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Extraordinary Machine
List price: $18.97
Sale price: $10.97
You save: $8 (42%)
Artist(s): Fiona Apple
Binding: Audio CD
EAN: 0696998668324
Label: Sony
List Price: $18.97
Manufacturer: Sony
MPN: 86683
Number Of Discs: 1
Package Dimensions:
Height: 0.4"
Width: 4.9"
Length: 0.4"
Weight: 0.2 lbs.
Product Group: Music
Publisher: Sony
Release Date: 2005-10-04
Studio: Sony
UPC: 696998668324
Tracks:
- Extraordinary Machine
- Get Him Back
- O' Sailor
- Better Version of Me
- Tymps (The Sick in the Head Song)
- Parting Gift
- Window
- Oh Well
- Please Please Please
- Red Red Red
- Not About Love
- Waltz (Better Than Fine)
Editorial Reviews
Album Details:
Critically Acclaimed Fiona Apple Returns with her First Studio Recording in Five Years. Fiona Apple Established Herself as a Visionary Singer/Songwriter at the Age of Nineteen with her Debut Album Tidal in 1996. This Stunning Album Went on to Earn her a Grammy Award in 1998 for "Best Female Rock Vocal Performance" Establishing her as an Uncompromising and Original Artist Gaining Intensely Loyal Fans all Over the World. CD/PAL Dvd - Live Performance Footage.
Amazon.com:
Fiona Apple, brooding, brainy belter and capital-A artist of near forbidding depth, begins her much gossiped-over third CD on a lark. The title track, one of two songs produced by Jon Brion before the label dispute that prompted hip-hop producer Mike Elizondo (50 Cent, Eminem) to step in, sounds like a Judy Garland number slathered with irony or something Rufus Wainwright might have had a hand in--strings soar, beats bump around skittishly, and notes require a ladder. But playful as it is, by the time the chorus kicks in it's clear why the world has missed Fiona Apple so much. Young female artists who have stepped into the spotlight since she fled it six years ago-- Nellie McKay and Joss Stone spring to mind for their cleverness and heat, respectively--seem slight in comparison. With every track ticked off, in fact, Extraordinary Machine moves listeners a little closer to what might be a correct assumption: that everything they've dipped into since 1999's When the Pawn ... was filler. Fans will feel it especially on "O'Sailor," a gimlet-eyed lament, and "Tymps," a tight piano track with a tip of the hat to hip-hop. It's "Window," though, with its lyric about "a filthy pane of glass" fogging up a clear view, that sums up the experience of this CD best. "I had to break the window," Apple sings, smoky-voiced as ever. "It just had to be." With Extraordinary Machine, she shatters already sky-high expectations. -Tammy La Gorce
Customer Reviews Average rating - 4.0
Rating - 3 Date: 2008-11-24
Content: I don't know what happened during the record of this, but there's something missing. The thing is that after 'When the Pawn...', that was a masterpiece, I was expecting a great follow up.
The album lacks the power of her previous ones. Maybe Jon Brion's absence as the producer, I don't know. The highlights are the more direct songs like 'Window', 'Please Please Please' and 'Get Him Back'.
I hope she teams up with Brion again for a return to the glorious times!
Summary: Not her best, but still great.
Rating - 4 Date: 2008-10-24
Content: Fiona Apple writes uniquely and uses her phrasing skill to squeeze even more artistic juice from her work. This combination alone singles her out as a rare talent. She seems to be at her best when least encumbered by the addition of musical gimmicks like looping of instruments or clapping that appear on several tracks. The use of two different producers is evident in that the first song, Extraordinary Machine, and the last song, Waltz (Better Than Fine)were produced by Jon Brion using a straight-forward, ensemble instrumentation approach. These two songs showcase Apple's artistic skill without getting in her way. The rest of the CD is not as successful in this endeavor, but the production of Mike Elizando and Brian Kehew is not without merit. In this collection of songs, Apple expresses her many frustrations and observations about relationships. The music is often dissonant and choppy to match her emotions. It is here that the producers brought a strong attitude to the music and attempted to give weight to Apple's dissonance with a little hip hop production technique.
Given the subject matter and Fiona Apple's approach to it, this CD is not easy listening by any stretch of the imagination. It is, however, an emotionally effective expression by a gifted artist.
Summary: Extraordinary Talent, Heavy on Dissonance
Rating - 4 Date: 2008-07-25
Content: Fiona returns, and she is on fire. A quite impressive album, though it falls a hair short of achieving the brilliance of 'When The Pawn...' I prefer this over 'Tidal' which in itself is pretty spectacular as well.
Summary: I certainly haven't been shopping for any new shoes.
Rating - 5 Date: 2008-06-16
Content: Such a small woman with such a big voice. She is amazing. I listened to this CD today,2008.
Summary: A Little Stick of Dynamite
Rating - 4 Date: 2008-05-09
Content: Like all Fionas albums, Extraordinary Machine has fantastic, creative lyrics backed up with a wonderful voice and perfect instrumentation.
So where does it fall short? - the mastering, sadly someone made the decision to have the album mastered by "Big Bass" Brian Gardner who is famous in the industry for making 'hot' or overly loud recordings.
Perhaps having the volume turned up to 11 works for hip hop albums, but it does Fiona no favours here. Having the volume level almost constant all the way through just makes it tiring to listen to.
There are leaked MP3's floating around the net which contain early studio recordings of Extraordinary Machine, although clearly unfinished the leaked tracks sound better simply because you can hear the full dynamic range of the music.
While it's far from being the worst victim of the 'loudness war' it could have been so much more.
Summary: Flawed Masterpiece
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