Tori Amos: Piece by Piece

by Tori Amos

Paperback, 2006

Status

Available

Call number

782.42166092

Publication

Broadway (2006), Edition: Reprint, Paperback

Description

An intimate, eye-opening look inside the life of one of the most unique and adored performers of contemporary rock music From her critically acclaimed 1992 debut, "Little Earthquakes, to the recent hit, "Scarlet's Walk, Tori Amos has been a formidable force in contemporary music, with one of the most dedicated fan bases in the industry. In "Tori Amos: Piece by Piece, the singer herself takes readers beyond the mere facts, explaining the specifics of her creative process--how her songs go from ideas and melodies to recordings and passionately performed concert pieces. Written with acclaimed music journalist Ann Powers, "Tori Amos: Piece by Piece is a firsthand account of the most intricate and intimate details of Amos's life as both a private individual and a very public performing musician. In passionate and informative prose, Amos explains how her songs come to her and how she records and then performs them for audiences everywhere, all the while connecting with listeners across the world and maintaining her own family life (which includes raising a young daughter). But it is also much more, a verbal collage made by two strong female voices--and the voices of those closest to Amos--that calls upon genealogy, myth, and folklore to express Amos's unique and fascinating personal history. In short, we see the pieces that make up--as Amos herself puts it--"the woman we call Tori." With photos taken especially for this book by the photographer Loren Haynes, "Tori Amos: Piece by Piece is a rare treat for both Tori listeners and newcomers alike, a look into the heart and mind of an extraordinary musician. Now, backstage at an undisclosed arena where the sweat of athletes is still perfuming my makeshift dressing room, my many conversations with Ann Powers have begun . . . "You come from the journalist side. I come from the artist side. It can become offensive. I'm sure from your side as well as fr… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member branwyn
Not your daddy's rock-star memoir, Piece by Piece is an explication of the personal mythological structure behind Tori Amos' songwriting. Part biography, part spiritual memoir, there is much here of interest even to newcomers to her music. Most of the writing is done by Amos, which is fortunate, as
Show More
Powers' writing, though it makes use of the same vocabulary, lacks Amos' lucidity and authenticity. Piece by Piece is worth buying in hardcover if you're a Tori Amos fan; others might want to get it from the library. (Or drop whatever you're doing and buy all of Tori's albums. Not that I have an opinion on the matter.)
Show Less
LibraryThing member deliriumslibrarian
I loved this book. I was hesistant about reading it, in case it turned Tori into another wannabe like Jewel -- but like Joni Mitchell, Amos is a gifted writer and a widely-read and extremely political person. She talks eloquently about the gender politics of the music business and has an amazing
Show More
gift (supplemented by Ann Powers' skilful editing) for weaving themes and images through multiple anecdotes and stories.
Show Less
LibraryThing member whimsyblue
Take Tori, her music, religion, art work, mythology, spirituality, voo doo and awesomeness and you might come close to this book. Must have for Toriphiles and dirty mouths with feet.
LibraryThing member wyvernfriend
Probably would get 5* if I was more of a fan of her work, this made me want to get as much of her back catalogue as I could and listen to it all. Friends have recommended her but I've resisted to this point and though reading a bit about her might be useful and interesting, and it was. This is the
Show More
kind of biography where you actually should know more about the music than I did and I would have loved to have had some more pictures, particularly of album covers discussed in the text. Still quite an interesting read, it did speak in particular to the mystical and feminist corners of my brain.
Show Less

Language

Physical description

368 p.; 8.1 inches

ISBN

0767916778 / 9780767916776
Page: 0.1356 seconds