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dweniusI have now listened to the official Extraordinary Machine album release three times. I tried to give it the benefit of the doubt, listen with open ears to the new arrangements and production, but to no avail. Sony, in some misguided hope of creating a radio-friendly release, has managed to squeeze almost every bit of fire and life out of the songs. The weakest tracks, they managed to improve a little, but the rest of the album was dumbed down to match that new, low standard. Now, it...well I dunno, I don't listen to the radio, but it sounds like what my concept of "what everything on the radio sounds like" ought to sound like. I'm exceedingly disappointed. Not angry, per se...I'm saving my anger for the Bush administration. But definitely disappointed enough
1. Extraordinary Machine - they actually lulled me into a false sense of security here. This track is the Brion version relatively unaltered; he gets the credits for production and orchestra conducting. The vocal track is redone, mixed a little more forward, and has an unnecessary and kinda clunky reprise at the end, but the essential charm of the song is intact.
2. Get Him Back - Here, though, we have problems. Who on earth thought the phrasing on this version of the chorus was superior to the Brion takes? This was the track that fans thought was the "radio sell out"/watered down song, even in Brion's rendition, but that version had buckets of character compared to this. The new drums are monotonous and drag the beat. They've somehow managed to make a Moog bassline boring; no presence to it at all. The delay and reverb on the vocal track adds nothing.
3. O' Sailor - Here is one of the moments where, by moving the whole album towards a safe, even keel, new producer Elizondo managed to improved the track. I didn't care for this song in general, but this arrangement, with the sliding bassline hits, a better vocal take (and better mixing of the vocals), and unobtrusive keys and flute fills, works just fine. Um, until the end, where for no apparent reason, they insert a weird, distant, delay+reverb/multilayered reprise of the chorus, which sounds like it was recorded in a tin can.
4. Better Version of Me - Oh, ugh. This was a cataclysm of unidentifiable instruments in the Brion version, with a quirky feel and loose timing. I have two Brion mixes of this, and the verse starts on beat 1 in one version, and on the other it starts on the last beat of the previous bar. both versions worked, because of the herky jerky feel to the accompaniment. This version is WAY too straight, a four on the floor rock beat with a guitar/farfisa break and unimpressive horn fills behind the chorus. The vocal take is flat, which kills a lot of the weight of the lyrics. this is a breakup album, and it USED to have spark. "Better Version of Me" was one of the better tracks, but now it just lies there. A damn shame.
5. Tymps (The sick in the head song) - This was titled "Used to Love Him" in the leaked version. More ugh, the vocals have had all the emotion taken out of them. The arrangement suffers similarly; the two flute/organ/drum breaks crash around without going anywhere (to be fair, Brion didn't quite know what to do with the break either), and the outro break is similarly vague.
6. Parting Gift - A new track, very nicely done. Harsh lyrics, with another strange melody that doesn't go where you expect it to go. I'd compliment the new production team for this one, except it's solo piano and voice, so all they had to do was set up the mics and get out of the way. I'll compliment them anyway: thanks for staying out of the way guys!
7. Window - Mildly improved, like O' Sailor, but again, the new vocal isn't as hard-edged and angry as the earlier takes.
8. Oh Well - Sigh. The original take had some vocal moments-- a quavering warble here, a ghost of a sob there-- that made it completely gripping; powerful lyrics about loss/regret/regaining confidence, by someone whose voice carries mountains of subtext about all of those things and more. Gone now, all the emotion squeezed out of what should be a wrist-slashing breakup anthem. Ok, they left a tooth or two in the last chorus, but by then it's too late.
9. Please, Please, Please - this is the "Have a Cigar" track, the song about the industry. Nice lyric, but behind it is more unimpressive organ, flat drumming, and another weak fill (choral "lalala"s and whooshy synths).
10. Red, Red, Red - The third and last track that was improved to the new, low standard of competence that permeates the album. I didn't care for this one either in the original version, and the new version isn't better enough to change my mind. The lyric has a few things to like about it, but it doesn't hang together well enough to carry the song, and the arrangement is so minimal it can't help out.
11. Not About Love - AAAAAAAAAAUGH! BLASPHEMY! The orchestral majesty of the Brion version, which to my ears was one of the most striking things in pop music in years, is gone. The vocals were redone again, evened out metrically, utterly drained of power. In the Brion version, one gets the impression that Apple is beating on the piano with a hammer. All that strength is extracted in this version, replaced with: stabbing guitar chords? Here also is another weak Moog bassline (how do they DO that?), and more metronome drumming. They WRECKED it. The brilliant lyrics are intact, but now nothing about the arrangement supports them. There oughtta be a law.
12. Waltz (Better than Fine) - We end as we began; this is the Brion version, untouched. It's just Apple's piano and voice for a verse, then some very nice orchestral fills from the second verse to the end. Lovely.
Fiona apple herself has been singing the party line about how excited she is to remake the album and finally get it released, but upon hearing it, I have to wonder. Most of the new vocal takes sound tired. Or maybe disaffected? It's been three years she's been working on this album, at least; the emotional wounds that apparently drove its creation don't seem as fresh as in the earlier takes, and that works to the detriment of the songs. I put my coin down for the album, because the 3% that Fiona Apple sees of the purchase price is money well earned for the lyrical content alone. But the versions on my mp3 player will be the Brion mixes. YMMV.
1. Extraordinary Machine - they actually lulled me into a false sense of security here. This track is the Brion version relatively unaltered; he gets the credits for production and orchestra conducting. The vocal track is redone, mixed a little more forward, and has an unnecessary and kinda clunky reprise at the end, but the essential charm of the song is intact.
2. Get Him Back - Here, though, we have problems. Who on earth thought the phrasing on this version of the chorus was superior to the Brion takes? This was the track that fans thought was the "radio sell out"/watered down song, even in Brion's rendition, but that version had buckets of character compared to this. The new drums are monotonous and drag the beat. They've somehow managed to make a Moog bassline boring; no presence to it at all. The delay and reverb on the vocal track adds nothing.
3. O' Sailor - Here is one of the moments where, by moving the whole album towards a safe, even keel, new producer Elizondo managed to improved the track. I didn't care for this song in general, but this arrangement, with the sliding bassline hits, a better vocal take (and better mixing of the vocals), and unobtrusive keys and flute fills, works just fine. Um, until the end, where for no apparent reason, they insert a weird, distant, delay+reverb/multilayered reprise of the chorus, which sounds like it was recorded in a tin can.
4. Better Version of Me - Oh, ugh. This was a cataclysm of unidentifiable instruments in the Brion version, with a quirky feel and loose timing. I have two Brion mixes of this, and the verse starts on beat 1 in one version, and on the other it starts on the last beat of the previous bar. both versions worked, because of the herky jerky feel to the accompaniment. This version is WAY too straight, a four on the floor rock beat with a guitar/farfisa break and unimpressive horn fills behind the chorus. The vocal take is flat, which kills a lot of the weight of the lyrics. this is a breakup album, and it USED to have spark. "Better Version of Me" was one of the better tracks, but now it just lies there. A damn shame.
5. Tymps (The sick in the head song) - This was titled "Used to Love Him" in the leaked version. More ugh, the vocals have had all the emotion taken out of them. The arrangement suffers similarly; the two flute/organ/drum breaks crash around without going anywhere (to be fair, Brion didn't quite know what to do with the break either), and the outro break is similarly vague.
6. Parting Gift - A new track, very nicely done. Harsh lyrics, with another strange melody that doesn't go where you expect it to go. I'd compliment the new production team for this one, except it's solo piano and voice, so all they had to do was set up the mics and get out of the way. I'll compliment them anyway: thanks for staying out of the way guys!
7. Window - Mildly improved, like O' Sailor, but again, the new vocal isn't as hard-edged and angry as the earlier takes.
8. Oh Well - Sigh. The original take had some vocal moments-- a quavering warble here, a ghost of a sob there-- that made it completely gripping; powerful lyrics about loss/regret/regaining confidence, by someone whose voice carries mountains of subtext about all of those things and more. Gone now, all the emotion squeezed out of what should be a wrist-slashing breakup anthem. Ok, they left a tooth or two in the last chorus, but by then it's too late.
9. Please, Please, Please - this is the "Have a Cigar" track, the song about the industry. Nice lyric, but behind it is more unimpressive organ, flat drumming, and another weak fill (choral "lalala"s and whooshy synths).
10. Red, Red, Red - The third and last track that was improved to the new, low standard of competence that permeates the album. I didn't care for this one either in the original version, and the new version isn't better enough to change my mind. The lyric has a few things to like about it, but it doesn't hang together well enough to carry the song, and the arrangement is so minimal it can't help out.
11. Not About Love - AAAAAAAAAAUGH! BLASPHEMY! The orchestral majesty of the Brion version, which to my ears was one of the most striking things in pop music in years, is gone. The vocals were redone again, evened out metrically, utterly drained of power. In the Brion version, one gets the impression that Apple is beating on the piano with a hammer. All that strength is extracted in this version, replaced with: stabbing guitar chords? Here also is another weak Moog bassline (how do they DO that?), and more metronome drumming. They WRECKED it. The brilliant lyrics are intact, but now nothing about the arrangement supports them. There oughtta be a law.
12. Waltz (Better than Fine) - We end as we began; this is the Brion version, untouched. It's just Apple's piano and voice for a verse, then some very nice orchestral fills from the second verse to the end. Lovely.
Fiona apple herself has been singing the party line about how excited she is to remake the album and finally get it released, but upon hearing it, I have to wonder. Most of the new vocal takes sound tired. Or maybe disaffected? It's been three years she's been working on this album, at least; the emotional wounds that apparently drove its creation don't seem as fresh as in the earlier takes, and that works to the detriment of the songs. I put my coin down for the album, because the 3% that Fiona Apple sees of the purchase price is money well earned for the lyrical content alone. But the versions on my mp3 player will be the Brion mixes. YMMV.
