Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
Extraordinary Machine, indeed., 11 May 2006
This album is indeed an extraordinary piece of work. Fiona has clearly grown as an artist during the six years between this offering and her last; she is embracing more genres, more instrumentation and occasionally moves away from the typical 4/4 time signature. She is also prone to messing around with tempo of her songs and is not afraid to stray from the standard verse/chorus/verse formula, which helps to keep things interesting. Her already excellent vocals have also been improved upon and her vocal phrasing is at times nothing short of stunning.
As is the case with Apple, most of her songs focus on relationships, but she sings upon an old theme with relative originality and she has some interesting lyrics, 'I think he let me down when he didn't disappoint me.'
Some reviewers have called the album commercial, in part due to a dispute with her record label - I cannot comment on this since I know little about it. However, I can say it is not an album made purely with record sales in mind, but an intelligent, well thought out and concise offering that rewards a listener who is prepared to engage with it.
It is worthy of a place within any collection.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
Sublime, 18 Oct 2005
After adoring her first two albums I was willing this to be good. I was almost nervous opening it up, will it actually live up to those songs I sing so loudly and bother my flatmates with? In a word, yes, it does. In places it is a bit more light hearted that her other albums, veering on the jaunty, but it also has songs which will break your heart. I've only had this since the weekend and I can't get the songs or the clever lyrics out of my head. Tymps is funny and hearbtreaking and Window made me laugh out loud, admittedly a rather bittersweet one. This is multi-layered and lovely, it's such a pity more people don't know about this or her. Or maybe it's better if it's our secret?
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
The title says it all, 18 Oct 2005
Fiona Apple is an acquired taste, despite her huge success in North America. Her sharply percussive and tempo shifting songs and wordy and angst ridden slow sings (dare I call them ballads) are the antithesis of commercial pop rock. Although lacking the melodic sensibilities and the defter touch on the piano of Tori Amos, Apple has forged her own way by adding jazz colours to vocals and instrumentation and a kind of street poetry to her lyrics. Extraordinary Machine, her first album in six years, does not surprise, yet it is extremely satisfying. The title track is unashamedly funny and light, and made all the more sparkling by her confident delivery. O' Sailor is beautifully plangent and full of longing and Please, Please, Please is the closest thing to a minor hit single since Criminal on her debut. There is an assuredness and continuity on this album that was lacking from the sporadically brilliant When the Pawn.... I doubt this album will bring her many more disciples, but for those of us who have followed her from the beginning, it is lovely to have her back.
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