Personnel: Tori Amos (vocals, piano, Mellotron, synthesizer, sound effects); Steve Caton (acoustic & electric guitars, mandolin); Stewart Boyle, Willy Porter (guitar); Al Perkins (pedal steel guitar); The Sinfonia Of London (strings); Matt Chamberlain (marimba, drums, percussion); George Porter Jr., Justin Meldal-Johnsen (bass); Andy Gray (programming). <p>FROM THE CHOIRGIRL HOTEL was nominated for the 1999 Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Performance. "Raspberry Swirl" was nominated for the 1999 Grammy Award for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance. <p>With her abstract lyrics, idiosyncratic piano playing and quirky arrangements, Amos has rewritten a good deal of the post-Laura Nyro poet-gal-with-a-piano rule book since 1992's LITTLE EARTHQUAKES. As her legions of fans can attest, she's already made it plain that she can do the intellectual artiste thing with aplomb. What she proves on FROM THE CHOIRGIRL HOTEL is that she can also rock out with the best of them. <p>This recording finds her retreating a bit from the singer/songwriter-with-backing-band approach of her previous recordings in favor of a more band-oriented approach. Though the songcraft here is up to her usual standards, many of the tunes sound as if they were the product of Amos working closely with her musicians and feeding off their inspiration, rather than cloistering herself away with her diary and piano. It is this development that makes CHOIRGIRL HOTEL such a refreshing change of pace, and marks the next chapter in the continuing evolution of Tori Amos.