Tori Amos

4 and a half stars. this is as amazing as the perfect cover promises. lyrics from each song from Tori Amos' 1992 album Little Earthquakes followed by a multi-page graphic art collaboration interpreting the song - sometimes literally using the lyric as text, sometimes developing a possible backstory for the lyrics, and sometimes riffing off the images, ideas, and sheer weight of the song. a labour of love and a perfect tribute to her seminal work from the vantage point of thirty years later. includes contributions from Neil Gaiman, Margaret Atwood, Bill Sienkiewitz, David Mack, Kelly DeConnick, and many many others.… (mehr)

I've been a Tori Amos fan since the mid-1990s, so this was a pleasure to listen to. Fans know that Tori has a special talent for storytelling in her songs; it was cool to hear that translated in book form. You have to approach this book as if it were an album. It jumps around in space and time but has an overarching theme that connects everything. Part autobiography, part social history, and part songwriter manifesto, this book was definitely an inspiration to me as an artist. Highly recommended for Tori fans as well as anyone who identifies as a creative artist. I'm not sure if the average reader who doesn't fall into these categories would get as much out of this book. For me, it has reignited a flame of approaching art as a form of resistance!… (mehr)

I was a big fan of Tori Amos as a teenager (20-25 years ago). This book is a pretty good example of "if you like someone who produces work of some category, don't read more autobiographical or opinion works due to the risk of spoiling your appreciation of their art...".

The first 5-10 minutes were horrible generic "RESISTANCE! Orange man bad!". Then it got a lot more interesting, with autobiography about her early career in DC. Listening to Tori talk about Operation Eagle Claw as and the formation of USSOCOM was at minimum surreal. The parts about her father (a preacher), her early career (playing piano in a gay bar, "the safest place for a 13 year old gir" with his support, etc were good.

Unfortunately that was really the only interesting part of the book -- otherwise it was a mix of "touring stories", which seemed to be a random combination of "persecuted fan reaches out", recitation of her lyrics, and generic "other political side is bad and oppressive" (with no information given to support this).… (mehr)