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List Price: $8.99 | | Label: Sony
Salesrank: 4833
Released: October 4, 2005 |
| Our Price: $3.53 |
| Used Price: $2.50 |
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| Media: Audio CD |
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Extraordinary Machine Track Listing:
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 Review:
Critically Acclaimed Fiona Apple Returns with her First Studio Recording in Five Years. Fiona Apple Established Herself as a Visionary Singer/Songwriter at the Age of Nineteen with her Debut Album Tidal in 1996. This Stunning Album Went on to Earn her a Grammy Award in 1998 for "Best Female Rock Vocal Performance" Establishing her as an Uncompromising and Original Artist Gaining Intensely Loyal Fans all Over the World. CD/PAL Dvd - Live Performance Footage.
Description of Extraordinary Machine:
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
Extraordinary Machine Reviews:
Not At First, But Definitely Now 
2009-03-13 - I've grown up to Fiona Apple's sounds. I have been in love with her melodies and inspiring lyrics.
When I first purchased "Extraordinary Machine" I nearly wrote it off as "trying too hard to adjust". But, with my love of Fiona's music, I put it in the cd player again... and again... and again. Now I am at the point where I can sing along with her.
This album is like her first, in that it has beautiful lyrics and interesting mixes of instruments- but it has more music, more sound, more instruments, and more "pop". Without knowing it was Ms Fiona, I may have described it as a bit "hip hop." The beats are a bit odd, and her mix of her lovely vocals is almost quirky, but so amazing.
Give it another listen. You'll love it.
Now, I understand why there were problems getting this released... 
2009-02-13 - I've tried to like this album, but it is just painful to listen to. Tidal is by far her best work; and, I bought this CD in hopes that she was back in full force. Unfortunately, the lyrics were very flat and uninspiring. The piano was the only saving grace for this CD. If I could give it a half star, I would.
Not her best, but still great. 
2008-11-24 - I don't know what happened during the record of this, but there's something missing. The thing is that after 'When the Pawn...', that was a masterpiece, I was expecting a great follow up.
The album lacks the power of her previous ones. Maybe Jon Brion's absence as the producer, I don't know. The highlights are the more direct songs like 'Window', 'Please Please Please' and 'Get Him Back'.
I hope she teams up with Brion again for a return to the glorious times!
Extraordinary Talent, Heavy on Dissonance 
2008-10-24 - Fiona Apple writes uniquely and uses her phrasing skill to squeeze even more artistic juice from her work. This combination alone singles her out as a rare talent. She seems to be at her best when least encumbered by the addition of musical gimmicks like looping of instruments or clapping that appear on several tracks. The use of two different producers is evident in that the first song, Extraordinary Machine, and the last song, Waltz (Better Than Fine)were produced by Jon Brion using a straight-forward, ensemble instrumentation approach. These two songs showcase Apple's artistic skill without getting in her way. The rest of the CD is not as successful in this endeavor, but the production of Mike Elizando and Brian Kehew is not without merit. In this collection of songs, Apple expresses her many frustrations and observations about relationships. The music is often dissonant and choppy to match her emotions. It is here that the producers brought a strong attitude to the music and attempted to give weight to Apple's dissonance with a little hip hop production technique.
Given the subject matter and Fiona Apple's approach to it, this CD is not easy listening by any stretch of the imagination. It is, however, an emotionally effective expression by a gifted artist.
I certainly haven't been shopping for any new shoes.
2008-07-25 - Fiona returns, and she is on fire. A quite impressive album, though it falls a hair short of achieving the brilliance of 'When The Pawn...' I prefer this over 'Tidal' which in itself is pretty spectacular as well.
