Soundbite

Fiona Apple “Extraordinary Machine” Sony Records

Fiona Apple’s first two albums presented the singer as an
angry, emotional, waifish imp ready to explode anywhere, be it on
her album or on stage. But as Apple fans who have been restlessly
anticipating the songstress’ junior album can tell you, that
was a long time ago. It’s been six years since Apple’s
last album was released, and her new release, “Extraordinary
Machine,” was shelved at her label for so long that irate
fans began mailing apples to the company with the message
“Free Fiona.” And at long last, after inspiring nearly
as many stories about the reasons for the delay as it took years to
release, “Machine” has been unleashed. But Apple fans
should prepare to embrace the changes that have taken place in the
songstress since “When the Pawn.” She has certainly
matured, so that while Apple may still be jaded about love from
past experiences, she is much less bitter and, at times, even
hopeful about the future. The album opens with the title track, one
of the few songs whose final version was still made under the
direction of the album’s original producer, Jon Brion. Only a
few seconds into the impressive number, it is apparent that
listeners will be hearing a grown-up Apple on this CD. The driving
percussion, husky vocals and cutting words that dominated her
previous two releases have given way to a softer, more lyrical
Apple only hinted at in earlier songs. To a staccato orchestral
arrangement, Apple showcases an impressive vocal range in the same
vein as mid-20th-century jazz crooners. In the chorus, Apple sings,
“If there was a better way to go then I would find
it…/I’ll make the most of it/I’m an extraordinary
machine,” to say that she is going to keep moving on rather
than let life get her down. But while Apple may exude a newfound
confidence and peace in “Machine,” that’s not to
say the album lacks musical depth. In addition to Apple’s
signature complex musical arrangements replete with percussion
lines, her lyrics still demonstrate her wit when it comes to making
cynical remarks or clever rhymes. In “O’ Sailor,”
the more familiar Apple of old comes out to play, singing,
“Everything good I dream is too good to be true/Everything
else is just a bore,” showing she is still a far cry from
being labeled an optimist. In “Tymps (The Sick in the Head
Song),” Apple brings back out her sultry, broody side that
has long been intriguing. This time, however, she exhibits
vulnerability rather than trying to sound intimidating or vengeful,
singing, “Why did I kiss him so hard last Friday
night…/I’m either so sick in the head/ I need to be bled
dry to quit/Or I just really used to loved him/I sure hope
that’s it.” “Parting Gift” blends together
a lush melody and piano accompaniment with such lyrics as, “I
opened my eyes while you were kissing me…/And you looked as
sincere as a dog.” And while Apple calls her former love a
“silly, stupid pastime,” she doesn’t begin to
rage, and shows she is able to move on, learn and say, “All
the signs said stop/But we went on whole-hearted/It ended bad, but
I loved what we started.” Most remarkable is when she
doesn’t get angry at her lover’s shortcomings, instead
saying, “It is by the grace of me/You never learned what I
could see.” “Machine” is certainly a musical
success, from the way Apple makes her failings in love seem less
painful with a sweet-sounding accompaniment to the more
seductive-sounding percussion numbers. Apple’s voice
continually rolls up and down the musical staff in a way unlike it
did in any of her previous albums. And while the she may have
learned how to show some grace and better control her anger, Apple
certainly isn’t all smiles on this album. We just get to see
a more musically delicious side of her. ““Jess
Rodgers