Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
Thankfully in today’s world the fear of missing out should be one emotion we can surely relegate to the past; especially when it comes to the ability to have the opportunity to listen in comfort to a performance by an artist at the constant top of their game, and the luxury of being enthralled by the deep dive into the catalogue provided.
Whilst nothing can compare to the thrill of feeling the music sweep over you as the sound carries from the mind of the performer to the audience in their droves, we are at least permitted to sneak behind the curtain of sound and witness indirectly the magic of the wizard and the sorceress as they conduct and shape the process of illumination and deliver an album to our door so we can jump in, not miss out as we go head first in Diving Deep Live.
Tori Amos’ performances around the world have always been greeted with the acceptance of the virtuoso’s fierceness when it comes to observation and to the craft of song writing; not only as a song that grabs the attention, but as a narrative of the self, of finding the soul within and the worth of each human story of damnation and the redemption to come.
Diving Deep Live brings together Ms. Amos. Jon Evans, and Ash Soan as they stroll gracefully down the aisle of the unique setlist to which the American has become renowned, and as part of the 2022-23 Ocean To Ocean tour, the occasion is one of guiding presence, a fierce contribution to the continuing discography of one of the foremost women of art.
From the opening notes of God and Ocean To Ocean, Ms. Amos takes the listener through a kaleidoscope of emotions, colours of recognition, sensations that break the heart and build bridges and connections between the memory and the synapses, and as the captured songs of Amber Waves, Silent All These Years, Code Red, and Cornflake Girl reach the crest of the responsive influences, the energy and empathy of the free spirit is released into a world and sets the being on emotional fire.
Diving Deep Live is an album that touches on the immaculate influence, the reality of the live and the beautiful arrangement in all its wonderous effect; a set of songs that bring healing to the darker days we all endure.
Ian D. Hall