Tales of a Librarian

Tales of a Librarian
Greatest hits album by Tori Amos
Released	November 17, 2003
Recorded	1990 – Summer 2003
Genre	Alternative
Length	78:00
Label	Atlantic
Producer	Tori Amos, Eric Rosse
Tori Amos chronology
Scarlet's Walk (2002) Tales of a Librarian (2003) A Piano: The Collection (2006)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Mojo	[2]
musicOMH.com	(positive)[3]
Q	[4]
Uncut	[5]

Tales of a Librarian (complete title: A Tori Amos Collection: Tales of a Librarian) is the first retrospective compilation album by singer/songwriter Tori Amos. Given the option to be involved in the project, Amos elected to take a central role in the production of the collection, released in 2003 on her former label Atlantic Records.

Amos described the compilation as a "sonic autobiography", a title derived from her dislike of the term "greatest hits".^[6] Recording under the premise that a librarian is a "chronicler", Amos pieced together the collection in accordance with the Dewey Decimal System, extending the librarian theme of the album. Amos revisited the mixing of many of her own favorite songs from her career, focusing on those she thought were not fully realized in their original recordings and those that she felt explained her life story. Additionally, Amos added two new songs and two re-recorded b-sides: "Angels", "Snow Cherries from France", "Sweet Dreams", and "Mary", respectively (the latter two compositions were originally recorded in 1990 during sessions for Little Earthquakes).

Track listing

CD

All tracks written by Amos.

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Precious Things"	4:29
2.	"Angels"	4:27
3.	"Silent All These Years"	4:10
4.	"Cornflake Girl"	5:05
5.	"Mary"	4:42
6.	"God"	3:54
7.	"Winter"	5:43
8.	"Spark"	4:13
9.	"Way Down" (Extended)	1:50
10.	"Professional Widow" (Armand's Star Trunk Funkin' Mix) (Radio Edit)	3:48
11.	"Mr. Zebra"	1:05
12.	"Crucify"	5:00
13.	"Me and a Gun"	3:43
14.	"Bliss"	3:35
15.	"Playboy Mommy"	4:06
16.	"Baker Baker"	3:12
17.	"Tear in Your Hand"	4:38
18.	"Sweet Dreams"	3:39
19.	"Jackie’s Strength"	4:25
20.	"Snow Cherries from France"	2:56

DVD

Live

All tracks written by Amos.

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Pretty Good Year" (Recorded live during soundcheck from Welcome to Sunny Florida, September 4, 2003.)	3:47
2.	"Honey" (Recorded live during soundcheck from Welcome to Sunny Florida, September 4, 2003.)	4:00
3.	"Northern Lad" (Recorded live during soundcheck from Welcome to Sunny Florida, September 4, 2003.)	4:27

Others

All tracks written by Amos.

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Putting the Damage On" (Remixed; runs over photo gallery.)	5:08
2.	"Mr. Zebra" (Instrumental; runs over photo gallery and navigation menu.)	1:05
3.	"Putting the Damage On" (Instrumental)	5:08

Charts

Chart (2003)	Position
Billboard 200 (US)[7]	40
Official UK Album Chart (UK)[8]	74
Canadian Album Chart (Canada)	86
ARIA Album Chart (Australia)[9]	93
Austrian Album Chart (Austria)	72
Belgian Album Chart (Belgium)	34
Dutch Album Chart (The Netherlands)	93
IRMA Album Chart (Ireland)	67

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/Sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[10]	Silver	60,000^^
Summaries
^*sales figures based on certification alone ^^shipments figures based on certification alone

References

1. AllMusic review
2. Mojo review
3. musicOMH.com review
4. Q review
5. Uncut review
6. "Tori Amos - Tales of a Librarian". yessaid.com. Retrieved 2006-11-12.
7. "Tori Amos - Artist Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved 2008-09-15.
8. http://archive.is/20120724142623/http://www.chartstats.com/release.php?release=41731
9. "ARIA.net Week of 08/12/2003: Issue #720" (PDF). Pandora. Retrieved 2008-09-15.
10. "British album certifications – Tori Amos – Tales of a Librarian". British Phonographic Industry. Enter Tales of a Librarian in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Select Silver in the field By Award. Click Search