Beyond the Singles – Tori Amos on her most enduring album tracks: ‘Cruel should have been a single’

When Tori Amos speaks to Attitude before the release of her latest offering, In Times of Dragons, it’s evident that her vivid imagination and creativity are burning just as bright as when she first burst onto the scene with 1992’s culture-shifting Little Earthquakes, which is commonly cited as one of the greatest albums of all time. 

In Times of Dragons is very much a product of our current turbulent times, as Amos explains, “America is under threat by some of these people who are steering this experiment of democracy that we’ve had for several hundred years into a place of tyranny. This is a pivotal point in our timeline. We’re alive to witness it. We’re being called to respond. Some of us will answer and in different ways. This was a calling where I needed to document what was happening, but in an allegory form.”

The result is In Times of Dragons, which lampoons the modern billionaire class and their meddling ways through its story of a woman so empowered on escaping her rich, powerful husband that she… turns into a dragon. 

Here, Amos gives her unique perspective on some of the stand-out tracks across her long career, as well as a selection from her new album. “Just because something isn’t a single, doesn’t mean it doesn’t take on a life of its own and become part of a pantheon of songs,” she says. “Some of the songs we’re going to talk about were missed opportunities by the record label, because they didn’t understand. They were chasing last month’s concepts and ideas, instead of the future.”

‘Precious Things’, Little Earthquakes, 1992

“‘Precious Things’ is still much part of the canon. It gets requested and is played live a lot. To me, it hasn’t aged. It’s still fresh and current. For a woman to be saying some of those things – “so you can make me cum, that doesn’t make you Jesus” – let’s go! It’s fun playing it live but challenging. It has an energy, an electricity.”

‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’, ‘Crucify’ B-side, 1992

“When you’re able, as an artist, to cover a song that’s so strong, what I first do is talk to the song. I ask it, ‘What am I missing here?’ I first saw it [played] on MTV – in Sweden, I believe – and at the end of it, I was in absolute tears. I was in agony because there was such a grief to that – and underlying, pulsing, throbbing grief. As I began to rip the skin off it, the song said to me: ‘Just take me to the piano. I can hold it.’ This version is the ultimate version: it comes from the male mother, or mothers, who wrote the song. ‘But take me to the piano and let’s look at my anoma. The female perspective inside that’s bleeding.’” 

‘Baker Baker’, Under the Pink, 1994

“Tender. Sad. The end of a relationship. The beauty of that string arrangement from John Philip Shenale gets me still to this day. It tells the story of when love isn’t enough to keep you together. Whether you needed respect, to communicate better. You love them, but it’s over. Sometimes that’s a difficult place to come to. ‘Baker Baker’ tried, anyway, to hold that space. But it’s bittersweet.”

‘Professional Widow’, Boys for Pele, 1996

“The album version is interesting. I do a live version of that alone at an organ that you can find that I think I put on the re-release of Pele. It shows you the depth of agony that I had with my father. The song, as a songwriter, it’s complex. It’s not about one thing; that’s very reductive. It’s about many things. It’s about narcissism, which can happen in men or women. It’s about being a fame whore. We’ve all tasted that sorbet, my darling, from time to time. But some of us more than others. My father wanted to be Billy Graham. I’m talking about my father’s aspect and influence on that song; I’m not talking about anybody else’s. That’s conjecture. That’s for people to discuss, if they want. [The remix that went to number one in the UK] was a great, amazing job from Armand Van Helden.”

‘Cruel’, From the Choirgirl Hotel, 1998

“I’ve always felt ‘Cruel’ was a missed opportunity by the label. I felt that should have been the first single. I feel like they got it wrong. They got a lot of things wrong because they were behind the curve. I understand that looking back gives you 20/20 vision. But there was a time when that was right on time, that song. But, anyway, people found it. It’s something I’d like to pull out live again. ‘Cruel’ is very much about us all having our flaws, if we’re being honest with ourselves. If we can look at our part in things: ‘What is my part? What can I own? What is not my part?’”

‘In Times of Dragons’, In Times of Dragons, 2026

“As a songwriter, to build a world – that was a great challenge for me to explain to you. We start the whole album with the lizard king, the billionaire, and her, and his threat to her. Then I build you the world as I’m running, fleeing, with the clothes on my back. And maybe some jewellery, some diamonds, some Rolexes in a bag, because I can’t use credit cards; he’s going to track me down. ‘I know too much.’ You have to figure that this is a woman under serious threat. I’m building her story of what’s happened, who he is, his philosophy and his sadistic companions, what they believe in. This is really happening in the United States. This is based on truth. I’m documenting it but through her personal story.”  

In Times of Dragons is out now. This interview first appeared in issue 370 of Attitude magazine.