Tori rations

I haven't actually talked about my favourite singer/songwriter at any length yet. Time to rectify.

Tori Amos will be releasing a new album, The Beekeeper, in one month. This is the only recording artist who has convinced me to buy her work "sight unseen", as it were. She could release an album of children's nursery rhymes and I'd still want to buy it, even if it was so I could try to understand her motivations.

Her last full studio album came out in October 2002. I made the mistake of listening to far too much of the album before it officially came out, via leaks and samples. I don't intend repeating that error. One officially available single, one song aired on a French radio station available online and one promo clip is more than enough this time, without diluting the 'thrill of the new' when I get to hear all 79 minutes of The Beekeeper.

Instead, I'm listening to her existing work, one song at a time.

I did the maths when I made the decision, and if I'm right then 3 songs a day from her previous albums (including the obscure Y Kant Tori Read, but no B-sides or other non-album tracks) will bring me up to the new album's release perfectly. So I'm quite literally listening to Tori morning, noon and night.

Restricting myself to one song is pretty darn difficult sometimes. Like all my favourite artists, it's the strength of entire albums that attracts me, not just a couple of hit singles. The benefit, though, is appreciating some of the 'lesser' songs and remembering just how good they are. A relatively weak Tori Amos song is still preferable to a lot of what I hear on the radio.

And now, if you'll excuse me, I'm overdue for my regular prescription.