Published on Feb 25, 2005
Later-era Tori Amos has divided her feverishly-devoted fan base.
After
Strange Little Girls,
Scarlet’s Walk was greeted by some as a glorious return to
the songwriting craft of earlier (read – ‘best’) albums. Others
missed the freaky elements of
Boys For Pele or the studio records of
To Venus And Back.
Amos’s latest album,
The Beekeeper, marks her second concept album in a row she
has recorded. While
Scarlet’s Walk was about a journey across America,
The Beekeeper is far more abstract; dealing with hives,
hexagons and 19 songs, tucked into six different gardens. Take
that, Yes.
Scarlet’s Walk was a stellar album, meant to be listened to
as a whole. No doubt she intends you to listen to
The Beekeeper in the same fashion. However, unlike
Walk, there are some tracks that are instantly
memorable.
One of the biggest joys of
The Beekeeper is hearing Amos loosen up. “Sweet The Sting”
strays dangerous close to adult contemporary, but her quirky
delivery gives it a funky edge. And while “Hoochie Woman” may scare
some listeners away, it’s one of the more listenable tracks on the
album.
With
Strange Little Girls and
…from the choirgirl hotel, the piano took a backseat to
other instrumentations. With
The Beekeeper, the piano returns to the forefront. If
there’s an unsung hero for Amos’s albums, it’s drummer Matt
Chamberlain. Her unmistakable voice and her virtuosic piano make it
nearly impossible to mistake a Tori song from another artist.
However, Chamberlain’s clean, jazzy percussion has always propelled
her songs and gave them a much-needed gravity. His percussion work
nearly steals the show in “Barons Of Suburbia.”
Amos stretches your CD to its capacity with
The Beekeeper, clocking in at close to 80 minutes.
Unfortunately,
The Beekeeper suffers a hellishly drab middle section. Some
fans have endlessly pined for Amos to record another
Little Earthquakes. Ain’t gonna happen. It’s as likely as
Liz Phair recording another
Exile In Guyville. Hopefully, with time and patient ears,
fans will be able to weigh
The Beekeeper on its own merits and not lump it in to the
category of “Tori’s latest stuff.” Even after the third listen, the
sting’s getting more infectious.