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Tori Amos
Tori Amos
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Tori Amos (born Myra Ellen Amos) was one of several female singer/songwriters who combined the stark lyrical attack of alternative rock with a distinctly '70s musical approach. Her music falls between the orchestrated meditations of Kate Bush and the stripped-down poetics of Joni Mitchell. In addition to reviving the singer/songwriter traditions of the '70s, Amos revived the piano as a rock & roll instrument. With her 1992 album Little Earthquakes, Amos built a dedicated following that continued to expand with her second album, Under the Pink.

Born in North Carolina but raised in Maryland, Amos was the daughter of a Methodist preacher. By the age of four, she was singing and playing piano in the church choir; she began writing her own songs shortly afterward. Amos won a scholarship to Baltimore's Peabody Conservatory based on her instrumental prowess. While she was studying at Peabody, she became infatuated with rock & roll, particularly the music of Led Zeppelin. She began writing pop ballads and performing in local bars. Amos moved to Los Angeles in her late teens to become a pop singer. Atlantic Records signed her in 1987, recording an uninspired pop-metal album called Y Kant Tori Read the following year. The record was a complete failure, attracting no attention from radio or press and selling very few copies; nevertheless, she didn't lose her record contract. By 1990, Amos had adopted a new approach, singing spare, haunting, semiconfessional piano ballads that were arranged like Kate Bush but had the melodies and lyrical approach of Joni Mitchell. Atlantic sponsored a trip to England in 1991, where she played a series of concerts in support of an EP, Me and a Gun.

The harrowing "Me and a Gun" was an autobiographical song, telling the tale of Amos' own experience with rape. It gained positive reviews throughout the media, and both the EP and the concerts sold well. Little Earthquakes, Amos' first album as a singer/songwriter, was released in 1992 and sold well in both the U.S. and the U.K. The same year, she released the Crucify EP, which featured three covers, including Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" and Led Zeppelin's "Thank You." Delivered in early 1994, Under the Pink, the full-length follow-up to Little Earthquakes, was a bigger hit, selling over a million copies and launching the minor hit singles "God" and "Cornflake Girl." Two years later, Amos delivered her third album, Boys for Pele, her most ambitious and difficult record to date. The album debuted at number two and quickly went platinum. Amos spent much of 1997 dealing with personal matters, including a miscarriage and a marriage, and working on her fourth album, From the Choirgirl Hotel, which was released in the spring of 1998. The two-disc To Venus and Back followed in 1999 to coincide with a tour with Alanis Morissette. In 2001, Amos returned with the covers album Strange Little Girls, which also marked her last release for Atlantic.

The next year, she found a new label home with Epic and followed with Scarlet's Walk in October. Her eighth studio album, an autobiographical record titled The Beekeeper, was released in 2005. The massive five-disc Piano collection arrived in 2006, boasting a cornucopia of album cuts, B-sides, unedited and alternate versions, demos, and seven previously unissued tracks, followed by the typically eclectic and hard-rocking American Doll Posse in 2007, an all-new collection of songs that found the artist assuming five archetypal personalities, all of whom were based on feminine gods in Greek and Roman mythology. As she toured in support of the album, Amos released live digital recordings of each concert as part of the Legs and Boots concert series, which grew to encompass 27 albums. Although each release was made available via iTunes and other online vendors, Amos also released a "best of" Legs and Boots compilation in March 2009, having created its tracklist from various recordings during the tour. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music GuideMore

Official Profile

Tori Amos
Tori Amos will release her Universal Republic debut album, Abnormally Attracted to Sin, on May 19, 2...
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Fan Comments

12:02am
Tori, your rendition of 'star of wonder' is nothing short of amazing! thanks for keeping your individuality in a world of 'energy clones'. It's funny, I was telling my friend a Holiday/Seasonal album would be really fitting for you, and that it would be fascinating to see how you interpret the various pieces and which pieces you might choose. Later on that day i found out you were releasing M.G. Great, unique selections and of course, you never fail to produce incredible masterpieces. Thanks again for your Shadow and your Light. xox
Nov 7th, 4:33am
LOVE LOVE LOVE IT.....THANKS FOR THIS GIFT TORI!!!!
Nov 7th, 12:43am
I can't stand Christmas music...just not having....But...I LOOOOOOVEEE Tori Amos....alwasy have, and always will....anyone who knows anything about Tori is that she is Amazing, and that she doesn't do "CRAP"...whatever she does...she would never put out crap, period...end of subject....also you know that her songs walk into and through u when u least expect it.. then you're like, ah-ha, now i get it...that's another facet of her song genius: "The Girls" as she's called them...so it may take some time, but when it's right, then you'll hear them and just know....thank you again Tori
Nov 6th, 10:30pm
:D I enjoyed EVERY second of notes composed by Tori in this new seasonal album!... WOW!
Oct 12th, 4:19am
Hey guys, Brandi Carlile's new CD is really superb - I recommend going to her page!
-Madison
Sep 18th, 4:58am
hi Tori love Adam
May 25th, 2:57pm Last edited May 25th, 2:57pm.
such beautiful songs from a beautiful female
May 25th, 8:30am
I heard of her new album but I don't think its at our local music shop here in freo at the moment :( I wanna get it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
May 24th, 12:18am
MY BRO LOVELY TOM LOVE YA !
May 11th, 3:26am
I love that picture of Tori In the background. She looks absolutely gorgeous. A stunning, amazing woman indeed!