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Product details
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Track Listings
| 1. On the bound |
| 2. To your love |
| 3. Limp |
| 4. Love ridden |
| 5. Paper bag |
| 6. A mistake |
| 7. Fast as you can |
| 8. The way things are |
| 9. Get gone |
| 10. I know |
Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
In contrast to many of her faux-eccentric contemporaries, this wolf in waif's clothing seems to be genuinely astray in the straight world. Moreover, Fiona Apple is a real talent. When The Pawn picks up where her eye-opening debut, Tidal, left off. With Jon Brion back in the producer's seat, the twosome concoct a heady, keyboard-heavy soundscape that perfectly complements the singer's assertive, dangerously sexy Nina Simone-meets-Chrissie Hynde delivery. Unforeseen embellishments colour the arrangements, including the sinister carnival interlude in "On the Bound", the George Harrison-like guitar in "Mistake" and the drum solo in "Limp". All Brion's enhancements are in service of Apple, who comes through with preternaturally confident expressions of insecure sentiments ("Change my mind, I can't decide, there's too many variations to consider") and cold-eyed accounts of recrimination and self-recrimination. Cohesive, gutsy, and finely honed, When The Pawn pummels any notions of a sophomore slump. A character, yes, but what an artist, too! --Steven Stolder
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Fiona Apple returns in rare form in "When the Pawn..." (plus about ninety more words), her sophomore album -- and one of the rare ones that actually improves on the first. Her passionate bluesy-jazzy sound is blended with her strong, sensitive vocals and one soul-baring song after another.
"Hell don't know my fury." You said it, Fiona. Anger and melancholy permeate her songs, including the rage of "Limp" ("But no matter what I try/You'll beat me with your bitter lies") and the restrained quality of piano-bombast "The Way Things Are." Even the musically gentle "I Know" has a deep sadness, starting to move past some of the bitterness and anger coming before it, and early on Apple seems to apologize for her romantic shortcomings.
Female singer-songwriters are a dime a dozen today, but few of them do much more than set basic pop songs to acoustic guitar and piano. But Fiona Apple forges ahead with a noncomformist attitude and strong songs. In a nutshell, she comes across as an excellent musician, with all the power you'd expect from such a singer. And every song is a winner, gut-wrenching and beautiful in its intensity.
Musically, it has almost as much impact as her writing does. The music is often led by Apple's piano -- not tinkly piano, but dark, fast melodies that match her songs in rhythm and intensity. Percussion booms in songs like "Limp," as if giving vent to Apple's feelings. And cropping up from time to time are odd gurgles and squiggles, as well as some well-blended horn arrangements in the background.
Apple's voice is strong and assured, but it also has that rare quality of expressing vast amounts of emotion. Without, I might add, sounding overwrought. Which, since the mood is that of an Angry Young Woman, is a hard thing to pull off, but Apple's richly poetic lyrics ("And you can use my skin/to bury secrets in") make her songs seem intensely personal.
"When the Pawn..." is an almost exhausting experience -- just try listening to the whole thing without getting your heart rate up. From rotten lovers to personal pain, Fiona Apple explores the bitter side of love... and despite its bitterness, it's a gem.
"Hell don't know my fury." You said it, Fiona. Anger and melancholy permeate her songs, including the rage of "Limp" ("But no matter what I try/You'll beat me with your bitter lies") and the restrained quality of piano-bombast "The Way Things Are." Even the musically gentle "I Know" has a deep sadness, starting to move past some of the bitterness and anger coming before it, and early on Apple seems to apologize for her romantic shortcomings.
Female singer-songwriters are a dime a dozen today, but few of them do much more than set basic pop songs to acoustic guitar and piano. But Fiona Apple forges ahead with a noncomformist attitude and strong songs. In a nutshell, she comes across as an excellent musician, with all the power you'd expect from such a singer. And every song is a winner, gut-wrenching and beautiful in its intensity.
Musically, it has almost as much impact as her writing does. The music is often led by Apple's piano -- not tinkly piano, but dark, fast melodies that match her songs in rhythm and intensity. Percussion booms in songs like "Limp," as if giving vent to Apple's feelings. And cropping up from time to time are odd gurgles and squiggles, as well as some well-blended horn arrangements in the background.
Apple's voice is strong and assured, but it also has that rare quality of expressing vast amounts of emotion. Without, I might add, sounding overwrought. Which, since the mood is that of an Angry Young Woman, is a hard thing to pull off, but Apple's richly poetic lyrics ("And you can use my skin/to bury secrets in") make her songs seem intensely personal.
"When the Pawn..." is an almost exhausting experience -- just try listening to the whole thing without getting your heart rate up. From rotten lovers to personal pain, Fiona Apple explores the bitter side of love... and despite its bitterness, it's a gem.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
The single "Fast as you can" first got me interested in Fiona Apple, (before that i'd never heard of her!!)but i have to say that this song pales into insignificance compared to the rest of the album! "Paper Bag" simply is THE greatest song of the nineties with clever words,a great tune and a haunting voice! And i defy you not to learn the words to "Limp" so you can shout along! One ciritisim is that the producers must have got a new drum sampeler for christmas and wanted to try it out on EVERY single song, (just skip past "On the bound" if drums annoy you!)but if this is the only thing slightly wrong with the album then hey! Hurry up Fiona and write the next one, my angst needs defining!!
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
It's a shame certain people seem to dwell on the fact that this album is a little "melancholy" and eccentric and miss the fact that this is a truly brilliant, beautiful album. Fiona is a hugely talented young woman and this, along with "Tidal", is definately worth your money.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
The Other Side of Fiona
I find it hard to understand why this album wasn't massive. It is simply one of the best rock albums ever made. Read more
Published 1 month ago by HB
Fiona Apple - the Pawn
I paid about 4 quid to Amazon for this - what a bargain
I would pay that for track 9 get gone what annger and feeling she gets into a song
I have previous cds from F.A. Read more
I would pay that for track 9 get gone what annger and feeling she gets into a song
I have previous cds from F.A. Read more
Published 14 months ago by Colinbaker
A mediocre 42 minute album from a mediocre talent
Although she has a limited range as a singer and pianist, I think she's a much stronger performer than she is writer. I've always wondered why she's a singer-songwriter? Read more
Published on 30 May 2010 by BS on parade
Full of melody and poetry
I must admit I bought this album when it first came out several year ago but only re-discovered it on my iPod just the other day. Read more
Published on 13 Sep 2007 by Dazzla
An unexpected delight!
Fiona Apple is a new, and delightful, discovery for me.
Her voice and style are a curious meeting of KT Tunstall, Chrissie Hynde, Pink (her ballads), Buffy Sainte Marie... Read more
Her voice and style are a curious meeting of KT Tunstall, Chrissie Hynde, Pink (her ballads), Buffy Sainte Marie... Read more
Published on 22 July 2007 by Chipstick
Fantastic
This album has such brilliance, it took me over a year to fully appreciate the greatness of it.
The lyrics tell of broken relationships, her fault, his fault; the vocals of a... Read more
The lyrics tell of broken relationships, her fault, his fault; the vocals of a... Read more
Published on 23 Jan 2006
Woot goes the pawn
WOW!! i wub this album, its soooo good much better than the other two!! WOOT!
Published on 6 Dec 2005
Oh oh oh oh THIS IS Amazing.....
I used to put this record on and sometimes i "fell asleep" into the album as original and fantastic it is. Read more
Published on 21 April 2005 by Miguel Pita Soares Garcia
Pretty bad
I'm not writing this review because I feel grouchy and negative today; I'm writing it because it seems to me like the only people who write reviews are those who enjoy the album. Read more
Published on 15 Jan 2005
Great album- with a very long title!!!!
Well where to start!!! This album is a compleately amazing and head turning album and is constantly in my cd player or at the top of my cd rack. Read more
Published on 11 Jun 2004 by Rachel Moore
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