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With this debut, Tori Amos rose above the inevitable Kate Bush/Joni Mitchell comparisons, producing a stunning set of brutally honest and emotionally wrought songs. A skilled and imaginative pianist, Amos also proved a versatile vocalist, moving from whisper to scream in an instant. She concentrates on intimate stories of her religious upbringing, childhood traumas, and predominantly, sex, self-discovery and unhappy relationships. "Silent All These Years" was the first to hit a nerve with the public on single release, but all the tracks--memories of her father in "Winter," the bittersweet "Happy Phantom," the harrowing account of her own rape, "Me And A Gun"--combine to make this inspiring, if rarely comfortable, listening.