It seems that, intentionally or not, each Fiona Apple album has arrived with controversy that overshadowed the actual music. There was the near-pornographic video and her infamous \This world is bullshit!"" Video Music Award speech that accompanied her first album. Many more people heard about her second album's 90 word title than actually heard any of the music off of it. And now, her third record, Extraordinary Machine, arrives with the most tortured back story of all.
Apple began recording the album three years ago with longtime collaborator Jon Brion. She then decided she was unhappy with the finished product. She abandoned the original sessions and began recording it over with Eminem and 50 Cent producer Mike Elizondo (ironically, Brion worked with rapper Kanye West on his recent Late Registration).
Sony then reportedly gave Apple such a hard time that she decided to quit music. But a funny thing happened on the way to retirement. The version of Extraordinary Machine that she recorded with Brion leaked onto the internet, and fans petitioned Sony to release it. Apple heard about their protest and was so moved, she decided to continue recording. Also persuaded by the fans, Sony decided to give her money to continue with Elizondo. Extraordinary Machine is now being released, albeit in altered form.
The controversy overshadowing her music has once again shifted the focus from 'Is her new album any good?' to 'Is the new version better than the Jon Brion version?'
The answer, in short, is that it's a mixed bag. Two of Brion's tracks bookend the album, but other than that, all tracks have been reworked with Elizondo. His arrangements aren't nearly as interesting as the swirl of strings, calliopes, and general clattering din that Brion surrounded Apple with on the original version. Sometimes, this is a bad thing. However, the one thing Elizondo has done is bring Apple and her piano to the album's forefront. This is definitely an improvement.
Reviewing this album by comparing it to Brion's version would be offensive-it suggests that Apple's success lies in the man who produces her or shapes her sound. This is clearly not the case. While it is true that Brion's work has complemented her, it has always been the Fiona Apple Show. Her appeal has always been in her smoky, sometimes scary vocals, her sharp, honest lyrics and her fierce independence. It matters not who produces her. As she states in the album's opening track, she is the Extraordinary Machine of the title.
And Extraordinary Machine is another great record in her musical canon. Apple is as fierce, witty and verbose as ever. Over the album's 12 tracks, she takes shots at her ex-lovers, her record company and herself. Machine is a lot more upbeat than Apple's previous albums, forgoing their ballad-heavy tracklists to great effect. ""I'm so tired of crying,"" she sings at one point. ""You'd think I was a siren."" Machine instead relies on her twisted takes on cabaret and tinpan alley tunes. Instead of relying on her ample voice, she largely gets by on her skilled wordplay, turning phrases like ""home is where my habits have a habitat"" at a breathless clip. While nothing on the record is as catchy as her first hit, ""Criminal,"" the album is not nearly as arty or inaccessible as its backstory would lead you to believe.
Then there's the vulnerable/menacing duality that has always made Apple an enigmatic presence. When she sang about being a ""bad, bad girl"" or warned a lover to run as fast as he could from her, she was equal parts hunter and hunted, emotionally wounded but equally predatory. She continues this on Machine, toying with the title phrase of ""Get Him Back"" to mean first to get revenge, and then to ""take him home and watch him unpack.""
However, lest the object of the song get too comfortable, she also sings of ""Figuring how to kill what I cannot catch."" The heartbroken ballad ""Oh Well"" culminates in her cry of ""What was-ted UN-conditional love!"" Her delivery of the line is wrenching, equal parts anguish and anger. This is why Fiona Apple is a singular talent.
The only knock on Extraordinary Machine is that it took six years to come out. If anything, Machine proves that Fiona Apple needs to release music much more often. It shouldn't take six years for a record like Machine to get recorded.
She admittedly holds just as much responsibility for its delay as her label does. As Fiona sings in the album's elegant closing track ""I don't believe in the wasting of time."" However, she quickly asserts ""and I don't believe that I'm wasting mine!"" Take as long as you need, Fiona. Just keep making music.
