remastered digital edition has finally been released; you can listen to it below.

If you’re wondering whether it’s worth revisiting this early project of Tori’s, my answer is an enthusiastic yes. Sure, there are some unavoidably cringeworthy moments, like the spoken word intros to “Fayth” and “Heart Attack at 23,” but “Fayth” goes on to showcase a soaring bridge which more than makes up for it, and “Heart Attack” has a certain scrappy dance-it-out charm. “On the Boundary” and “Fire on the Side” are both worthy power ballads with belt-able choruses that Tori more than does justice. “Cool On Your Island,” “Fire on the Side,” and “Etienne” have even popped up in more recent Tori setlists, where they hold their own alongside her more “classic” material. And speaking of “Etienne,” it’s perhaps the greatest foreshadow of what was to come, musically, from Tori, with twinkling keys, evocative lyrics, and witchy Stevie Nicks vibes.

Tori releases her highly anticipated fifteenth studio album, Native Invader, on September 8th. So far we’ve heard “Cloud Riders”, “Up the Creek,” and “Reindeer King” from that album. Tori’s tour in support of that album hits North America late in October.