Fiona Apple's Extraordinary Machine & Free Fiona

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Exactly what I'd think. Whatever Sony think they're doing and whatever reason they have for shelving the album, I just can't understand it all.

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A thing I wanted to add: I was surprised at the number of people I know that actually liked 'When The Pawn', as bad as their musical tastes may be. My girlfriend usually enjoys anything from Pearl Jam to N.E.R.D., but doesn't like anything I listen to. However, last week I was playing in the car when we were driving to the beach and she was actually humming along and tapping her foot to it - she thought it was pretty cool.

One of my best friends usually only listens to anything mainstream (Dutch pop-rock, mainstream trance and rock, just anything on the charts), and also dislikes anything I listen to. However, he and I went to the movies with my car and 'When The Pawn' was playing again and I noticed he actually liked it, not knowing what it was. Later on he asked if the radio had been on when were in the car, so I was happy to tell hem it was actually one of my favorite albums. I'm planning on giving the album to him for his birthday, haha.

A school friend of mine is a big fan of No Doubt and stuff, but nothing really special or outstanding. I had uploaded three songs for someone else and gave her the link since she was bored so she'd have something to do. She immediately fell in love with the songs. Excellent!

Just to show how commercially un-appealing Fiona is.

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Just wanted to add this review of 'When The Pawn', Fiona's previous album, that hits the nail right on the head. It makes it all the more incomprehensible why 'Extraordinary Machine' doesn't get released properly.

Fiona Apple may have been grouped in with the other female singer/songwriters who dominated the pop charts in 1996 and 1997, but she stood out by virtue of her grand ambitions and considerable musical sophistication. Even though her 1996 debut Tidal occasionally was hampered by naiveté, it showcased a gifted young artist in the process of finding her voice. Even so, the artistic leap between Tidal and its long-awaited 1999 sequel When the Pawn Hits... is startling. It's evident that not only have Apple's ambitions grown, so has her confidence — few artists would open themselves up to the ridicule that comes with having a 90-word poem function as the full title, but that captures the fearless feeling of the record. Apple doesn't break from the jazzy pop of Tidal on Pawn, choosing instead to refine her sound and then expand its horizons. Although there are echoes of everything from Nina Simone to Aimee Mann on the record, it's not easy to spot specific influences, because this is truly an individual work. As a songwriter, she balances her words and melodies skillfully, no longer sounding self-conscious as she crafts highly personal, slightly cryptic songs that never sound precocious or insular. With producer Jon Brion, she created the ideal arrangements for these idiosyncratic songs, finding a multi-layered sound that's simultaneously elegant and carnival-esque. As a result, Pawn is immediately grabbing, and instead of fading upon further plays, it reveals more with each listen, whether it's a lyrical turn of phrase or an unexpected twist in the arrangement; what's more, Apple has made it as rich emotionally as it is musically. That's quite a feat for any album, but it's doubly impressive since it is only the second effort by a musician who is only 22 years old.

source: AllMusicGuide