by John Diliberto on Amazon.com


In an era of digital downloads and singles, Tori Amos embraces the concept album in a sprawling 23-song oratorio. Firing across the American psychological, social, and political landscape, she takes on the state of the world, war, and feminism. To help her, she adopts five personas-her American Doll Posse-who take their characteristics from Greek gods, but not their names: Clyde, Pip, Isabel, Santa, and Tori. You need a scorecard to keep track, but don't worry. It's still Tori Amos, bending syllables in improbable pretzels with rippling piano themes and choruses that threaten to go Broadway at any moment. Amos vents her political spleen through "Isabel," leaving no doubt as to her targets on tracks like "Yo George," and comments on our impersonal age and computer addiction with "Digital Ghost." That's sung by the character "Tori," who is reputedly based on Demeter and Dionysus, representing the split between Amos's earth-mother side and her wilder, more libertine tendencies. Anti-war and pro-feminist themes are plastered across American Doll Posse like sloganeering posters. "Dark Side of the Sun" laments both sides of the war, including the Islamists who lay down their lives "for some sick promise of heaven." Amos adopts a big '80s rock sound on many tracks, with guitarist Mac Aladdin pealing off Brian May-style guitar licks over an arena-rock beat. It's where Amos details a more personal sound that American Doll Posse leaves a lasting impression. "Girl Disappearing," sung by "Clyde," holds echoes of the Beatles' "Eleanor Rigby," not only because of the string quartet and nostalgic tone, but the updated tale of a woman losing herself. "Smokey Joe" brims with dark atmospheres, Robert Fripp-like guitar sustains, and Amos's most elaborate vocal arrangements, interweaving two sets of lyrics for "Pip." More than a concept album, American Doll Posse is a convergence experience, mixing online blogs from each character, videos, MySpace sites, and more.

May 1st will see the release of a new album, American Doll Posse, written and produced by Tori herself and recorded in Cornwall, England. Tour dates for the album are as follows:

May 30, FLORENCE, ITALY
May 31, MILAN, ITALY

June 2, PARIS, FRANCE
June 3, AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS
June 4, HAMBURG, GERMANY
June 6, DUSSELDORF, GERMANY
June 7, MUNICH, GERMANY
June 8, VIENNA, AUSTRIA
June 10, STUTTGART, GERMANY
June 11, NURNBERG, GERMANY
June 13, COPENHAGEN, DENMARK
June 14, OSLO, NORWAY
June 17, BERLIN, GERMANY
June 19, WARSAW, POLAND
June 21, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC
June 22, BRATISLAVA, SLOVAKIA
June 24, BUDAPEST, HUNGARY
June 26, LJUBLJANA, SLOVENIA
June 29, ZURICH, SWITZERLAND
June 30, FRANKFURT, GERMANY

July 1, WERCHTER, BELGIUM
July 3, LONDON, UK
July 4, LONDON, UK
July 5, MANCHESTER, UK

......And yes, she is officially playing at the Oxegen Festival in Naas, Ireland, July 7th and 8th.

Certainly no easy task to pick - but these are up there...
Anyone who thinks otherwise, feel free to suggest your own preferences!



'Precious Things'

So I ran faster
But it caught me here
Yes my loyalties turned
Like my ankle
In the seventh grade
Running after Billy
Running after the rain
These precious things
Let them bleed
Let them wash away
These precious things let them break
Their hold over me

He said you're really an ugly girl
But I like the way you play
And I died
But I thanked him
Can you believe that
Sick holding on to his picture
Dressing up every day
I wanna smash the faces of those beautiful boys
Those christian boys
So you can made me come
Doesn't make you Jesus
I remember
Yes in my peach party dress
No one dared
No one cared
To tell me where the pretty girls are
Those demigods
With their nine-inch nails
And little fascist panties
Tucked inside the heart
Of every nice girl
These precious things
Let them bleed
Let them wash away
These precious things
Let them break
Let them wash away



'Original Sinsuality'

There was a garden
In the beginning
Before the fall
Before Genesis

There was a tree there
A tree of knowledge
Sophia would insist
You must eat of this

Original sin
No, I don't think so
Original sinsuality
Original sin
No, it should be
Original sinsuality
Original sin
No, I don't think so
Original sinsuality

Yaldaboath
Saklas
I'm calling you
Samael
You are not alone
I say
You are not alone
In your darkness
You are not alone
Baby
You are not alone



'Wednesday'

Nothing here to fear
I'm just sitting around being foolish
When there is work to be done
Just a hang-up call
And the quiet breathing
Of our persian
We call cajun on a wednesday

So we go from year to year
With secrets we've been keeping
Though you say
You're not a templar man

Seems as if we're circling
For very different reasons
But one day the eagle has to land

Out past the fountain
A left by the station
I start the day
In the usual way
Then think "well why not?"
And stop for a coffee
Then begin to recall
Things that you say

No one's at the door
You suggest a ghost
Perhaps a phantom
i agree with this in part
something is with us
i can't put my finger on
-- is thumbalina size 10 on a wednesday --
So we go
You tell me
To cheer up
you suspect we're oddly even
Even still
The eagle has to land

Pluck up the courage
And snap it's gone again
I start humming "when doves cry"
Can someone help me
I think that i'm lost here
Lost in a place called america



'Mother'

Go go go go now
Out of the nest
It's time
Go go go now
Circus girl without a safety net
Here here now
Don't cry
You raised your hand for the assignment
Tuck those ribbons under your helmet
Be a good soldier
First my left foot
Then my right behind the other
Pantyhose
Running in the cold

Mother the car is here
Somebody leave the light on
Black Chariot for the redhead
Dancing dancing girl
And when I dance for him
Somebody leave the light on just in case
I like the dancing
I can remember where I come from

I walked into your dream
And now I've forgotten
How to dream my own dream
You are the clever one aren't you
Brides in veils for you
We told you all of our secrets
All but one
So don't you even try
The phone has been disconnected
Dripping with blood
And with time
And with your advice
Poison me against the moon

Mother the car is here
Somebody leave the light on
Black Chariot for the redhead
Dancing dancing girl
And when I dance for him
Somebody leave the light on just in case
I like the dancing
I can remember where I come from

I escape into your escape
Into our very favorite fearscape
It's across the the sky
And across my heart
And I cross my legs
Oh my God
First my left foot
Then my right behind the other
Breadcrumbs lost under the snow
Mother
Mother the car is