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Amazon.com
In an era of digital downloads and singles, Tori Amos embraces the concept album in a sprawling 23-song oratorio. Firing across the American psychological, social, and political landscape, she takes on the state of the world, war, and feminism. To help her, she adopts five personas--her American Doll Posse--who take their characteristics from Greek gods, but not their names: Clyde, Pip, Isabel, Santa, and Tori. You need a scorecard to keep track, but don't worry. It's still Tori Amos, bending syllables in improbable pretzels with rippling piano themes and choruses that threaten to go Broadway at any moment. Amos vents her political spleen through "Isabel," leaving no doubt as to her targets on tracks like "Yo George," and comments on our impersonal age and computer addiction with "Digital Ghost." That's sung by the character "Tori," who is reputedly based on Demeter and Dionysus, representing the split between Amos's earth-mother side and her wilder, more libertine tendencies. Anti-war and pro-feminist themes are plastered across American Doll Posse like sloganeering posters. "Dark Side of the Sun" laments both sides of the war, including the Islamists who lay down their lives "for some sick promise of heaven." Amos adopts a big '80s rock sound on many tracks, with guitarist Mac Aladdin pealing off Brian May-style guitar licks over an arena-rock beat. It's where Amos details a more personal sound that American Doll Posse leaves a lasting impression. "Girl Disappearing," sung by "Clyde," holds echoes of the Beatles' "Eleanor Rigby," not only because of the string quartet and nostalgic tone, but the updated tale of a woman losing herself. "Smokey Joe" brims with dark atmospheres, Robert Fripp-like guitar sustains, and Amos's most elaborate vocal arrangements, interweaving two sets of lyrics for "Pip." More than a concept album, American Doll Posse is a convergence experience, mixing online blogs from each character, videos, MySpace sites, and more. --John Diliberto

Customer Reviews: Read 100 more reviews...

5 out of 5 stars

Tori Stardust and the Angy Inch May 1, 2007
79 out of 90 found this review helpful

For years I've read about how Tori has been inspired by great rock bands of the 1960s and '70s (The Doors, Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, etc.) and upon listening to AMERICAN DOLL POSSE in its entirety, I feel that she has finally let loose and really jammed with her talented bassist Jon Evans, drummer Matt Chamberlin, and guitarist Mac Aladdin on this long-overdue sonically heavy album. After all, it was her adoration of this music at such an early age that got her kicked out of the Peabody Conservatory, so it's good to hear her music being so directly influenced by it. She began hinting at her rock-tinged roots with some of 1998's FROM THE CHOIRGIRL HOTEL, even more so with 1999's TO VENUS AND BACK, and to some extent with 2001's covers album STRANGE LITTLE GIRLS, but she clearly had no inhibitions making this glam rock/rock opera-esque album which, as music reviewer Matt Mazur stated, plays out similarly to ZIGGY STARDUST and HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH. Consequently, I couldn't agree with him more.

POSSE is clearly Tori's most politically-themed album to date and I think she handles it with the right amount of subtlety without being too preachy. For as political as "Dark Side of the Sun" is, it's an amazingly beautiful song that nearly brings me to tears each time I hear it. I think that if an artist is going to release political music, it needs to be supported in some respect. Tori doesn't just wail "impeach Bush" she makes sharp observations such as "you have the whole nation on all fours," "you say you're not bothered to lie beneath pigs, then go on Laura, here's a flower for your grave" and offers some solutions, "I'll save you from that Sunday sermon, Boy I think you need a conversion." Her pain and sadness over an unjustified war is unmistakably evident. She's also clearly not a "W" fan yet she's passionate enough about her position to back it up, and herein lies the secret of the album's success: she's passionate about it. While I've liked her recent work (most of 2002's SCARLET'S WALK and about half of 2005's THE BEEKEEPER) the problem with those works is that they weren't always cohesive (possibly due to them being too long) and she didn't seem overly passionate about all aspects of them.

POSSE isn't just glam rock and political statements, which will surely appeal to the many Tori fans who worship her first (two) album(s). POSSE includes some "old-school" Tori sounds that are some of her most beautiful songs to date. The sonically subdued but vocally rich "Father's Son" could easily reside with the girls from 1994's UNDER THE PINK and a less percussion-intensive "Beauty of Speed" could pass as an alumnae from 1992's LITTLE EARTHQUAKES. The album also offers beautiful, emotion-filled songs from a contemporary Tori, which is important because all artists must evolve. "Roosterspur Bridge" and "Almost Rosey" are such tracks that remind us our piano goddess is still creating.

Despite how much I enjoy the "classic" tracks, I feel they are overshadowed by the real gems of the album, the rougher tracks such as "Teenage Hustling," "Code Red," the initial single "Big Wheel," and my already-favorite "Body and Soul". These songs are so full of energy and emotion, and they demonstrate how multifaceted Tori continues to be, while drawing from the musical inspiration that is at the core of her being. Another strong point for POSSE is that the songs are quite diverse, yet they compliment each other very well, the softer tracks balancing the harder tracks balancing even the pop, radio-friendly tracks such as "Bouncing off Clouds" and "Secret Spell." I hope fans of Tori's early works listen to and appreciate POSSE for the sonic menagerie that it is, but there will no doubt be people who don't think the POSSE lyrics are esoteric enough and that the overall tone of the album isn't EARTHQUAKES enough. Time will tell how well this album bodes with both the EWF and non-EWF crowd, but I think Tori has managed to do what she hasn't done in a long time: create a solid and musically satisfying album (even if it's 23-tracks long) that she's passionate about while continuously evolving musically and clearly re-creating herself.

5 out of 5 stars

Full of life May 1, 2007
75 out of 87 found this review helpful

A simple glance at the tracklisting for American Doll Posse is likely to have most people instinctively wishing that Tori Amos would edit herself a little. For the third time in succession she's pushing the capacity of the CD close to its limits.

Maybe that's partly because, in an age where the commercial single has all but died in most parts of the world, Amos no longer has b-sides as an outlet for the overflow of songs that seems to result most times she goes to the studio. But it would be a mistake to simply assume that ADP is a shorter album buried amongst b-sides. All successful musicians have to shape their impulses to fit what the market requires of them - Bach didn't write hundreds of cantatas just because he liked writing cantatas, but because he was paid to write church music. When he had an employer who loved instrumental music, that's what he wrote.

So, the market no longer wants b-sides and the personal mp3 playlist is king. Amos' response has been to create bigger albums. Do they work? Well, obviously it's partly a matter of opinion. But there tends to be an agreement among fans that the long, continuous thread of Scarlet's Walk worked somewhat better than the scattershot sweetness of The Beekeeper.

What about American Doll Posse? Is it a sprawling mess of an album? Arguably yes, although any sense of excess is helped by regarding it as a 20-track album, with 3 bonus tracks that just happen to be riding on the same physical disc. But it's a GLORIOUS, exhilarating mess.

The album starts deceptively with Yo George which, while lyrically pointed, is musically very reserved and almost polite. It gives no hint of the sudden burst of energy that unleashes Big Wheel, Bouncing Off Clouds and (after briefly lulling the listener into a false sense of security) the aggressive Teenage Hustling. Amos hasn't sounded this animated for close to a decade.

After that the tempo settles down a bit, but the energy level stays high. Part of that is because she sounds like she's having FUN. She clearly relishes throwing herself into forceful numbers like Teenage Hustling and Body and Soul, or the blatant swagger of You Can Bring Your Dog. There's plenty of humour in that track, Big Wheel and Mr. Bad Man, if only you're willing to hear it. This isn't the coolly analytical Amos that brought us the Strange Little Girls cover album. More than ever before, this is Amos the entertainer, urging us to get caught up in the moment.

There are moments of seriousness and repose as well, such as Father's Son and Girl Disappearing, the latter featuring a beautiful string quartet accompaniment. And Amos has included a fair number of lyrics referring to wars and bombs, especially in the songs that are credited to `Isabel'.

Ah yes, the concept. It seems that no Tori Amos album is allowed to go without one these days. In this case, it's best to regard it as a `take it or leave it' deal. If it helps you, use it, and if it doesn't then it can be quite safely put to one side. Amos has confessed in at least one interview that this time around, the songs came first. Really, the concept of five different singers is best regarded as a kind of acknowledgment that ADP covers a number of diverse styles, and a guide through the maze. And there does seem to be a degree of legitimacy in Amos' decision to demarcate the different approaches. For instance, there's a noticeable contrast between the dark aggressive singing of `Pip' and the higher-pitched, slightly pained emotionalism of `Clyde'. As different members of the posse enter and leave the stage, the album sometimes changes tack quite dramatically.

It's the sheer diversity of ADP that's likely to make it a hit-and-miss affair for a lot of listeners. Some people know what they like, style-wise, and what they DON'T like, and never the twain shall meet. You can lead a horse to water, so to speak.

But if you're the kind of person who enjoys a sense of restless exploration; if part of why you're even interested in a Tori Amos album is because she's refused to stick with the `girl and a piano' label she was so unfairly slapped with by lazy journalists and fans; if you can cope with jumbled yet inspired kaleidoscopes that hearken back to the Beatles' White Album, then American Doll Posse is going to give you quite a ride.

2 out of 5 stars

Losing My Religion? May 11, 2007
24 out of 37 found this review helpful

I love Tori Amos. I love Tori Amos with at least as much and possibly more verve and passion than every single one of you with your cursors hovering over the "This Review Was Not Helpful" button. I have been around from the beginning and have taken the entire ride, every height, dip and curve. Do you remember that picture of Tori nursing a pig that caused so much stink? Do you remember cringing at those rats running all over her in the "God" video? Do you remember the gut dropping power of "Choirgirl Hotel?" Do you remember "And I hate and I hate and I hate?" I do. And I just listened to American Doll Posse and I wonder where it all went wrong.
Concept album? So what. It still has to gel. It still has to be good. And this CD is jammed full of a ton of songs that it seems like I have heard Tori sing before. Sometimes more than once. Musically it is a tad more edgy than Scarlet's Walk and Beekeeper, but still a far cry from Choirgirl. Lyrically it comes off strangely flat. Like Tori has gone from empowering lost, pain and angst driven goth girls with real problems to empowering desperate housewives everywhere. Unless you want to discuss her political commentary as being somehow meaningful. The CD leads off with that "Madness of King George" schtick and it immediately set me on complete edge. Very Cheryl Crow. Very Dixie Chicks. But very Tori Amos? You have seen her video commentary and read her interviews--and I would imagine that discussing politics with Tori Amos would be akin to discussing...I don't know...beer brewing with Ronald MacDonald. But very Mariah Carey.
Is this a question of losing touch with reality...real reality? Is it a question of relevance? Is it a question of needing some form of reinvention? Or is it a question of needing to return to the bare bones roots of a girl and her piano? One of the best poems I have ever read poses the salient question, "Can the genius of the hero fall to the middeling stature of the merely talented?" God I hope not.
Look, you may not like this review. But I am not wrong. And I am tired of the tepid waters the goddess has been wading in over the last few years. Sink or swim. You may love Tori Amos enough to overlook the fiasco that is American Doll Posse. But I love her enough to say I am mad, and I am disappointed and I am close to the edge of not being able to take it anymore. I miss you, Tori.
How about a little less cornflake and a little more raisin?

2 out of 5 stars

Tori Fatigue October 10, 2007
22 out of 37 found this review helpful

I have been a huge Tori fan since Little Earthquakes and own just about everything she has released. While I might not listen as often as when we had Tori lyric reciting contests, she is still among my faves.

That said, American Doll Posse is practically unlistenable. Clouds Bouncing is great, and then there are 23 songs I can barely stand. It's sad. I also find the multiple photo thing and photo video a bit self indulgent. Dave Matthews, another of my faves, seems to have gone the same direction and it's tough.

The release of a new Tori CD used to mean months of constant pleasure enjoying the new sounds. This is just grating.

But hey, maybe it's just me. Seems like plenty of people still love it.

3 out of 5 stars

From painful to bland... May 8, 2007
17 out of 29 found this review helpful

I'm honestly shocked by all the 5 star reviews here. This is easily her most boring album, and it contains some tracks which literally made me cringe when I listened to them.

No, I'm not one of those people who hates musicians for changing, I have very much enjoyed every album she has put out (including Scarlets walk, and the Beekeeper) but this album, which while not horrible, is a clear sign of a downward trend.

In every tori album I ever heard there were always two or three (or more) songs that just jumped out and smacked you with their awesomeness and power, then you have others that sound good, and will grow on you, and of course as with all musicians a small handful of duds. This album had none of the second and few of the first, and too much of the last. There were no songs I just wanted to listen to again and again, and explore. I will give it time to try and grow on me, but as it is now, I really have no specific desire to play it again.

Not to say there aren't some good songs on this album. I liked dragon pretty well, but, I would have classified it as average on any of her other albums.

Yo george... just... no. I wont even go any further than that. Everyone should know why this "song" is just awful. Calling herslef a milf, good god. The cheesy sounding guitars....ugg

This isn't a complain about change, I'm all for the evolution of an artist, but to me her music was once urgent and full of fire and life, thats what Tori Amos was all about. This album just seemed like someone going to work.

Not awful, but uninspired, and well, just not that interesting.

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