The Beekeeper
Tori Amos Biography Part 10
Nothin’ gets Tori’s creative juices flowing like a good tour, so keeping “the boys” Jon and Matt on board, Tori embarked on another album almost as soon as she got home.
The Beekeeper was recorded in the Cornwall barn in 2004, bringing the solo Tori album count to eight. This time, Tori found inspiration from beekeeping of all things viewing it as an art dedicated to the feminine. She was all about reclaiming herself as a woman at this juncture, and helping her listeners do the same, although men could identify with it as well. For the most part, Tori focused on the oppression of woman by the Christian church and the political regime. The concept was indeed ornate, and even devout Tori fans had to struggle to wrap their heads around it.
Despite the obscurity of her theory, many songs on The Beekeeper remain accessible. Tunes like Sweet the Sting are pretty clear, as they tell the story of the artist and those that would bleed the artist dry. If some of the lyrics remain out of reach, The Beekeeper’s beautiful and catchy melodies keep listeners entranced. She mixed up her sound with gospel choirs and a B-3 Hammond organ. Suffice it to say, some people liked it and some people didn’t. The Beekeeper went to #24 in the UK and #5 in the US, and also did extremely well in Germany.
Sleeps with Butterflies, Sweet the Sting, and Cars and Guitars were released to the radio, with videos being shot for Butterflies and Sting. The video for Sleeps with Butterflies was an interesting piece of CGI work based on the art of Aya Kato. Sweet the Sting featured a practice session between Tori and a gospel choir. For the Original Sinsuality Tour (the world tour), Tori brought along Matt and Jon and the piano and her organ. The Summer of Sin (the American leg) is said to have been the “better” part of the tour.
Tori fans had been asking for it for a while, and the highlight of the Original Sinsuality/Summer of Sin tour was fan nominated cover songs. Tori obliged Kyle Minogue’s “Can’t Get you Out of My Head,” the Doors’ “People are Strange,” and Kate Bush’s “A Dream of Sheep” among many others.
At this same time, Tori released a co-written autobiography titled “Piece by Piece” in which she discussed her interests in Greek and Christian mythology, her years-long navigation of the music industry, and the process by which she writes songs. The book was good, extremely well-written, and chock full of Tori’s personal theories, discontent with the current state of Christianity, and her fascination with Mary Magdalene.
An unexpected blow, Tori’s older brother Mike passed away after a car accident. Tori wrote “Toast” for her brother while on the plane from his funeral and if one listens carefully, the refrain “take this to Michael” can be heard in the background vocals to The Beekeeper.
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