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===''Y Kant Tori Read'' through ''Boys For Pele''===
As Amos was consistently told "the girl and a piano thing was dead," she began co-writing her first album, ''Y Kant Tori Read,'' under a band moniker of the same name, released in 1988 on Atlantic Records. Featuring contributions from Steve Caton and Matt Sorum of later Guns 'N' Roses fame, the album contained some hints of her future artistry, but was generally percieved perceived as influenced by the popular hair metal of the decade. Amos has stated that at the time the record was made, she wasn't ready to face the personal demons she would confront later. The album was a flop critically and commercially, and when Amos talks about the project she often pokes good natured fun at it. She has occasionally performed a few songs from the album, and original copies of the LP are considered extreme collectibles to hardcore Amos fans.
After recovering from the mess of that first album, Amos later recalled that what turned her music around was rediscovering the piano, an instrument she had nearly abandoned. She then realized that she could never separate from it again, and that she should just do what she wants to, whether it's accepted or not. This reversal in thought brought about her debut solo album ''Little Earthquakes,'' centered around her piano and exploring themes like religious guilt, relationships, and, perhaps most famously, her own rape, released in 1992. This album shot Amos into the public's critically-favorable awareness, and began building her fanbase. Amos has described this album as her diary, and fans often find it as one of the most straightforward and accessible.
In 1994, Amos released her second album ''Under the Pink,'' which she described as an impressionist painting. This description revealed itself in the LP's more metaphorical lyrics, orchestral instrumentation, and references to literature and history. It's Its title refers to the idea of going beneath the stereotypes of femininity, and many songs deal with women's relationships with each other, particularly those related to betrayal. It is generally considered Amos's most classically influenced record. Near the end of the tour promoting it, Amos parted ways with her boyfriend of seven years, who had also served as producer for her first two albums. This, and other relationships with what Amos referred to as "baby demons," greatly changed her, as well as her next album.
''Boys For Pele'' was released in 1996, and was an extreme departure from her previous works, featuring her Bosendorfer piano, a harpsichord, gospel choirs, church bells, brass, a Leslie Cabinet, and many other miscellaneous instruments. The lyrics were also much more metaphorical, associative, and complex, either being praised for their brilliance or dismissed as self-indulgent. Amos has described the album as a novel. This was also the first time Amos had ever self-produced. She would later state that she wouldn't know who she'd be today if she hadn't made the record, as it was about her "finding her own flame," and had greatly expanded and strengthened her voice. The subsequent tour was famously intense, and the album itself is generally the favorite of many fans, or thought of as the most "perfect."
==''The Beekeeper'' through the present==
Amos' 2005 release entitled ''The Beekeeper'' was a return to more autobiographical material. It's Its major theme according to the singer was that of betrayal in a relationship, and also revolved around the idea of beekeeping and gardens. It contained a slightly more organic sound featuring gospel choirs, a Hammond Organ, and other elements. It is usually most fans least favorite album, although some love it. The former usually object to the production quality, certain lyrics, or the changes in her voice while the latter enjoy an album where no research into lyrical references is needed, and where there's more of an upbeat ambience.
For many though, much was riding on Amos' ninth album ''American Doll Posse'', released on May 1, 2007. This album was also based around a concept—Amos believed that too many American woman were pushed into boring or simple stereotypes (such as the "knickerless flirt" or the "career bitch"), and so wanted to create "new ones" where the women were much more interesting or empowered and so forth. Thus five women sing the 23 tracks on the album, based on the Greek pantheon: Santa/Aphrodite who is very sensual, Pip/Athena who is brutally confrontational, Isabel/Artemis who is an unbiased chronicler, Clyde/Persephone who is introspectively compassionate, and Tori/Demeter/Dionysus who was viewed as a stylized version of the artist herself. The record was greatly influenced lyrically and musically by the rock gods of the seventies, and many fans thought it was a return to edge for Amos, as did critics, praising it as one of her most accessible and fun LP'sLPs. This was her last record for Epic.
On May 30, 2008, the online Amos community discovered that the singer was no longer listed on Epic's official site. A user's question regarding this was officially addressed on Billboard's website, stating that Amos was now independent and planning on exploring the subsequent opportunities. A message from Amos regarding this was later posted on her official site, with hints at coming news in the future. ''Comic Book Tattoo,'' a nearly 500 page book containing over 50 comics by over 80 artists, each based on one of her songs, was released later in 2008. A DVD for the ''American Doll Posse'' tour, entitled ''The Road Chronicles'', is slated for a late 2009 release.
Amos's tenth studio album, ''Abnormally Attracted To Sin,'' will be , was released May 19, 2009. ''Midwinter Graces'', a seasonal album with a return to classical and baroque styles, was released November 10, 2009. ''Night of Hunters'' followed on September 16, 2011, featuring variations on classical pieces by her favorite composers. Taking inspiration from that project, ''Gold Dust'', released on October 1, 2012, was comprised of classical style reinterpretations of songs from her back catalog. A return to her more alternative rock-oriented sound came with ''Unrepentant Geraldines'', released on May 9, 2014. ''Native Invader'', an album loosely based around her mother's partial Cherokee heritage, was released on September 8, 2017. A second seasonal album, ''Christmastide'', was released on December 4, 2020. ''Ocean to Ocean'', an album focused on themes of loss, was released on October 29, 2021.
===Other work/miscellaneous===
In 1994, influenced by events in her past and by people she has met over the years, Amos also co-founded RAINN—Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network—the only 24/7, toll-free hotline in America, geared towards helping victims and survivors of abuse. She performed a benefit concert for the organization in 1997, at which her friend [[Maynard James Keenan]] of [[Tool]] performed, and has since donated to it repeatedly.
Amos was voted the fifth best live act by ''Rolling Stone'' in 2003, as she is known for her intense live shows and productive touring habits. Her setlists vary every single night, and since when she began touring with her band—Matt a band in 1998—which has variously included Matt Chamberlain, Jon Evans, Steve Caton (1988-1999), and Dan Phelps (2007)—in 1998, she and Ash Soan—she has usually has had a solo set in the middle of each show. Since 1991, she has performed over 1,000 official shows.
Amos is also known for her devoted fans, dubbed as "Ears With Feet" or Toriphiles. When the internet was just becoming popular, she was noted to have the most websites dedicated to her, and those still around today are extremely extensive in all areas of her career, and also have very active forums. As such she often makes use of her online fans: in 1996, her song "Caught A Lite Sneeze" was the first MP3 ever to be available for free download on the internet. She's also utilized such methods for ''Legs & Boots'' and other distributing systems.
Amos has also performed the first two lines of "[[Hurt (song)|Hurt]]" in concert—mainly between 1994 and 1999—and has made allusions to Nine Inch Nails in her solo work, most notably in "Precious Things" from ''Little Earthquakes'' and "Caught a Lite Sneeze" from ''Boys for Pele.'' In a 1994 issue of ''Vox'' Magazine, she listed ''The Downward Spiral'' as one of her top 10 favorite albums.[https://www.yessaid.com/timeline8.html] She also did a live [[Covers Of NIN|cover]] of "[[Something I Can Never Have]]" in 2014.
The two were obviously once close friends, and several interviews from the mid -nineties detail random encounters between the two, such as the "cursed chicken" story. [http://www.thanatopsic.org/music/trivial/tori-trent-rmta.html] Some mutual fans of the artists speculate their friendship once reached beyond that into romantic territory, based on these and other interviews, various NIN and Amos lyrics, and other similarities in work. Their Reznor has stated that Courtney Love had some involvement in the dissolution of their relationship . The status of it is currently undetermined, though it is has long been viewed as broken. However, based on Amos's willingness to cover "Something I Can Never Have" in 2014 and favorable comments by Love about Amos in recent years, the same aforementioned thingscollective rift has likely been softened.
==Body Of Work==