Fiona Apple

Extraordinary Machine

Sony Records

Grade: A

 

Is Fiona Apple finally happy? Well, not exactly.

On her latest release, "Extraordinary Machine," she puts the men in her life in their places, but this time she's moving on.

The rumors surrounding "Extraordinary Machine," Apple's first album in six years, made fans salivate for the release of the album. After hearing the album had been shelved by her label, Sony Music, for lack of a single, fans were disappointed.

Then, the digital age of music got its greedy hands on the album and put producer Jon Brion's (Eternal Sunshine, Magnolia) version on the Internet for eager fans to devour.

Apple went back in the studio with a new producer, Mike Elizonsao, (Dr. Dre, 50 cent, Eminem) to re-shape some of the songs from the Brion sessions. The result is perhaps Apple's most clever and strong record yet.

"Extraordinary Machine” is a break-up record. However, Apple has grown a lot in six years and loves the fact that she has the last word on her broken relationships.

Although on "Not about Love" she swears "[she] is not in love, in fact, [she] can't stop falling out." Songs like "Better Version of Me" and "Parting Gift" tell the story of a relationship falling apart, but this time, she's not bitter; she's better.

The album is interlaced with her smoky, soulful voice and the pounding of the piano accompanied by keyboards, horns, drums and orchestral build-ups complement her songs and take them to a new and better direction than ever before. The use of two of music's strongest producers has helped Apple take her album to a new place.

While many of the songs on the album didn't lose too much of the feel Brion put on them, tracks like "Tymps" and "Window," have hip-hop producer Elizonsao's finger prints all over them. Apple's sultry vocals are accompanied by drum programming and synthesizer, but Elizonsao's touch does not change the fact it is a Fiona Apple song.

So, maybe Apple isn't exactly happy, but she isn't nearly as pissed off as she used to be. Yeah, she's breaking windows, but as she sings, "It's better that I break a window, than him or her or me."

In the last six years, Apple herself has become an "extraordinary machine." Now, she is able to roll with the punches her heart deals out. She may be angry her relationships fell apart, but this time, she's better than before. As she sings on "Waltz," on the closing line of the record, "she's better than fine." And, personally, Fiona, I like it that way. 

 

--By Jessica Peregoy, Staff Writer