Fiona Apple - Extraordinary Machine - steady going nowhere...
Apr 02 '05 (Updated Apr 04 '05)
The Bottom Line Different, a little odd, but totally worth releasing.
I was a huge Fiona fan from the beginning. Her sophomore album, When the Pawn, remains one of my favorite albums of all time - I thought it was amazing. It seems that Fiona has one of those "love to hate her" careers. She's crazy, no, totally insane, and I love it. She's odd, and I think it makes both her, and her songs beautiful. There's nothing worse than being ordinary, right?
So, where has Fiona Apple been since Pawn's 1999 release? That was a question I asked myself for a long time, until I came across freefiona.com. Now what's that all about? Well, it seems Fiona has recorded a new album, and that Sony/Epic doesn't feel that it would sell enough to be worth releasing. Hence the freefiona.com website. When I heard my lady had an album that they didn't even want to release, I had to hear it. Luckily, I managed to get my hands on a copy, and I have to tell you, I didn't know what to expect - at all. She's a weird girl, and she can make some weird music, but how weird could it be that Sony/Epic thought it wouldn't sell? The fact that they're keeping it from being released makes it an even hotter commodity, so I'm super lucky that I got to hear it - and here's my review...
Fiona Apple
Extraordinary Machine
produced by Jon Brion
... Not About Love
... Red, Red, Red
... Get Him Back
... Better Version of Me
... Oh Well
... Oh, Sailor
... Used to Love Him
... Window
... Waltz
... Extraordinary Machine
... Please, Please, Please
Fiona Apple seems to be an acquired taste. You love her, or you can't tolerate her. Which is interesting, because a friend of mine who couldn't stand her first two albums decided that she actually thought this album was "pretty good." She made sure to mention that it meant a lot coming from her - and it does. This album is different. It's a lot less radio friendly than Fiona's other releases, and a heck of a lot less poppy, which makes Sony/Epic's decision only the tiniest bit more understandable. I mean, it's happened before - a label thinks fans will feel alienated. It happened to one of my favorite bands of all time - Wilco. In fact, I didn't know much about Wilco until well into the game. When they came up with Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, it was one of those albums that was iffy. Thankfully it got released, because that's actually the album that made me a huge fan - and then I proceeded to pick up every other one of their releases. Yeah, they were different, but who cares? The band is amazing. So, Fiona's album is a little risky, who cares? She has fans - her fans aren't the type to give up that easy. Not to mention, her first two albums have nearly all five starts overall on Epinions reviews...
Admittedly, Extraordinary Machine took me a few listens to get into. Her previous album was an instantaneous love, but this one took some work - but it came with the same pay off. The opening track doesn't stray too much from Fiona style, but with some small changes. There's still plenty of piano, but now it doubles as the rhythm instead of a drum track. So, there's no catchy beat, just the flow created by the piano and strings, and it's enough. This is one of my favorite tracks on the album...
this is not about love
'cause i am not in love...
It's kind of a dark track with a melancholy melody, but it's now slow tempo. On a similar note is Better Version of Me, which is a little more up tempo, and actually uses drums - and the whole song reminds me of a carnival for some reason. The percussion is a little weird, with triangles and everything. I don't like it as much, but it's still pretty decent.
Tracks like Oh Well don't really stray too far from her familiar sound. Oh Well is a piano-heavy ballad, with frustrated lyrics, not unlike what she's done in the past. It can't be what's holding the album from the market. Similarly, Oh, Sailor sounds like it could have been taken from her debut album. I imagine it's more the tracks that sound like they're part of weird orchestral production that are making the record execs cringe a little. Maybe Used to Love Him is more along those lines. I love it, but I suppose it could send up a red flag to those guys, and I guess they don't want to be laughed at. Seriously, though - the tracks here that are ridiculous are beautiful because they are so ridiculous - totally without shame. Trumpets, ensembles, pianos, drums straight from the marching Heffalumps - all of it - strangely enough, it makes for one, big interesting album.
My absolute favorite track on the album is the title track. Musically, it could have come out of some off-Broadway play. There's brass, woodwinds, and plenty of pizzicato. Aside from Fiona's gentle vocals, that's about it. It's amazing.
i certainly haven't been shopping for any new shoes and
i certainly haven't been spreading myself around
i still only travel by foot and by foot it's a slow climb
but i'm good at being uncomfortable so i can't stop changing all the time
i noticed that my opponent is always on the go
and won't go slow so as not to focus and i notice
He'll hitch a ride with any guide as long as they go fast from whence he came
but he's no good at being uncomfortable so he can't stop staying exactly the same
if there was a better way to go then it would find me
i can't help it the road just rolls out behind me
be kind to me or treat me mean
i'll make the most of it i'm an extraordinary machine
i seem to you to seek a new disaster every day
you deem me due to clean my view and be at peace and lay
i mean to prove I mean to move in my own way
and say i've been getting along for long before you came into the play
i am the baby of the family it happens so
everybody cares and wears the sheeps clothes while they chaperon
furious you're looking down your nose at me while you appease
courteous to try and help but let me set your mind at ease
if there was a better way to go then it would find me
i can't help it the road just rolls out behind me
be kind to me or treat me mean
i'll make the most of it i'm an extraordinary machine
do i so worry you
you need to hurry to my side
it's very kind
But it's to no avail
i don't want the veil or flowers
no everything will be just fine
if there was a better way to go then it would find me
i can't help it the road just rolls out behind me
be kind to me or treat me mean
i'll make the most of it i'm an extraordinary machine
Now, one of my favorite things about this album is that she has this weird recurring thing that she does with the lyrics. For example, when she says "extraordinary machine," she kind of skips the "r" so it comes out "extadinary machine." She does it on a number of the tracks, and I imagine some people would find that weird, or annoying, but for whatever reason, I love it...I'm weird. That's why I love her so much - she's so interesting to watch, and to listen to. I love seeing what she comes up with next. This album is near the top of the list for me, because it's so 'interesting' that she can't release it. A little extreme, maybe, but it's not like she didn't know. After all, she ends the album with Please, Please, Please, where she nearly predicts the fate of her hopeful release...
please please please
no more melodies
they lack impact, they're petty
they've been made up already
please please please
no more maladies
i'm so tired of crying
you'd think I was a siren
but me and everybody's on the sad same team
and you can hear our sad brain screaming
give us something familiar
something similar
to what we know already
that will keep us steady
steady
steady going nowhere
please please please
no apologies
at best they buy you time
until you next step out of line
please please please
no more remedies
my method is uncertain
it's a mess but it's working
and maybe if you tried it out
you won't like it when you're crying out
The state of her album, no? Well, I'm glad she didn't give us something familiar, because familiar is comfortable, but it gets boring. Stay fresh, Fiona. Who cares if you're not on the radio - I still love you. Keep on being crazy.
So, bottom line- I love the album. It's definitely a little different than her previous releases, and it was harder for me on the first listen - but I stuck with it, as I imagine most of her fans would. It's been so long, I think they'd at least take the time to get into it. I hope that's the case, because once you do, you'll find that it's definitely worth your time.
More info:
freefiona.com
fionaapple.org
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