Fiona Apple: Extraordinary Machine [Dual Disc]

Fiona Apple | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 4, 2005)
• Original Release Date: 2005
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Dual Disc
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B000B0WOF8
• Also Available in: Audio CD
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (62 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #28,902 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #69 in Music > Alternative Rock > Singer-Songwriters

Track Listings

1. Extraordinary Machine

2. Get Him Back

3. O' Sailor

4. Better Version of Me

5. Tymps (The Sick in the Head Song)

6. Parting Gift

7. Window

8. Oh Well

9. Please Please Please

10. Red Red Red

11. Not About Love

12. Waltz (Better Than Fine)

Editorial Reviews

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

Product Description

Extraordinary Machine is the long-awaited third album from multi-platinum artist Fiona Apple. Extraordinary Machine contains 12 electrifying tracks, including the brand new songs Parting Gift and O' Sailor, all of which feature the brilliant music and poignant, passionate lyrics that have inspired legions of intensely loyal fans all over the world. The DVD Side of the Dual Disc edition includes never-before-released videos, live performances videos, behind-the-scenes footage and more! Epic. 2005.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 'Extraordinary' Is the Word, November 3, 2005

By 

Rudy Palma "The Writing Fiend" (NJ) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Fiona Apple: Extraordinary Machine (Audio CD)

With all the hubbub surrounding the release of her third album, "Extraordinary Machine," singer/songwriter Fiona Apple had a lot riding on her shoulders upon its release. Doubtless, when the Jon Brion-produced original version of the disc was left to gather dust on the recording studio floor in 2002, she could not have known that it would eventually end up the most notoriously circulated music the internet had seen. She also could not have imagined that her fans would found an official website, www.freefiona.com, and protest Sony in the hopes that it would at last be released. Following those events, she returned to the recording studio with producer Mike Elizondo, re-recorded nine of the eleven tracks, and added the stunning "Parting Gift," a poignant tribute to an ended relationship. The result is a far less kitchy version of the disc that satisfied both herself and Sony and became her first Top 10 album when it debuted at #7 on the Billboard charts.

The album kicks off with the endearing cabaret-style title track, one of the two Brion productions salvaged from the original, along with the joyful "Waltz (Better Than Fine)." Amidst its oddball lyrics Apple confronts adversarial forces with a toothy grin, proclaiming that she is an "extraordinary machine" and will thus prevail. She then moves on to "Get Him Back," the ultimate revenge fantasy.

"Next one up, a contemptible snob/He lived to put things in their place/He did a commendable job/He put himself so low he can hardly even look me in the face/So wait `till I get him back/He won't have a back to scratch."

As soon as the record begins it is apparent that Apple has matured, leaving the bulk of her once understood angst behind. Still, that does not stop her from being extremely ticked off at her would-be flame in "Not About Love," where "last night's phrases, sick with lack of basis" are writhing on her floor. "Tymps (The Sick In the Head Song)," with contains a slight hip-hop veneer, follows the same theme.

Elsewhere, she makes extremely astute commentary on the mass-consumerism and superficiality that marks American pop culture with "Please, Please, Please."

"You can hear our sad brains screaming/Give us something familiar/Something similar/To what we know already/That will keep us steady/Steady going nowhere."

The apex of the album, however, comes with "Window" and "Oh Well." The former, an outstanding ode to escaping physical abuse, finds Apple breaking the window to her freedom, stating "better that I break the window than him hurt me." She then comes to her senses after initially blaming herself in the latter track, realizing you cannot make someone accept unconditional love if he "doesn't believe in the stuff."

All things considered, "Extraordinary Machine" is an excellent art pop album from every angle. Only one track, the frothy "Better Version of Me," suffers in its new incarnation, proving the resurrection of the project both worthy and successful.

The DualDisc of the album features all the tracks in enhanced stereo, live performances, behind-the-scenes footage and a hilarious video for "Not About Love."

25 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Extraordinary...but..., October 6, 2005

By 

David Johnson (Mill Creek, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Fiona Apple: Extraordinary Machine (Audio CD)

I must say, I am so happy and yet so cursed by having heard the early version of the album. For those of you who don't know, somehow a complete version of the album was leaked onto the internet before all of the drama happened with its release (Fiona initiated it, not the label!) and I happened to come across a copy of the first version of the album back when everyone thought it wouldn't be released. I absolutely adored it! It is full of strings and whitty instrumentation, that almost reminds me of a musical or broadway type stuff! It was so lush and cute! I'm not saying cute in a belittling way, it was just so dainty and refined yet the same things that make Fiona Fiona.

So anyways, there's my little whining session. I know, I brought it on myself. If I hadn't accepted an illegal copy, then I wouldn't have to gripe about it! : ) Hehe. Anwyays, I will say that despite my disappointment in the differences between the first version and this one, it still is a good album. It is finally the way that Fiona really wants it, supposedly. And I would definitely not hesitate to tell you to get the Dual Disc, it's got the music video for my favorite song ("Not About Love") it's really cute! This comedian guy she heard about lipsyncs the whole thing...it's funny. And there's great live performences of new and old songs! Go for it!

For those of you who have heard the first version, you know what I'm talking about (and either agree that you like it or don't), for those of you who haven't, just enjoy this album! It's great even tho it's different than it might have been! Great songs can't be ruined by simple changes, I think...

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Word of warning about DualDisc, October 7, 2005

By 

ss (Boston, MA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fiona Apple: Extraordinary Machine (Audio CD)

Just a head's up, the album itself is great but the CD audio side of the dual disc will not work with many (if not most) computer CD players. As a result, depending on your specific computer (I personally have an Apple G4 powerbook) you might not be able to burn the tracks and transfer them to an ipod or other portable mp3 players. I've written DualDisc about this and they replied back with a form letter acknowledgine the issue and claiming that they're "actively developing technologies" to improve playability on CD/DVD-ROM drives, but for now their best advice was for me to try to return the dualdisc and exchange it for the regular CD version (most stores do not allow exchanges of opened CDs/DVDs for different items). I would advise anyone who wants to listen to the album on their mp3 player to play it safe and just stick with the regular CD version.