Tori Amos

At the time of her debut in 1992, Tori Amos' captivating storytelling and quirky yet sublime mix of piano, pop, rock, and classical music were as conspicuous as her flaming-red ringlets among the dark-haired pop divas who ruled the charts. Since then, Amos' uncompromising studio albums and cathartic concerts have earned her recognition as one of the most influential artists of the past two decades while inspiring a legion of devoted fans. Rhino Records brings together Amos' classics, rarities, remixes, and previously unreleased music for A PIANO: THE COLLECTION. Presented in deluxe packaging that resembles a piano's keyboard, this five-disc boxed set is available September 26 at regular retail outlets and at www.rhino.com for a suggested price of $74.98.

Produced by Amos, the career-spanning collection highlights selections from her studio albums as well as B-sides and songs that debuted on Tales of a Librarian, a recent 'Best of' compilation. Featuring numerous unreleased songs, the boxed set contains a total of 86 tracks that combine well-known studio versions with rare alternate mixes, including several songs Amos remixed for this project. A PIANO: THE COLLECTION also offers a revealing and extensive track-by-track commentary penned by Amos, who discusses the inspiration behind the songs and albums and explains why they were chosen for this boxed set.

The compilation's first disc includes an extended version of Amos' 1992debut, Little Earthquakes. The classic album has been augmented not only with a different song sequence and alternate mixes but it also features its four original B-sides "Upside Down," "Take To The Sky (Russia)," "Sweet Dreams," and an alternate mix of "Flying Dutchman," as well as the previously unreleased, unedited single version of "Crucify."

Spotlighting music recorded between 1994 and 1996, the second disc includes songs from Under the Pink and Boys for Pele. The 18 tracks blend original and remixed versions of albums cuts with the B-side "Honey" and "Professional Widow" performed live. Also included is "Take Me With You," an unreleased song intended for Little Earthquakes. "At the time I just couldn't finish it," writes Amos in the liner notes. "When we found it, there were no lyrics to speak of, just music. So you'll have something partly recorded in 1990 but with a vocal recorded in 2006."

The third disc also includes songs associated with Boys for Pele plus 1999's To Venus and Back and Tales of a Librarian: A Tori Amos Collection. The 15 songs feature original and remixed versions of album tracks as well as "Hey Jupiter" (Dakota Version) and "Professional Widow" (Armand's Star Trunk Funkin' Mix). Also featured is "Walk To Dublin" (Sucker Reprise)," an unreleased track from the Pele sessions.

From the Choirgirl Hotel (1998), Scarlet's Walk (2002), and The Beekeeper (2005) are the focus of the fourth disc, which contains 15 songs including original and remixed versions of album tracks. Also featured is the intro for "Marys Of The Sea" from The Beekeeper as well as the four previously unreleased songs "Not David Bowie," "Zero Point," "Ode To My Clothes," and "Dolphin Song." In the liner notes Amos writes: "Some songs seem to have a timeline for when they want to be finished and put out to the world. At the time when we were working on 'Dolphin Song,' I had all kinds of ideas for her development after the basic tracking had been done. Instead she got set aside for a while. But once we started to go through the tape library we put 'Dolphin' up on the faders again, and I realized we didn't need to record anything else; it was finished."

The final disc features 22 tracks spotlighting Amos' impressive list of renowned B-sides and includes the exclusive digital release "Merman" from 1999. For what could be the most intriguing addition to the collection, Amos invites listeners into her artistic process with a medley of demos for the songs "Fire-Eater's Wife/Beauty Queen," "Playboy Mommy" and "A Sorta Fairytale." Amos explains in the liner notes: "I'm usually pretty reticent to expose the musical development process . . . The demo medley was a choice I made so that other songwriters can feel an affinity with the idea that songwriters have to push themselves and not just accept the first incarnation that you are presented with. Each of these three songs are presented here in their completed form somewhere within the box set so you can see conception to development."