Tori Amos - The Beekeeper

Genre rock Publisher Epic Records External Links Official Website Epic Records

After several listens through Tori Amos' latest "Earth Mother" release, The Beekeeper I threw my hands up in defeat. It became too exhausting to listen to 19 similarly spirited tracks, most of which are nothing more than plodding and dull and which smack of the worst qualities of New Age.

Is it too much to ask artists to rein themselves in a bit in this age of 80 minute capacity compact discs? If this were a double album, maybe it'd be easier to tackle. Like ordering a full sandwich knowing you can't finish it. "I'm not going to take another bite of The Beekeeper. I'm going to save it for tomorrow's meal."

There's nothing awful on Tori's newest release (though the insipid faux-funk of "Hoochie Woman" and the shrill "Barons of Suburbia" seem like parodies of those that Amos has influenced rather than Amos herself), but that creeping sameness destroys the better moments. Looking at the back cover, it wouldn't be too difficult to assume that the album has three "suites," with six or so songs divided between them. But that's only a good concept in theory, it just doesn't play out while listening.

The single, "Sleeps With Butterflies" is probably the best thing going for the album. It's distinctive, at least more so than the rest of the album, and the label and/or Amos were wise to release it to kick off the album. It gave me, a fan of Amos when she's a little more focused (let's face it, the woman is a tad "flighty"), some hope. Alas, this album is about as focused as a man attempting to converse with a woman while there's a TV in the same room.