Genre Pop Label Atlantic | Length 25:04 Producer Ian Stanley | |
Released August 20, 1996 (1996-08-20) Hey Jupiter
(1996) Scarlet's Hidden Treasures
(2004) | ||
"Hey Jupiter" is a song written and recorded by American singer-songwriter Tori Amos. It was the fourth single from her album Boys for Pele and was her first EP since Crucify in 1992. Hey Jupiter features a remixed version of "Hey Jupiter" followed by four live tracks recorded during her Dew Drop Inn Tour of 1996. The song is also featured on the double-A CD singles released in the UK and Australia.
Contents
Live versions can be found on the US "Bliss" single in 1999, the London show of her The Original Bootlegs series (2005), and of the 27 shows part of the Legs and Boots series, released over 2007 and 2008.
Official versions
The Dakota Version
The version of "Hey Jupiter" released on the EP differs substantially from the version which appears on the album Boys for Pele. It is not a remix, but a full re-recording. While the album version is largely a piano solo track, the Dakota Version adds many more layers including bass, guitars and a rhythm track taken from the earlier B-side track "Sugar" (though slowed down). Lyrically, new bridges and an extended coda are added, making the song even longer despite the fact that the third verse from the album version is omitted. The new version also emphasises the song's chordal similarity to Prince's classic power ballad "Purple Rain," which also featured an extended instrumental coda.
The Dakota Version has been performed on each of Amos' tours since the Dew Drop Inn Tour (1996). Traditionally, Amos performs the album version when on solo piano, although the Dakota version was performed on the vast majority of nights of the "American Doll Posse" world tour.
The full length version of the studio Dakota version is also featured on Tori's Anthology box set, "A Piano".
Personnel
Sales and chart performance
The US Hey Jupiter EP debuted at #94 on the Billboard 200. The EP remained on the chart for only 3 weeks before falling off in September. As of May 2008, 12 years after its release, the Hey Jupiter EP has sold 172,000 copies in the US, according to Nielsen SoundScan. The "Hey Jupiter/Professional Widow" double A-side single release peaked at #20 on the UK Top 40 chart. The Australian double A-side release debuted at #68 on the ARIA Chart in October 1996 and climbed the chart to peak at #17 in February 1997, maintaining the peak position for 3 weeks. The double A-side single remained on the chart for 31 weeks throughout 1996-97, ranking #65 on the Australian year-end top singles chart for 1997.
Music video
The music video for "Hey Jupiter" was directed by Earle Sebastian, who has worked with the likes of Bono, Madonna, The Fugees, and Missy Elliott. The video is set to the edit of The Dakota version, as opposed to the extended Dakota version or the LP version of the song. The video features Amos being guided through a burning building by a small girl.
According to Amos in the audio commentary provided on the video Fade to Red, the small girl represents an Angel that is leading her out of the physical world and into a spiritual world. Tori plays herself in the video trying to leave a relationship/addiction but can't so does something sort of crazy (commits suicide). The audience on the sidewalk watching the apartment building burn down resembles the people in our lives ('who know you well and not so well") who are forced to watch us self-destruct.