Hometown: Baltimore, MD
First recordings: 1980

Personnel:
Tori Amos -pianos and keyboards, strings, vocals
Steve Caton -bass, guitars, backing vocals
Paulinho Da Costa -percussion
Will McGregor -bass
Carlo Nuccio- bass, drums
Eric Rosse -drums, keyboards, percussion, backing vocals
Jef Scott -bass, guitar

Bands In The Family:
Y Kant Tori Read, Carl Craig

Notes:
Born Myra Ellen Amos in Newton, North Carolina, the girl who would be Tori was given her name by a friend's boyfriend, who thought she just looked more like a "Tori." Growing up in a strict Christian household, she found release by playing on the piano at her Cherokee grandparents' house. Her grandparents would sing to her daily and teach her the legends surrounding nature and dreams - themes that reappeared in many of her songs. She released her first single with help from her brother Mike Amos at the age of 17. It was called "Baltimore" and was written for the Baltimore Orioles. At the age of 21, Amos moved to LA where she formed Y Tori Kant Read with Brad Cobb, Matt Sorum and Steve Canton. The band was noticed by a producer from Atlantic Records, who signed them shortly thereafter; Y Kant Tori Read only released a few singles before breaking up in 1989. She continued to play in bars and nightclubs before eventually releasing her first solo album Little Earthquakes in 1992, spawning the hit single "Silent All These Years". Under The Pink followed in 1994, and Boys For Pele saw something of a commercial breakthrough in 1996 (as well as Tori's surprising crossover into the clubs via Armand Van Helden's remix of "Professional Widow"). By the time From The Choirgirl Hotel reached its anxious audience in 1998, Tori had built one of the most fanatical followings in pop music. Her fifth album To Venus and Back features live versions of older songs in addition to 11 new originals.

Links:
Tori Amos Mothership
We Love Tori Amos

Shock Me Sane
Great title, neat design, lotsa streaming stuff...not the most frequently updated site, but definitely one of the best on the Web.

Were Little Earthquakes merely an album that featured Tori Amos' unique vocal style, we wouldn't be talking about this album nearly ten years removed from its original release. Scarier than Marilyn Manson, more sexually explicit than Madonna, the thoughts of Tori Amos are far creepier because there's no façade to speak of, and that's where the power of Little Earthquakes lies.

With Y Kant Tori Read not completely out of Amos' system, musically, a few of the arrangements veer toward the embarrassing, yet mixed with the touchy topic of rape, they work extremely well. The metal guitars on "Precious Things" only add to the chaos when Amos says things like: "I wanna smash the faces of those beautiful boys/Those Christian boys/So you can make me come/That doesn't make you Jesus" while simulating violent screams. Any snickers detractors may have for such trappings on songs like "Girl" and "Leather" will be silenced by probably the most disturbing a cappella song you'll ever hear: "Me and A Gun." Calling it intense is not giving the performance enough credit.

Yet despite the frightfully vivid rape images over many songs, Amos also displays a knack for describing the pathos of relationships, using only her voice and her incredible piano playing. "China," with a wall of sound as expansive as the country itself, portrays a long-term relationship breaking at the seams as she poetically notes, "Funny how the distance learns to grow." The evocative, wrenching lyrical assault of "Mother" is just as memorable. Yet it's with the delicate "Winter" where Amos soars. It's as if merely listening to the song would open one's eyes to the turbulence of life, love, and adolescence. The epic climax leaves Amos spent - you can hear it in her voice, and you can't help but feel the same.

There are some albums that just affect you regardless of age. If you don't feel something after listening to Little Earthquakes, you'd better check your pulse. It was the design for most female songwriters of the 1990's to follow, and they all owe substantial tribute to her for it. Indeed, the Muse had finally found Tori's address. She delivered a collection of songs and emotions unparalleled by any other female artist this decade.

If you like Tori Amos, check out:
Tori Amos Boys For Pele
Tori Amos To Venus And Back
Tori Amos Under the Pink
Tori Amos From The Choirgirl Hotel
Kate Bush Hounds Of Love
Laura Nyro Eli And The 13th Confession

-- Pierre Stefanos