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Here are my selections of my fave music of the year. I’m afraid it was another lackluster year in music releases but, thankfully, there was enough great music to make 2009 bearable. Here is my list of my Top 10 Fave Albums of 2009 in reverse order:

At #10 is a tie between Whitney Houston‘s I Look To You and Mary J. Blige‘s Stronger With Each Tear:

Whitney Houston managed to pull off a stunning comeback with I Look To You (an album she’s been promising for years now) and I was lucky enough to be among the first folks to hear the album at an album listening event here in SoCal. Whitney‘s ’09 effort is full of great tracks, many of which got a lot of play in my house this year. Mary J. Blige‘s album just came out last week and I’m already crazy in love with it. It almost didn’t make the list but I’ve been listening to it non-stop since I bought it … compared to so much of the garbage that was released all year long, Stronger With Each Tear really shines brightly.

At #9 is Pete Yorn‘s Back & Forth:

Pete Yorn released another album this year with Scarlett Johansson and that disc, IMHO, is horrible. Back & Forth is classic Pete Yorn, full of great songwriting and melodies. There is a quality to Pete’s voice that really resonates with me … always has since he debuted on the music scene. This album is one of my fave pop/rock albums most definitely.

At #8 is White Lies, To Lose My Life …:

This British band was recommended to me by a Pink reader and I am so thankful for the head’s up. White Lies have this gothy sound to their music, which is most deffo pop in nature. They remind me a bit of a pop version of Bauhaus. This album was a very nice discovery this year. I can’t wait to hear more from this young band.

At #7 is Mariah Carey, Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel:

To be honest, this album is far from Mariah‘s most successful album … and that is a damn shame. There are a bunch of really great Mimi tracks on this album that are just as good as the biggest, most successful singles of her career. It wasn’t until my good friend David Russell declared this album Mariah Carey‘s best of all time that I gave it serious consideration (David‘s opinions on pop music are impeccable). This is a great Mariah album, one which will prolly not be listed as such among her other monster hit releases.

At #6 is Bat for Lashes, Two Suns:

Lush, sensuous, mesmerizing, beautiful, magical. I can only think of adjectives when describing this album. It is a stunning effort by a new star on the musical landscape. My only wish is that Bat for Lashes enjoys a very long career so that she can continue to make music this wonderful.

After the jump, check out my Top 5 Fave Albums of 2009 and check out my Top 10 Singles of ’09 …

On Wednesday I shared a bunch of promo images of Tori Amos from the liner notes of her new holiday album Midwinter Graces and I expressed that the disc is absolutely one of her best albums ever. Hearkening back to Tori‘s early solo music, Graces sounds like the classic Tori Amos that we all know and love. Today we get to read an interview that Tori did with New York magazine about her new album wherein she talks about how she made Xmas music in her own style by first educating herself on the origins of Xmas carols:

It’s been a busy year for singer-songwriter Tori Amos: After releasing her tenth studio album, Abnormally Attracted to Sin, in May, she found time during the ensuing tour to record her first holiday-themed record, Midwinter Graces, which arrived in stores yesterday. Her dramatic piano lines are intact, but the album deviates from Amos’s traditional style (most notably, it includes Christmas songs). As the daughter of a Reverend, Amos grew up surrounded by theology, and Graces is steeped in interpretations of old religious hymns. Vulture spoke with Amos about her new album on the phone from her home studio in Cornwall, England.

How did your upbringing influence this album?
There’s all kinds of memories. I remember driving to North Carolina when
I was a little girl in a snowstorm to get down to my mom’s family in the Carolinas. There were chains on the car — it was the late sixties — and we were just singing in the car. Christmas carols. And it was one of those things where of all the music that my dad turned me on to, the Christmas carols are what I related to a lot more than any religious music that the Methodists were pushing.

But these songs don’t stick to classical interpretations.
I love the classic crooners, but I got that from my mother — she worked in a record store. But my dad was a minister, so …

It’s more hymnal based.
Oh yeah. But during research I thought, Why does this music sound better than the other hymns? Little did I know at the time, but a lot of those songs used to be popular drinking songs and sea shanties for the Brits. “Nowell” — the correct spelling is N-O-W-E-L-L — there’s this book called the Oxford Book of Carols which tells you the origins of the melodies. Some of them go back so far. And what would happen is, these new denominations would be popping up and they’d think, “Oh, God, we need some hit songs.” So they’d take a popular song and put Christology to it. I’ve carried on the tradition. I’ve done variations of the themes that were variations of the themes.

What are some of the variations?
I did go to the Peabody Conservatory and figured that it needed to come in handy somewhere down the line. So I decided [to] bring in the string section, bring in the big band. And I love the big band and I think that’s where you get the song “Pink & Glitter.” And I think that was inspired by those old crooner songs.

Is writing in this style harder for you?
Well, in order to make this kind of record and to have it work, I needed to know what the carol writers were doing, then you need to know the theology of where it came from in order to change it. I did change it in making it more inclusive rather than exclusive. Because some of these lyrics were written, it was in a very puritanical time. Women had no rights, they couldn’t vote. Some of the music would’ve been fifteenth century.

I love Tori Amos interviews, I always end up learning something new. Did YOU know that Xmas carols were written as drinking songs back in the day? I love that! Even before I heard the album, I knew that Tori would do her research first and then make the traditional songs we thought we knew into something wholly hers. I cannot stress enough how great this album is … I’m very happy to read in the comments that some of y’all agree that Midwinter Graces is one of Tori‘s finest albums. If you’ve yet to hear it for yourselves, you can listen to the album in full HERE … and if you love it, I urge you to buy a copy to own. This album actually makes me look forward to Xmas … cuz it reminds me that what we are really celebrating is the Winter Solstice :)

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On Tuesday, Tori Amos released her first ever holiday album titled Midwinter Graces (which you can stream online in full HERE) and today we get to check out the new promo photos that are included in the album’s liner notes:

Having listened to the album quite a few times since it became available online and after purchasing it myself, I feel that I need to insist that any and all Tori Amos fans immediately rush out and buy this album if you have not yet done so. Pay no mind to the fact that the album is a “holiday album”, each of the songs has been reworked or is an original composition that is distinctly Tori Amos. In all honesty, this is one of THE best albums Tori has released in many years. The orchestration and performance on the disc hearkens back to Tori‘s early days of music-making while still feeling fresh and new. I’ve been listening to the album almost non-stop since I got my hands on it, and I hate Xmas music. If for nothing else, the album is a must own considering it features Tori‘s dauther Natashya Lórien singing with Tori on the song Holly, Ivy and Rose — the song is just so beautiful! After the jump, check out the rest of the promo photos featured in the liner notes of Midwinter Graces …

Tori Amos‘s new holiday album Midwinter Graces, which we first heard about back in September, will finally be available for sale next Tuesday November 10 but starting today we are able to listen to the album IN FULL right here online:

Tori Amos’ first ever seasonal album, Midwinter Graces, is an album that has been in the making for the past 40 years. Raised in the Baltimore area under the watchful eye of her Methodist minister father, Tori grew up playing holiday carols at Sunday services and Christmas Day celebrations in her father’s church. These were the songs that gave a young Tori her first taste of music, and now, almost 40 years later, Tori gets her own chance to re-imagine classics like “What Child, Nowell” and “Star of Wonder.” Tori will also add her own bittersweet bliss to the season with original tracks like “Pink and Glitter” and “Our New Year.” Amos has teamed up again with longtime collaborators Matt Chamberlain (drums), Jon Evans (bass), and Mac Aladdin (guitar.) Tori has also enlisted the help of a big band and an orchestra, with stunning John Philip Shenale arrangements to create her new seasonal classics.

You may recall that last month we got to listen to snippets from Midwinter Graces but now we can hear all 12 songs in full. After the jump, enjoy your first listen of Tori‘s first ever holiday album …

Last month we learned that the musical goddess Tori Amos would be releasing a holiday album titled Midwinter Graces this Xmas season and not only got to see the official album cover artwork but we also got to see the album tracklisting. Today we get to check out a new promo image from the album and can preview clips of each of the songs on the disc:

Okay … I love me some Tori but the promo photos for this album are sooooo over-the-top (including the album artwork). I understand that this red dress was created by designer Bernard Chandran … even still, I am really looking forward to hearing this album in full. Undented is reporting that the disc will be released in a standard version and a deluxe version which will include two extra songs, Comfort And Joy and Stille Nacht! Heilige Nacht! (Silent Night! Holy Night!), as well as a bonus DVD. Thus far there is no word on what the DVD will contain but, knowing Tori, it’s bound to be amazing. After the jump, hear a short preview of the album and check out two more promo photos from Midwinter Graces — these next two photos are much less dramatic and are deffo worth checking out …

Tori Amos, goddess extraordinaire, has announced on her official website that she will be releasing a holiday album titled Midwinter Graces in November. At meet + greets with fans during this Summer’s Sinful Attraction Tour, Tori let slip the news that she would be releasing an Xmas or Winter Solstice album this year, so I’ve been expecting this announcement. Here is the full text of Tori‘s announcement complete with album tracklist:

After nearly two decades writing and recording some of her generation’s most emotionally powerful music, Tori Amos will release her first seasonal album, Midwinter Graces, on November 10 via Universal Republic. A follow up to Tori’s critically acclaimed studio album, Abnormally Attracted to Sin, Midwinter Graces will find Tori reworking and expanding on classic carols as well as developing some of her very own seasonal tracks. Midwinter Graces is an album that has been in the making for the past 40 years. Raised in the Baltimore area under the watchful eye of her Methodist minister father, Tori grew up playing holiday carols at Sunday services and Christmas Day celebrations in her father’s church. These were the songs that gave a young Tori her first taste of music, and now almost 40 years later Tori gets her own chance to reimagine the classics. For Midwinter Graces, Amos has again teamed up with long time collaborators Matt Chamberlain on drums, Jon Evans on bass, and Mac Aladdin on guitars. Tori has enlisted the help of a Big Band and an Orchestra with stunning John Philip Shenale arrangements to create Tori’s new seasonal classics.

After the jump, check out our first look at the album artwork for Tori Amos‘s Midwinter Graces and see the album’s full tracklist …