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Tales of a Librarian
Tales of a Librarian
Compilation album by Tori Amos
Released	November 17, 2003
Recorded	1990 – Summer 2003
Length	78:00
Label	Atlantic
Producer	Tori Amos; Eric Rosse;
Tori Amos chronology
Singles from Tales of a Librarian
	"Mary"; Released: 2003; "Angels"; Released: 2003;

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[1]
Mojo	^[2]
musicOMH	(positive)^[3]
Q	^[4]
Rolling Stone Album Guide	^[5]
Uncut	^[6]

A Tori Amos Collection: Tales of a Librarian is the first retrospective compilation album by American 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".^[7] Recording under the premise that a librarian is a "chronicler", Amos pieced together the collection in accordance with the Dewey Decimal System; so, for example, "Sweet Dreams", which contains the lyrics "Land, land of liberty / We're run by a constipated man", is listed as "973.938: History of North America -- Politics of Illusion".^[8] 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 (1992).

"Mary" and "Angels" were released as promotional singles from the album.

Track listing

CD

All tracks are written by Amos

No.	Title	Original appearance	Length
1.	"Precious Things"	Little Earthquakes (1992)	4:29
2.	"Angels"	previously unreleased	4:27
3.	"Silent All These Years"	Little Earthquakes	4:10
4.	"Cornflake Girl"	Under the Pink (1994)	5:05
5.	"Mary" (re-recorded)	B-side to "Crucify" (1992)	4:42
6.	"God"	Under the Pink	3:54
7.	"Winter"	Little Earthquakes	5:43
8.	"Spark"	From the Choirgirl Hotel (1998)	4:13
9.	"Way Down" (Extended)	Boys for Pele (1996)	1:50
10.	"Professional Widow" (Armand's Star Trunk Funkin' Mix) (Radio Edit)	Boys for Pele	3:48
11.	"Mr. Zebra"	Boys for Pele	1:05
12.	"Crucify"	Little Earthquakes	5:00
13.	"Me and a Gun"	Little Earthquakes	3:43
14.	"Bliss"	To Venus and Back (1999)	3:35
15.	"Playboy Mommy"	From the Choirgirl Hotel	4:06
16.	"Baker Baker"	Under the Pink	3:12
17.	"Tear in Your Hand"	Little Earthquakes	4:38
18.	"Sweet Dreams" (re-recorded)	B-side to "Winter" (1992)	3:39
19.	"Jackie's Strength"	From the Choirgirl Hotel	4:25
20.	"Snow Cherries from France"	previously unreleased	2:56

Deluxe Edition Bonus DVD

Live

All tracks are 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 are 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

iTunes bonus tracks^[9]

All tracks are written by Amos

No.	Title	Original appearance	Length
21.	"Putting the Damage On" (Album version)	Boys for Pele	5:08
22.	"Pretty Good Year" (Live from Sound Check)	Under the Pink	4:12

Charts

Chart performance for *Tales of a Librarian*
Chart (2003)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)^[10]	93
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)^[11]	72
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)^[12]	34
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)^[13]	93
Irish Albums (IRMA)^[14]	67
Italian Albums (FIMI)^[15]	65
Scottish Albums (OCC)^[16]	77
UK Albums (OCC)^[17]	74
US Billboard 200^[18]	40

Certifications


Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)^[19]	Gold	35,000^{^}
United Kingdom (BPI)^[20]	Silver	60,000^*
United States	—	295,000^[21]
^* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^{^} Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

^ AllMusic review
^ Mojo review
^ musicOMH.com review
^ Q review
^ Edmonds, Ben (2004). Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). New York: Fireside Books. pp. 17–18. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
^ Uncut review
^ "Tori Amos - Tales of a Librarian". yessaid.com. Archived from the original on 2007-05-09. Retrieved 2006-11-12.
^ Kelefa Sanneh (2003-12-05). "Tales of a Librarian". The New York Times.
^ "A Tori Amos Collection - Tales of a Librarian". Apple Music. 17 November 2003. Retrieved 14 January 2024.
^ "ARIA.net Week of 08/12/2003: Issue #720" (PDF). Pandora. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2003-12-06. Retrieved 2008-09-15.
^ "Austriancharts.at – Tori Amos – A Tori Amos Collection - Tales of a Librarian" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 15, 2021.
^ "Ultratop.be – Tori Amos – A Tori Amos Collection - Tales of a Librarian" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 15, 2021.
^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Tori Amos – A Tori Amos Collection - Tales of a Librarian" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 15, 2021.
^ "Irish-charts.com – Discography Tori Amos". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 15, 2021.
^ "Italiancharts.com – Tori Amos – A Tori Amos Collection - Tales of a Librarian". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 15, 2021.
^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 21, 2021.
^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 15, 2021.
^ "Tori Amos Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved February 15, 2021.
^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2008 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved December 28, 2021.
^ "British album certifications – Tori Amos – Tales of a Librarian". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved July 4, 2012.
^ "Ask Billboard". Billboard.

[1] AllMusic review

[2] Mojo review

[3] usicOMH.com review

[4] Q review

[5] Edmonds, Ben (2004). Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). New York: Fireside Books. pp. 17–18. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.

[6] Uncut review

[7] "Tori Amos - Tales of a Librarian". yessaid.com. Archived from the original on 2007-05-09. Retrieved 2006-11-12.

[8] Kelefa Sanneh (2003-12-05). "Tales of a Librarian". The New York Times.

[9] "A Tori Amos Collection - Tales of a Librarian". Apple Music. 17 November 2003. Retrieved 14 January 2024.

[10] "ARIA.net Week of 08/12/2003: Issue #720" (PDF). Pandora. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2003-12-06. Retrieved 2008-09-15.

[ac_Austria_Tori_Amos-11] "Austriancharts.at – Tori Amos – A Tori Amos Collection - Tales of a Librarian" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 15, 2021.

[ac_Flanders_Tori_Amos-12] "Ultratop.be – Tori Amos – A Tori Amos Collection - Tales of a Librarian" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 15, 2021.

[ac_Netherlands_Tori_Amos-13] "Dutchcharts.nl – Tori Amos – A Tori Amos Collection - Tales of a Librarian" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 15, 2021.

[ac_Ireland2_Tori_Amos-14] "Irish-charts.com – Discography Tori Amos". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 15, 2021.

[ac_Italy_Tori_Amos-15] "Italiancharts.com – Tori Amos – A Tori Amos Collection - Tales of a Librarian". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 15, 2021.

[ac_Scotland_-16] "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 21, 2021.

[ac_UK2_-17] "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 15, 2021.

[ac_Billboard200_Tori_Amos-18] "Tori Amos Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved February 15, 2021.

[AustraliaTori_AmosTales_of_a_LibrarianalbumCertRef-19] "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2008 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved December 28, 2021.

[United_KingdomTori_AmosTales_of_a_LibrarianalbumCertRef-20] "British album certifications – Tori Amos – Tales of a Librarian". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved July 4, 2012.

[21] "Ask Billboard". Billboard.

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Tales of a Librarian

Track listing