'Tales of a Librarian'

Greatest hits albums are long honored as desperate attempts to garner profit with minimal effort. Mariah Carey did it in Glitter's wake. Michael Jackson thinks Number Ones will make us forget his unshakable creepiness. Bankruptcy gone. Record contract saved. Slap a couple previously recorded hits together and watch the money roll in, right?

Not always. Tori Amos, for example, has earned the right to her first-ever compilation, Tales of a Librarian. Amos, who has been singing and songwriting for more than a decade, hand-picked her favorites and polished them up: most were remastered and some rerecorded. The result is a crisp anthology of classic cuts, with background vocals and instrumentation glammed up to keep things interesting.

The album relies heavily on older material, a move one Toriphile informed me has something to do with record label bureaucracy, but I'd like to believe was a conscious decision based on the fact that Amos's early years were her best.

Some fans will fixate on what was included, what was ignored and why "Professional Widow" was given a techno remix treatment. Chill, children. Not every song can make the cut, and all Amos had to do was include "Silent All These Years" and I'd be hooked.

Tales of a Librarian comes with more than tried-and-true classics. Included in the collection are two new songs, two rare B-sides and a DVD that delivers live performances, additional live audio tracks and photo galleries.

The best part of best-of albums? Realizing how good these songs are even out of context and breaking out past recordings for weeks' worth of musical rediscovery.

-- Reviewed by Caralyn Green