Fiona Apple Has Winner In ‘When The Pawn’

Mon., March 13, 2000

Fiona Apple is back with a bang. Jazzy, piano-driven songs such as “Criminal” and racy videos made Apple somewhat of an overnight success back in 1996, selling 3 million copies of her artsy debut album, “Tidal.”

Her new album “When the Pawn …,” which features the brilliant but definitely noncommercial single “Fast As You Can,” hasn’t so far yielded that kind of industry success, but artistically it far surpasses “Tidal.”

From the angst-filled “Get Gone” to the wistful “Love Ridden” to the playfully longing “Paper Bag,” this is quite an emotional disc.

Producer Jon Brion uses woodwinds, horns, strings and all manner of percussion and synthesizer sounds to build upon Apple’s piano playing and sultry vocals. All in all, this is an album without flaws and among the most artistic in recent memory. Grade: A++

- Kathy Bula/East Valley

The newly-released sophomore album, “When the Pawn …” by 22-year-old Fiona Apple is an outstanding follow-up to her debut CD, “Tidal.” Apple’s rich, throaty vocals backed by a fantastic variety of instruments combined with intricate, artistic lyrics make this record just as remarkable, if not more, than her previous endeavor.

Apple includes a track for every emotion - fear, anger, obsession and more. Her lyrics are full of word plays that seem more like poems than songs. With “When the Pawn …” Apple has expanded beyond her years, branching further into the untraditional styles of music that made her famous without losing our attention.

Dubbed “one of the best albums of the year” by MTV and receiving critical acclaim nationwide, this CD deserves to be ranked near the top of a “`Best Music of 1999” compilation.

Grade: A

- Lisa Hough/Lewis and Clark

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