Hathie has kindly sent me a review of the Beekeeper from Spiegel Online, the online edition of one of Germany's biggest news magazines. This was posted on February 22, 2005.

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Thanks to Hathie for translating this from German into English:

Tori Amos - "The Beekeeper"
(Epic/Sony Music)

Oh, yet another album by Tori Amos - doesn't she keep on repeating the same thing again and again? Yes, she does. Ever since her breakthrough album "Little Earthquakes" that was released 13 years ago and is still popular among feminists, the red-haired pianist enjoys a reputation of a snug women's lib partisan with a tremendous voice. On her new album "The Beekeeper", a new start after the melancholic road-trip "Scarlet's Walk" (2002) and the cover album "Tales of a Librarian" (2003), she proves that among all the grievances she can actually let go and relax. She explains the particularity of this record as a harmonic yet whimsical interaction of her favorite instruments - the Bsendorfer Piano and the Hammond B3 organ. The usual stories about disappointed or insecure women in love, garnished as always with swirling piano melodies, are associated with a soulful gospel feeling, even spiced up sometimes with afro-cuban rythms. For the first time there is even a duet: The dreamy "The Power of Orange Knickers" is sung by Amos together with the songwriter Damien Rice. So for a change, there are a few things to be discovered on this pretty opulent album that has a running time of over 70 minutes. Among the highlights you find the melodic opener "Parasol", the sultry "Sweet the Sting", the ironic and rocking "Cars and Guitars" as well as the grooving "Witness". Just another album by Tori Amos? Sure, but certainly her most accessible and light-hearted album in years.