This week’s cover song featured above is one that I have been playing for many years now. It is the only song in Tori Amos’s canon that I cover. I revere her work, but because I always aim to be as original as I can with my music, keeping a healthy distance from actually playing her compositions has felt necessary. I do not want to be an Asian version of her. Tori as herself is plenty for the world.
With that said, my version of “Baker Baker” has a different piano arrangement than the original, but I believe I have stayed true to its spirit.
This song has always felt like an act of supplication—plaintively accounting for past wrongs and missed opportunities.
Its vulnerability is palpable, and I wish I had written it.
For that matter, there are actually quite a few songs of hers I wish I had written. Here’s a list right off the top of my head:
- China
- Cooling
- 1000 Oceans
- Silent All These Years
- Sorta Fairytale
- Bouncing Off Clouds
- Beauty of Speed
Oh, I can go on and on.
Tori is a masterful story teller who uses both her voice and the piano to weave together enchanting tales rich with nuance and emotion.
She has a new album arriving soon, and I might spend a day to myself quietly soaking it in.
Tori, as herself, is absolutely all we need.