assisting musicians in various ways at a time when the landscape of the music industry was rapidly changing. Like many of Amos' releases throughout the 2000s, The Beekeeper is a concept album. Alongside the inspiration from beekeeping, female spirituality and the experiences of women in Christianity play a large role, particularly in songs such as "Original Sinsuality" and "Marys of the Sea". Songs from the album are separated into six different "gardens", detailed in the limited edition booklet: "roses and thorns", "herbs and elixirs", "the greenhouse", "the desert garden", "the orchard", and "the rock garden". During the writing of the album, Amos was concurrently writing her first book, Piece by Piece with journalist Ann Powers, which goes into detail about the background of many tracks appearing on The Beekeeper along with other songs from her discography. Recording The Beekeeper was recorded throughout 2004 at Amos' Martian Engineering Studios in Cornwall, England, with the mixing handled by Amos' husband Mark Hawley and Marcel van Limbeek. As with all of Amos' albums since Boys for Pele, The Beekeeper was self-produced. In addition to Chamberlain, Evans, and Aladdin, the London Community Gospel Choir appears on the tracks "Sweet the Sting", "Mother Revolution", "Witness", and "Hoochie Woman". Special emphasis was put on recording the tracks live in lieu of recording various parts separately and using overdubs. In some instances, multiple keyboard instruments would be recorded within the same take; the piano stool was positioned in between Amos' piano and Hammond organ, allowing her to switch between the two without the need for separate takes. Music and lyrics The opening track, "Parasol", takes inspiration from Georges Seurat's Seated Woman with a Parasol (Study for "La Grande Jatte"). The song depicts a woman who is exiting a relationship with a controlling partner, as she now has to confront herself and her experience to be able to recover from said relationship. "Sweet the Sting" is a primary example of the album's soul influence, enhanced by the prominent vocals of the London Community Gospel Choir and Amos' Hammond B-3 organ. Stevie Wonder's "Pastime Paradise" was a significant influence on the track. "The Power of Orange Knickers" features vocals from Irish singer-songwriter Damien Rice. The track was written as a response to frequent use of the word "terrorist" (particularly after the September 11 attacks) and to those who twist the term for their own personal or political gain. Amos