This song always makes me cry when played at the end of Philadelphia. But hearing it sung by such an amazing talent from my own generation like Tori, makes it even more powerful.
So nice to finally see the video footage for this, as this is one of my all-time favorite cover performances by Tori. Great quality too. And yeah, she was definitely cheating on those lyrics.... Whatever works!! Certainly works for me!
She does a good job here for sure but hearing Neil play this live in ‘99 was one of the great pleasures of my life. It was as if time stopped. Mesmerizing. You could hear a pin drop in that theater.
I was there that night at the Tower theatre in Upper Darby. It was probably the best Tori concert I've been to. That song haunted me and I'm SO glad that you put it on youtube. Its a fond memory.
i bet neil young was very honored when he heard this. i know as much as when she plays his songs she treats them with such respect and that is a great bond for musicians
Thank you SO much for this. I was at this show, a month after 9-11, the day that Bush sicked our troops on Iraq and Afghanistan, and there was not a dry eye in the house during this song. It was such a tender time for us. I have an audio boot of this show, but being able to see this performance again was amazing. Thanks SO much!
I think the more people who sing this song the better. Look at all the lives it's changed. That says a lot about Neil, and, frankly, covering such a beautiful song takes a lot of guts.
Tori is not someone I listen to often anymore but when I do she is that spherical voice, lyrics and piano floating me back for just a little while. I either lost or someone took those rose colored glasses and I could never find that rose shafe again.These covers blow me away ! Although she will.never be my raison.girl again, she is an old friend that when I run into makes me glad for some of the days now long gone.
This song always made me cry and now I see it performed by my favourite singer TORI AMOS!Thanks so much Tori, and of course thank you Nothingbutmeat for sharing!
Beautiful & tender, Tori covers this song with real passion and heart that allows it to be a fine bookend with Neil's original. Her voice captures the sensitivity and hurt going on, but also the cry for affection and understanding. Her delicate piano playing is soothing as her voice elevates with strength. The gift of a song cover is when the singer interprets the lyric precisely&with his/her own new delivery&that was present with flying colors here by Tori. I'm in awe, moved beyond description.
I must say that the original version is unreal with the emotion it delivered. Ms Amos was dead on with her rendition. In this case, the song is the Star. No matter who sings it as long as they sing it with conviction. Could lil' Wayne do it. No way in hell. Could Celine could it? Oh hell yes. It' s the song and the interpretation. Great singers will always present great taste and deliver. Ms Amos does just that.
i love this cover. it made me seek out the original, which i also enjoy. this was done during the tour where the city influenced the covers being done that night, so i think this was very appropriate.
Thank you for your response. I'm not sure if you are asking me a question or making a statement. To be clear; I'm a huge Tori fan. I think she can write a song as good as her covers and she has.She can do covers of incredible songs like this because she is, in my opinion, immensely talented. It just surprises me that her talent is not more widely recognised and acknowledged. Check out a very early video of her, it's on RU-vid, singing 'Winter', astonishing performance, passionate and perfect.
Thank you, I appreciate that. :) I can perfectly understand someone not liking or warming to Tori's style but to suggest that she's not talented beggars belief. If her only crime is not being trendy then I'm happy to convict her.
when she sings "i won't be ashamed of love," it looks like she's looking directly at the camera, which must've been lovely for you (or whoever filmed this). thanks for posting, it's a lovely cover.
man i love this song, makes me sad, makes me feel the past of my childhood, growing up is so hard, dad is dead, i lost my job, im 31, no kids, no girl, does it get any better?
... ignorance reflected in all these negative comments ... Tori is awesome. Neil is awesome. Doesn't matter what they're wearing or how "cold" they might seem when greeted in the public arena. All 'we' want to to is tear at them up and devour the pieces. We never handle any of these gems with care ...
Seek out the live Silver and gold DVD by Neil Young for the best performance of this song I have seen. It used to be here on RU-vid but it must have been taken down
it's nice to just see someone who must really love the song perform it and really make it sound beautiful...I love Neil's but this is really really great...her play on the piano makes it deeper but remember, Neil's strong point wasn't the piano, different kind of musicians make the same melody beautiful, I think it's really hauntingly pretty
@AmyGonzalez85 There's a wonderful little application called DownloadHelper that will allow you to rip the video from RU-vid (or indeed any source you'd like). You can then use any number of audioconversion software to rip the audio from that.
I still want to know how much 120 thousand million is. I guess I need a caculator :-) Tori hasn't sold as many records/CDs, whatever because she's (luckily) really not "commercial". I hope we never start to measure greatness or talent by how much money it brings in. That'll kill art dead. Heck, it's already happening ::cough:: JessicaSimpson::cough:: No offense to Mr. Young - this is a Tori performance so she's sort of the star and the topic here. Thanks!
I think it's highly ignorant to think that when singers cover other people's songs, they do it to 'steal' the glory or exploit it. Instead of making negative snap judgments, you could perhaps consider the fact that singers sing because they love to... so when they find songs they connect with, they may want to sing it too, sharing their expression & love for the song with others who love good music? Enough with the negativity! Tori's performance was breathtaking, I'm sure Neil would be honoured.
I love both versions, but i really love the way Neils version accents the 3/4 waltz feel, it really captures the essence of what Neil was trying to portray with the song, the childlike melody, I liked toris , just not as much as Neils
If I had seen that, I wouldn't have needed help now would I? So you get half a thanks. Like a "tha" ;-) Seriously - was she having a "Dynasty" clothing moment?? Too funny. She's always managed to pull off the most interesting looks...
I prefer Neil's version, and while I can only see one negative remark on here I have to remind people that music is art. People bring their own interpretations to pieces of music, they don't overwrite the original, they don't damage it. If artists cover a song they still have to perform it well for it to be successful, and the writer gets paid so what's the problem. There is no conflict in art, it can only be added to, it cannot be subtracted from. You can't steal a song.
I love Tori but I gotta agree. It sounds when he sings it almost as if he's crying the lyrics in a perfectly melodic way. And Tori's a lovely piano player, but the way she tinkers with each key at a time separate from one another, it takes something away from how Neil does it, his being more fluid. I own every Tori CD though! Don't get me wrong. I prefer his better. She does a nicer cover of Tom Waits' "Time". Not better then Tom's, but very classy.
@goshinman50 haha... brilliant, the eternal circle of the internet. now we only need someone to explain us why roger federer really isn't the best tennis player.
I still don't get the negative comments I read on every posted song..... hey....you are born, you live, you die....and everything in between is pretty much your choice...lighten up everyone...live and let live...ENJOY!
Did you realize that you just wrote that Neil has sold "One hundred and twenty thousand million" albums? LOL. What is that, billions? I'm gonna go out on a limb here and doubt that little stat. :-D
