1000 Oceans

Infobox Single
Name = 1000 Oceans


Artist = Tori Amos
from Album = To Venus and Back
Released = September 9 1999
Format = CD
Recorded = 1999
Genre = Alternative rock
Length =
Label = Atlantic
Producer = Tori Amos
Reviews =
Last single = "Bliss" (1999)
This single = "1000 Oceans" (1999)
Next single = "Glory of the '80s" (1999)

"1000 Oceans" is a song by Tori Amos, released as the second single from her 1999 album "To Venus and Back". It reached number twenty-two on the Hot 100 Singles Sales, though it did not chart on the Hot 100. [cite web|url=http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/esearch/searchResult.jsp?configType=BBCOM_SIMPLEDEFAULT&pubList=Billboard&an=bbcom&action=Submit&kw=&exposeNavigation=true&keyword=1000+oceans&searchType=ARTICLE_SEARCH|title=Hot Singles Sales|publisher=Billboard|author=|date=|accessdate=2008-04-14] The song deals with issues of love and loss, and is based on the singer's personal experiences. It was released on September 7 1999, and was generally well received by critics.

Background

Amos has explained that the idea for the song came to her in a dream. An old African woman was humming the melody to her, and she got up around 5:30 in the morning to record it.cite web|url=http://www.yessaid.com/talk/111000oceans.html|title=Tori talks about 1000 Oceans|publisher=toriphoria / yes, said|author=|date=|accessdate=2008-04-14] de icon cite web|url=http://www.zeit.de/1999/46/199946.traum_tori_amos_.xml|title=Ich habe einen Traum|publisher=Die Zeit|author=Christiane Rebmann|date=1999|accessdate=2008-04-20] Writing the song, she describes the transition from the melody line around the words "I can’t believe that I would keep, keep you from flying" to "and I would cry 1000 more" as particularly difficult, and what took the longest time. The inspiration for the lyrics came when her father-in-law died, and she claims the song helped her husband deal with the grieving process. The lyrics contain reference to Silbury Hill, an ancient mound in Wiltshire, England. This is a place often visited by Amos and her husband. [cite web|url=http://www.thedent.com/oceans.html|title=1000 Oceans: to venus and back|publisher=The Dent|author=|date=2000-03-20|accessdate=2008-04-14]

Video

The video for the song was directed by Erick Ifergan and filmed by Toby Irwin, and it was shot in a downtown Los Angeles parking lot.cite web|url=http://www.thedent.com/oceansvid.html|title=1000 Oceans Video|publisher=The Dent|author=|date=1999-11-25|accessdate=2008-04-14] It shows Amos singing inside a glass booth. The booth is in a busy street, and as people walk by some stop and stare. Others are engaged in everyday activities, and at one point a full-scale riot breaks out in the street, while Amos seems relatively oblivious to what is going on. [cite web|url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUoBhmQpFDY|title=1000 Oceans Tori Amos|publisher=YouTube|author=|date=2006-08-31|accessdate=2008-04-14] The video had its TV debut on MTV's "120 Minutes" on October 24 1999.

Reviews

Reviewers generally had a positive attitude towards "1000 Oceans", and many mentioned it among the better tracks on the album. VH1 said the song was "one of the most billowing songs she's written in a while". [cite web|url=http://www.thedent.com/vh1venus.html|title=VH1 reviews "to venus and back"|publisher=The Dent|author=|date=2000-09-20|accessdate=2008-04-14] "The Tech" called the melody of this song and "Lust" "powerful ballads" and "some of Tori's finest". [cite web|url=http://www-tech.mit.edu/V119/N52/Tori_Amos_copy.52a.html|title=Tore Amos: To Venus and Back|publisher=The Tech|author=Fred Choi|date=1999-10-22|accessdate=2008-04-14] "The Daily Mail", in a short review of the album, called "1000 Oceans" "superb". [cite web|url=http://www.thedent.com/artsep99.html#timesukrev|title=Articles - September 1999|publisher=The Daily Mail|author=Adrian Thrills|date=1999-09-17|accessdate=2008-04-14] Others were less impressed though; "Spin" magazine called the album track "perhaps the most disappointing", and claimed Amos came across as a "Celine Dion-LeAnn Rimes rip-off". [cite web|url=http://www.thedent.com/spinrev.html|title=Spin Magazine Album Review September 1999|publisher=Spin|author=Julie Ann Pietrangelo|date=1999-09|accessdate=2008-04-14]

Track listing

Track listing for the various editions of the single: [cite web|url=http://www.yessaid.com/venusinfo.html|title=Tori Amos: to venus and back|publisher=toriphoria / yes, said|author=|date=|accessdate=2008-04-14] [cite web|url=http://everythingtori.com/go/galleries/view/749/1/340/singles|title=1000 Oceans Singles|publisher=EverythingTori|author=|date=|accessdate=2008-04-14]

US (September 7 1999)

# "1000 Oceans" - 4:18
# "Baker Baker" (Live) - 4:18

US (Enhanced cd, includes "1000 Oceans" video, September 28 1999)

# "1000 Oceans" (Album Version) - 4:18
Secretime
# "Baker Baker" (Live Non LP Version) - 3:53
# "Winter" (Live Non LP Version) - 7:01

Australia (September 1999)

# "1000 Oceans" (Album Version) - 4:18
Secretime
# "Baker Baker" (Live Non LP Version) - 3:53
# "Winter" (Live Non LP Version) - 7:01

France

# "1000 Oceans" (radio edit)

Germany

# "1000 Oceans"
# "Hey Jupiter" (live)
# "Upside Down" (live)

References

External links

* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUoBhmQpFDY 1000 Oceans] video on YouTube
* [http://www.yessaid.com/talk/111000oceans.html Extracts from interviews] with Tori Amos about the song