I’m so tuned into Tori at the moment sometimes I wonder if there’s anything left of Me. So here I was reading some more reviews of The Beekeeper, wondering why most reviews are so short, then I came across a review by some bloke that quite frankly repulsed me. I’m not going to provide a link to it, it’s simply not justifiable.

His complaint was that Tori was now too happy and therefore diving headlong into AOR territory. Lyrics that once needed a little bit of thought to comprehend were now replaced by clues from cryptic crossword puzzles. He then went onto explicitly wish Very Bad Things to happen to her family in order to drag Tori back to the emotional turmoil and glory days from Little Earthquakes through to From the Choirgirl Hotel.

So here are two thoughts: Firstly, what’s wrong with Happy? And secondly, The Beekeeper isn’t all Happy. Sure, there are references to her daughter Natashya (but then lots of Kristin Hersh’s work is chock full of family references, and much of that isn’t Happy), but there’s also a lot that harks back to the core of what makes Tori write the music she does.

Chapter 1 of Tori Amos: Piece by Piece covers her genealogy, the start of her career, and in great depth describes the profound and shocking influence her paternal grandmother had on her parents and herself. Chapter 2, entitled Mary Magdalene: The Erotic Muse takes this influence and her upbringing and explains how it affected her, particularly as a woman and as a musician. It’s a deeply intellectual piece of writing, which if I was so inclined could keep me in libraries for ages. Ever wondered why her Boys for Pelé album is so lusty, passionate and sexual? Blame it on the Dark Prince archetype. Ever thought that God is about God? It’s not. Well, not quite. Chapter 2 also includes a jawdropping recollection of an encounter with her future husband. And that hit me like a truck.

Okay, so I’m midway through Chapter 3 at present, and whilst, yes, I can appreciate that Tori is happy at the moment, it doesn’t necessarily mean that her music is Happy. Take The Power of Orange Knickers, from The Beekeeper. A duet with Damien Rice, that thankfully doesn’t include any strummy bits from him, is built around the idea of Personal Terrorism, battles between two friends, co-workers or lovers, hence “Those girls that smile kindly, then rip your life to pieces.” In any case, with lyrics so obtuse, that according to the reviewer are impenetrable, how can he assume that she’s happy? Is it just the music? If so, it’s hardly AOR. It does appear more generically commercial on first listen than her earlier works, but as I wrote previously there’s more to it than is immediately apparent. First impressions don’t count. You need to work with The Beekeeper and that makes it very welcome proposition.

I just wish that Tori had started writing books years ago.