Tori Amos
The Beekeeper
(Epic)
Old fans sniffing that Tori Amos has lost it are like indie dopes who can’t grasp that bands want to sell records: If you don’t get it now, you never did. Buzzing in three years after Scarlet’s Walk, her epic interpretation of post-9/11 America, The Beekeeper blends Under the Pink’s balladry with Boys for Pele’s experimentation. It’s not as good as those—songs stand alone, not as parts of a whole—and too long at 19 tracks, but the heart-stopping melodies and lyrical magic are more than worth it.
—Tara Thorne
This article appears in Dec 6-12, 2007.