Fiona Apple

Related Content

• She's Cho Funny
  October 7, 2010
• Marco Benevento on his latest album, circuit bent toys and Brad Mehldau
  August 10, 2010
• Rilo Kiley
  August 30, 2007
• Mavis Staples Speaks Out
  June 28, 2007
• Core Values
  June 29, 2006

More About

• Jon Brion
• Mike Elizondo
• Protests and Demonstrations
• Hip-Hop and Rap

Fiona-philes will no doubt raise their wine to the heavens and toast their tortured troubadour for her latest burst of brilliance. Six years in the making, Extraordinary Machine, originally produced by Jon Brion, then scrapped (except for two songs) and retooled by hip-hop sage Mike Elizondo, was the subject of much controversy, with fans protesting outside Sony, demanding the release of the Brion sessions (Apple held them back, not Sony, and they were eventually cyber-leaked). But for the casual Fiona fan, the question remains: Is the disc worth a spin? Sort of. A few songs make good on her promised eminence, particularly "O' Sailor," "Window" and "Red Red Red," which stumbles like a somnambulist on an eerie, uncertain beat. But much of the album is lacking. Several melody-free songs find Apple lyrically masturbating rather than conveying meaning, and the book-ending Brion tunes play like an aborted musical. Download a few of these tracks; let your obsessive Fiona friend fill in the rest.