Tori Amos has always been an experimental artist who has played around with concepts, themes and personas throughout her career on albums such as 'Scarlet's Walk' and 'American Doll Posse'. So it shouldn't come as a shock to find her latest album released on a world renowned classical label. Sure it's impressive and unique that Decca/Deutsche Grammophon should embrace an established artist from outside their usual sphere. But for Tori? Surely it's business as usual?

Well kind of. With my gross oversimplification I'm probably doing Tori a disservice by downplaying how tough a genre-straddling album like this was to make. I mean - she's already a classical trained pianist what else has she got to do other than drop the drums and write 'Winter' over and over again?

On my first listen I let the album wash over me waiting for something to jump out, something for me to grab hold of and give me a solid platform to work from. But the handhold failed to materialise and I was left without an easy way into the album.

In the end it wasn't those elusive hooks that brought me into the album rather the immensity of the whole undertaking. The rich and natural instrumentation, recording and subtleties are truly beautiful. Slowly but surely I'm beginning to realise that this is a Tori Amos album that I'll be playing compulsively - something which hasn't happened since 1998's 'From the Choirgirl Hotel'. This is hands down Tori's most successful 'concept' album.

Though moving into a more overtly classical direction this album still manages to evoke the drama of some of the more eccentric and dark performers of the rock genre. Players like Nick Cave and Kate Bush and maverick deconstructionalists like Tom Waits and David Sylvian - just listen to 'Battle Of Trees' which is based on the classical minimalism of Erik Satie.

Indeed the backbone of this album is based on variations from the likes of Schubert, Mendelssohn, Mussorgsky and Bach. What the classical community thinks of this I wouldn't know. I'm the only person I know that listens to classical music and, in my own humble opinion, I know fuck all about classical music.

Beyond the obvious classical colours brought out by the Apollon Musagete Quartet you really know that something new is going down upon hearing a scattering of non-Tori voices on this album - something that gives an operatic flavour to the album rather than that of duets. Tori utilises the talents previously used on 'Midwinter Graces' namely her niece Kelsey Dobyns and daughter Natashya Hawley. Judging by the vocals on 'Snowblind' and, in particular, 'Job's Coffin' Natashya herself has a bright future ahead of her if she chooses to continue singing. She exhibits some of the qualities and jazzy swing of much older singers like Regina Spektor and Bjôrk. And I say older because Natashya is still a few years shy of being a teenager.

Where Tori Amos goes from here no one knows. On paper this marriage between Tori and Decca/Deutsche Grammophon seems distinctly bizarre but in reality it's turned out a pivotal and important album from Tori. It's impressive as a stand-alone album and, whilst immersed in this album, it's hard to imagine Tori going back to her back catalogue and performing in the same way again. I'm sure that she will. But it's testament to the subtle power of this album that makes me doubt everything.

http://www.toriamos.com