By now I’m sure Tori Amos is sick of being compared to, or lumped in with, Kate Bush. “We sound nothing alike!” she would protest, and it’s true. But they do have this in common: guys despise their music. Perhaps “despise” is the wrong word: guys can’t abide by their music, it’s a nails-on-the-chalkboard thing.
This seems to be true even among sensitive, feminist guys who concede that hating Tori Amos and Kate Bush is a black mark on their progressive reps, but nevertheless… they just can’t bear the sound of those gal’s high-pitched voices and tinkling pianos.
Part of me totally understands. Even though I am a fan of both Amos and Bush, I sort of can’t stand them, either. What? Well, it’s like this: the intensity and sincerity of these artists is off-putting to me. I think it’s mostly their vocal phrasing. Amos is the biggest offender here, as her singing voice is so obviously crafted and those affectations are as annoying as Madonna’s fake English accent. Amos and Bush have something in common here with Janis Joplin, I think. Her singing style was so incredibly raw and emotional, many men found it a turnoff. But no one can deny Joplin’s power, and the same goes for Amos and Bush.
I deeply love and admire these women and their work. No, I can’t identify with the most hardcore Tori fans, you know, the women who make “Tori Dolls” (not to be confused with the eponymous “Doll Posse” of her new album), lovingly hand-crafting these weird dolls and ascribing mystical power to them… nor those who celebrate the “female divine” or whatever in Amos and Bush’s work — not that I’m against the “female divine,” (whatever that is, exactly) but what can I say? That’s just not what I’m looking for in a pop music superstar.
What I do love about Tori Amos (and I’ll just stick to Amos for the rest of this review) is her creativity and her willingness to be annoying, confessional, intense, affected, and all the rest of it — the male rock critic world be damned. It’s really clear that Amos listens to only one critic: herself, and that’s truly something to be admired.