Every Mrs T work is always like travelling. Not physically. Tori Amos likes to take voyages into the deepest places of the mind, heart and soul, both in a personal yet social and politcal way.
Her point of view varies and yet stays the same, looking within herself and at the whole world and people as they both constitute the same being, with different aspects, thoughts, actions and essences.
Even if there's a constant, some kind of signature, in what she talks about, this time she let herself explore more, both on the musical and meaning side.
To do this, she dropped herself into five different alter-egos, each of them with their perspective and view of the world, inspired to some Greek Olimpo Goddesses.

The album opens the path into this journey with Isabel (HisTORIcal), inspired to Artemis. This "doll", as she calls them, gives the view about actuality and politics, she's the one who looks around at the outside world and points her metaphorical camera (she's a… more »

Every Mrs T work is always like travelling. Not physically. Tori Amos likes to take voyages into the deepest places of the mind, heart and soul, both in a personal yet social and politcal way.
Her point of view varies and yet stays the same, looking within herself and at the whole world and people as they both constitute the same being, with different aspects, thoughts, actions and essences.
Even if there's a constant, some kind of signature, in what she talks about, this time she let herself explore more, both on the musical and meaning side.
To do this, she dropped herself into five different alter-egos, each of them with their perspective and view of the world, inspired to some Greek Olimpo Goddesses.

The album opens the path into this journey with Isabel (HisTORIcal), inspired to Artemis. This "doll", as she calls them, gives the view about actuality and politics, she's the one who looks around at the outside world and points her metaphorical camera (she's a photographer) on social and political aspects of contemporaneity.
The most characterizing songs of her are the little "Yo George" and the bitter-sweet "Almost Rosey".

The second doll to appear is Tori (TerraTORIes), herself and yet not her. Tori Amos plays Tori Amos enphasyzing some of her own aspects in some kind of caricature, just like as she were in front of a mirror looking at what the woman she sees has made and still wishes for herself.
Tori represents herself as Demeter and Dyonisus and gives voice to the U.S. single "Big Wheel".

Following up, we find Clyde (CliTORIdes), representing the underworld Goddess Persephone, and voice to the European single "Bouncing Off Clouds". Clyde's the most inward looking doll, as Tori declares "She is trying to figure out what she believes in and she is dealing with having been disappointed in her life". The maybe most characterizing Clyde's songs are the rocambolesque "Beauty Of Speed" and the sad but hopeful "Girl Disappearing".

The journey, then, break into the strenght of Pip (ExpiraTORIal), inspired to the goddess of war, wisdom and strategy Athena. She's the strong one, the wise and the rebel all in one, she looks for justice, she sounds rageous and yet reasonable. She's the one who looks at the painful moments of life and finds courage in them. Her most evoking songs are "Teenage Hustling" and "Smokey Joe".

The last, but not least, doll is Santa (SanaTORIum), representing the Greek Goddess Aphrodite. Santa turns her sexuality into her business card, intending it as a natural part of all women, not a weapong against men, but one of the ways in which a woman can be a whole complete being. Her best representative songs are "Dragon", "Programmable Soda" and the b-side (on the bonus DVD) "My posse can do".

"American Doll Posse" is far to be the best Tori Amos's work, mainly due to the much elevate number of tracks that can cause the listener to lose the goal of it sometimes. However this album has many excellent shots and, like good wine, it grows on time. It needs to be raised and to be read, not only listened to.
It encloses a world in which everyone's involved and taken into, addressing to both the youngest and eldest.

Musically it sprites into a various set of sounds, inspired to different genres but with the unique and recognizable touch of Tori onto her Bösendorfer along with Fender-Rhodes, electric-piano, Wurlitzer, clavichord and a mellotron.

For those who still know Tori Amos is a must have, for those who never listened to something of her's is a good chance to have a chance.

"And when I hear of one more bomb
Yes, we have all been robbed of song
And nightingales who throw their arms up
When is enough enough?"

Almost Rosey