Boys for Pele
Tori Amos Biography Part 5
In interviews, Tori often alludes to the fact that her 1996 release, Boys for Pele, was in large part fueled by her break-up with long time boyfriend Eric Rosse, sometimes hinting of a “love triangle.” Just before the inception of Boys for Pele, Tori had been traveling around Hawaii, soaking in the culture and studying the local mythology (of which Pele, goddess of the volcano, is a part). Whereas Little Earthquakes was the diary and Under the Pink was the impressionist painting, she described Boys for Pele as a full-fledged novel.
As the songs (or “girls”) started to come to her, Tori plopped down in a small church in Ireland, where she meshed a myriad of sounds (i.e. the harpsichord, clavichord, Leslie cabinet, organs, gospel choir, and…of course…church bells) with her piano and vocal to create her longest and most eclectic album to that point.
The jury was hung when it came to the music industry critiques. Some admired Tori for her ingenuity, bravery, and talent whereas others were confused and alienated by the cryptic lyrics. Hard core Tori fans have Boys for Pele to thank for sweeping their fave artist underground, as mainstream society wasn’t ready for lyrics such as “Father Lucifer you’ve never looked so sane…always did prefer the drizzle to the rain” and “Off with superfly, sniffing a Sharpie pen.” (We got it though!) Neither were they ready to welcome an artist into their life who openly admitted that some songs were concocted after a really interesting hallucinogenic trance (see lyrics to Father Lucifer).
Despite the nebulous nature of the lyrics, Boys for Pele went platinum in the U.S. and did equally as well in the U.K. The Dew Drop Inn tour was one of her most successful to date–with fans being drawn to her “aloneness” on stage with the piano and the harpsichord. Around this same time, Tori played a concert in New York to benefit RAINN which was televised, recorded, and immensely popular among fans.
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