"Taxi Ride" is a song by American recording artist

Tori Amos Tori Amos (born Myra Ellen Amos; August 22, 1963) is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. She is a classically trained musician with a mezzo-soprano vocal range. Having already begun composing instrumental pieces on piano, Amos won a full ...

from her seventh studio album '' Scarlet's Walk'' (2002). The song was released as the album's second single in January 2003. It was written, composed and produced by Amos. The song is a folk pop track, which features instrumentation of electric guitars, drums, bongos, and acoustic guitar. The track was her second offering after departing from Atlantic Records and signed with Epic Records. "Taxi Ride" received positive reviews from music critics, who complimented the song's production and lyrical delivery. The song charted at thirty-five on the

Adult Top 40 The Adult Pop Airplay (formerly known as Adult Pop Songs and Adult Top 40) chart is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and ranks "the most popular adult top 40 as based on radio airplay detections measured by Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems ...

and Radio & Records chart in the US. Amos has performed the song on several tours she has commissioned.

Background

Tori Amos' track "Taxi Ride" appears on her seventh studio album, '' Scarlet's Walk'' (2002). In September 2001, Amos released her first concept album '' Strange Little Girls''. Motherhood inspired Amos to produce a cover album, recording songs written by men about women and reversing the

gender roles A gender role, also known as a sex role, is a social role encompassing a range of behaviors and attitudes that are generally considered acceptable, appropriate, or desirable for a person based on that person's sex. Gender roles are usually cent ...

to show a woman's perspective. Amos would later reveal that a stimulus for the album was to end her contract with Atlantic without giving them new original songs; Amos felt that since 1998, the label had not been properly promoting her and had trapped her in a contract by refusing to sell her to another label. Nevertheless, ''Strange Little Girls'' received mostly favorable reviews from music critics, some who complimented the idea of twisting the male perspective into female views and the composition, while some dismissed this.Critic reviews from Metacritic
/ref> It sold over 110,000 units in its first week in the US, reaching number four on the

Billboard 200 The ''Billboard'' 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine and is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of ar ...

. After leaving Atlantic, she signed to Epic Records to record the ''Scarlet's Walk'' album. However, Epic's President Polly Anthony announced her resignation that would be fulfilled in early 2003. Amos personally liked Anthony and was the reason why she signed to the label, so Amos formed Bridge Entertainment Group. However, Epic and

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merged with BMG as a result to the industry's sales decline. Despite this, Amos carried on recording the album. ''Scarlet's Walk'' was released in October 2002. Through the songs, Amos explores such topics as the history of America, American people, Native American history, pornography,

masochism Sadomasochism ( ) is the giving and receiving of pleasure from acts involving the receipt or infliction of pain or humiliation. Practitioners of sadomasochism may seek sexual pleasure from their acts. While the terms sadist and masochist refer ...

, homophobia and

misogyny Misogyny () is hatred of, contempt for, or prejudice against women. It is a form of sexism that is used to keep women at a lower social status than men, thus maintaining the societal roles of patriarchy. Misogyny has been widely practice ...

. It reached number seven on the Billboard 200 and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

Composition

Written, composed and produced by Amos, "Taxi Ride" is a

folk pop Folk-pop is a musical style that may be 1) contemporary folk songs with large, sweeping pop arrangements, or 2) pop songs with intimate, acoustic-based folk arrangements. Recording production values created a unblemished style that appealed to ...

song. According to the music sheet at Musicnotes.com, "Taxi Ride" is set in the key of

F minor F minor is a minor scale based on F, consisting of the pitches F, G, A, B, C, D, and E. Its key signature consists of four flats. Its relative major is A-flat major and its parallel major is F major. Its enharmonic equivalent, E-sharp mi ...

. Performed in a moderately slow rhythmic pace of 80

beats per minute Beat, beats or beating may refer to: Common uses * Patrol, or beat, a group of personnel assigned to monitor a specific area ** Beat (police), the territory that a police officer patrols ** Gay beat, an area frequented by gay men * Battery ...

, Amos' vocals range span from F3 to E5. Lyrically, "Taxi Ride" is about the death of Amos' make-up artist and friend

Kevyn Aucoin Kevyn James Aucoin (; February 14, 1962 – May 7, 2002) was an American make-up artist, photographer and author. In the 1990s, Aucoin was wholly responsible for the "sculpted" look of many celebrities and top models, including Whitney Houston, ...

, who died of

kidney The kidneys are two reddish-brown bean-shaped organs found in vertebrates. They are located on the left and right in the retroperitoneal space, and in adult humans are about in length. They receive blood from the paired renal arteries; blo ...

and liver failure as a result of Acetaminophen toxicity in May 2002. Amos commented extensively about the lyrical content on the ''Scarlet Selections'';

Release

"Taxi Ride" was released as the second single by Epic from ''Scarlet's Walk''. It was released as a promotional CD single in Europe, which contained the radio edit of the track. The cover artwork features a black-and-white image of Amos, surrounded by an orange-and-white border. A promotional CD was released in Poland by Sony Music Entertainment Polska, which featured the album version of "Taxi Ride".

Reception

"Taxi Ride" received mostly positive reviews from music critics. Greg Fasolino and Michael Zwirn from ''Trouser Press'' highlighted "Taxi Ride" and ''Scarlet's Walk'' tracks "Another Girl's Paradise" and "Don't Make Me Come to Vegas" as good tracks. They commented “This is her strongest work since Boys for Pele, and one of the best albums of her career.” Stephen Thomas Erlewine from

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

highlighted the song as an album stand out.

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

's editor

Greg Kot Greg Kot (born March 3, 1957) is an American music journalist and author. From 1990 until 2020, Kot was the rock music critic at the ''Chicago Tribune'', where he covered popular music and reported on music-related social, political and busines ...

complimented the lyrical content for being fun, highlighting the line "Even a glamorous bitch can be in need. '' Slant Magazines Sal Cinquemani had cited "Taxi Ride" as the album's best track.

Track listing

;Promo-only single # "Taxi Ride" (radio edit) – 3:56

Chart performance

References

{{Authority control Tori Amos songs 2003 singles Epic Records singles LGBT-related songs