The spiritual essence of a live Tori Amos performance is so raw and emotional that to capture it on a single disc seemed impossible — until now.

“Welcome to Sunny Florida,” Amos’ first DVD release, provides both hardcore Toriphiles and those new to her music with a thoroughly complete concert experience.

Director Loren Haynes opens the DVD with Amos’ last performance on the “Scarlet’s Walk” tour in West Palm Beach, Fla., from Sept. 4, 2003. Haynes wasn’t satisfied with merely ferreting out random bits of backstage happenings but creates a full-length movie that incorporates the electric warmth of Florida into this surprisingly insightful look into Amos’ life and music.

Since I have seen Amos perform live four times, I was convinced no recorded concert could ever come close to the “real thing,” and that I knew all there was to know about her. But I was wrong — for the first time, we get to peek in on Amos spending time with her 3-year-old daughter, Natashya, and connect her backstage preparations to her onstage performance.

As an added bonus to the live footage, Haynes conducts a 23-minute interview with Amos, during which she describes her musical inspiration and how she has changed along with her music over the years. Also, a 10-minute interview with Mary, her mother, gives us a chance to learn a little bit about Amos’ past and Native American heritage.

Small bits of the interview with Amos are interspersed throughout the concert before songs, which helps pull together the DVD’s theatrical elements. It’s worth your time to watch the full interviews if you’re interested in learning more about Amos — otherwise, you can catch the most interesting parts of them during the concert and in the credits.

A tour yearbook contains touching photos of Amos and her daughter and other shots of her and her crew throughout the tour, set to a live version of “Past the Mission.”

The editing job on this DVD is excellently executed. The sound is as good or even better than you’d hear live, with just enough echoing and microphone fuzz to make you believe you paid at least twice the money you’d drop on this DVD to witness what you’re seeing firsthand.

During her interview, Amos says that she and her bandmates chose their favorite songs to play for the eager attendees of the last concert in this tour — instead of playing more from her “Scarlet’s Walk” album.

But a few rare treasures to hear live were paraded out for the occasion, which more than makes up for the lack of newer content. Amos cranks out a visceral version of “Professional Widow,” but the DVD version disappointingly mutes the expletives in the song.

Packaged with the DVD is a six-song compilation of B-sides, “Scarlet’s Hidden Treasures.” This feature isn’t all that exciting, but one song worth listening to is “Ruby Through the Looking Glass,” an eerily haunting exploration of family bonds.

Overall, this is an excellent investment for anyone devoted to the cult of Amos, and may provide not-so-diehard fans a chance to see her live without the trip. It certainly isn’t enough to keep the truly devoted from driving hours to shows, but being able to view the DVD may at least pacify you until it’s time for her to tour once more.