Tori Amos' latest was inevitable for the conservatory-trained renegade: a song cycle inspired by European classical music, clad in strings and woodwinds. It doesn't rock, but it waltzes, spinning a tale involving animated trees, demons and what may be peyote cactus tea. There are pretty moments: the clarinet-piano duet "Seven Sisters," the tag-team vocals on "The Chase," the lush closer, "Carry." But often it feels like musical theater in need of a stage production. Perhaps Tim Burton is available?

Listen to "Carry":

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“Let My Love Open the Door”

A peppy, hopeful love song, "Let My Love Open the Door" became a U. S. Top Ten hit for Pete Townshend in 1980, anchored by the kind of repeating synthesizer figures that he'd used in some of the Who's recordings in the previous decade. Although Townshend brushed the song off as "just a ditty" in Rolling Stone shortly after its release, in 1996 he revealed it was about love of the holiest sort. "It's supposed to be about the power of God's love," he remarked. "That when you're in difficulty, whether it's major or minor, God's love is always there for you."