Review Summary: Dear Tori, I’m terribly sorry about all this
The pain is exceedingly difficult to deal with right now.
Gold Dust has got to be (much against my own will to say) the worst thing we’ve seen in baroque pop/art rock in a long time (especially from such a recognizable name in the genre). I quite frankly don’t see the point behind this release at all. The idea behind it is just empty, and not logical enough for there to be any hope behind the success of this undertaking. But what was essentially supposed to happen here is a remixing of classic singles from Tori’s previous albums to revamp them with a more orchestral, (and some would say) atmospheric feel, inspired from an orchestral concert that Tori performed in; her first ever. Upon first inspection, I could immediately tell that when all was said and done, it was really just a commercial-ridden production meant to advertise her previous words; words that now that they’ve been spoken once again, will surely drive others off others from her otherwise fantastic discography.
(For those of you who’ve heard Tori’s previous work, and appreciated it), if you could imagine the best you’ve heard of her singles from her various albums (whether you’ve heard them all or not), and stack on a flat, scarring degree of orchestral instrumentation alongside her seemingly deteriorated voice, then you would wind up with this CD in your hand. I mean in all honesty, Tori has from the start possessed a glorious voice, and transitioned in very nicely in nearly every album she’s put out up until now, no matter what formula she decided to use. But here, thanks to Deutsche Grammophons record label’s hideous production, they’ve installed into
Gold Dust an insulting view of Tori’s character to audiences across the globe. Now does this mean we can lay off Tori for the making of this abominable creation? Absolutely not, because it all still spawned from her very own conscious. Now for those who have not heard Tori’s works, and might be looking to explore her discography, I urge (and I cannot express the word “urge” enough) to steer clear of this.
What upsets me most about this album is how the personal connection I have with Tori is essentially tossed out the window. “Winter” is shown on this album, and it is by far the worst offered up here. The instrumentation is a shell of its former glory, and not in the least bit nostalgic (that point accounts for this entire album, but this song the most seeing as how it aired roughly 20 years ago). “Silent all these Years” is another disappointment, because much like the other tracks it lies with here, (most especially the ones taken from her earliest albums) its former glory is just butchered with unnecessary inputs of various instruments you’d find at Mariinsky Theatre. But the icing on the cake here is just plain and simply the terrible production used on tracks it doesn’t belong with from the 90’s and early 00’s.
If I had to give this album credit in any area, it’d probably have to be “Programmable Soda” from her album
American Doll Posse. It’s probably the least affected track here, so it at least resembles a few traits that made it so good in the past, and it inspired me to check out the album seeing as how I’d never heard it. But now that I’ve gone and done that, this is not even a remixed track, it’s just a useless re-release. It’s just more evidence that Tori’s time in the music industry should come to an end very quickly, so to preserve the glory of her discography.
When I received news about a new Tori album, my innards flourished with excitement, and I expected new content, and I was looking forward to “another album of the year” (this may just account for myself), but instead what I alongside many other true fans got is one more commercial ad for an artist to add to the scrap heap. That is all this really is. I could understand if Tori wanted to apply this “orchestral” formula to new songs that she would write, that way this could actually be regarded as an LP, but installing it into her best songs was just bound for destruction, and thus resulted in just a remix compilation. The only albums she didn’t take songs from were
To Venus and Back and
the Beekeeper, which is rather funny, because they are her more average, and unrecognizable works, and would’ve been perfect applicants for a project like this. But no, you had to go and take an hour’s worth of my respect for you, and turn away many explorers. Thank you and Goodnight.
