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Tidal, Fiona Apple's major label debut, came out when the singer-songwriter was only 18, yet she managed to sound old beyond her years, hooking in listeners all over the age spectrum and bypassing the teen pop ghetto that comes with a fiercely enforced "sell-by" date. Her debut single, the darkly baroque "Shadowboxer," was a moderate hit on both alternative rock and adult contemporary radio and along with Apple's often harsh back story and moody, highly photogenic beauty, Tidal became a worldwide hit. Apple's follow-up LP was hindered by having an entire poem as its song title and a cover shot that downplayed her austere beauty. If that seemed like a deliberate attempt to make listeners concentrate on the music, it worked -- especially when When the Pawn... went on to win rave reviews and shoot up to No. 1 on the then-new Internet sales chart. Once again, Apple's pained songcraft slightly obscured how good she really is. If an indie rock band crafted arrangements that recalled the experimental orchestral side of the Beatles and the strum-und-drang clang of Tom Waits, they'd be getting major music magazine space instead of features in Jane magazine. After this, the emotionally fragile Apple did take a considerable amount of time off to make up for all the work she did in her teen years. Then, news started spreading on the internet that her record company was holding back her third album. Apple’s esteemed producer, Jon Brion, who had earned a reputation for layering psychedelic orchestral flourishes and off-key musique concrete elements into songs, had pushed the already experimental artist farther than they'd gone before. Apple’s rabidly dedicated fanbase started posting these tracks on the internet, while demanding that such beautiful compositions be allowed to enter the market place. Whether by corporate pressure or personal choice, Apple went back into the studio and reworked many, though not all, of the songs with a new producer. When Extraordinary Machine was finally released in 2005, most of its tracks were stripped of ornate arrangements and Apple’s already intricate songcraft was easier to appreciate. Controversy aside, Extraordinary Machine was another superb Fiona Apple album and it sailed to the Top 10 without the aid of any hit singles. Since Fiona Apple is content to work at her own pace, perhaps her record company will please her impatient fans by releasing a two-disc edition of Extraordinary Machine until her next album comes out. That way everyone can decide which version of each song they prefer. Regardless of this episode, Fiona Apple remains one of the most artically challenging and inventive recording artists to sell millions of albums in the 1990s and 2000s.
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