Fiona Apple Takes Aim In When The Pawn Hits...
Sophomore album offers biting, uninhibited
lyrics and jazzy overtones.
Senior Writer Gil Kaufman reports:
Fiona Apple's 90-word title for her sophomore album may be
verbose, but the singer/songwriter minces no words in the
scathing lyrics to the LP's 10 moody songs.
Continuing in the confessional vein of Tidal, her multiplatinum
1996 debut, the new album relies in part on the same biting
vocal delivery, spare drum beats and ominous-sounding piano
that marked such previous hits as "Criminal" (RealAudio
excerpt).
"This time it was a lot more me 霠an uninhibited me, a confident
me," Apple said about the sessions in a statement.
The full title of the album, due Nov. 9, is When the Pawn Hits
the Conflicts He Thinks Like a King What He Knows Throws
the Blows When He Goes to the Fight and He'll Win the Whole
Thing 'Fore He Enters the Ring There's No Body to Batter When
Your Mind Is Your Might So When You Go Solo, You Hold
Your Own Hand and Remember That Depth Is the Greatest of
Heights and If You Know Where You Stand, Then You Know
Where to Land and If You Fall It Won't Matter, Cuz You'll Know
That You're Right.
Apple's uninhibited, confident persona bursts out of such
tracks as "Limp," a galloping, uptempo number driven by
jazzy piano; skittering, syncopated drumbeats; and the
singer's vicious lyrics. "And when I think of it, my fingers turn
to fists," Apple rages in the chorus of the song, one of many
in which the singer appears to be exacting revenge on an
unkind lover.
"I never did anything to you, man/ But no matter what I try,"
she continues as her words pile up in a rush of emotion,
"You'll beat me with your bitter lies/ So call me crazy, hold
me down/ Make me cry; get off now, baby/ It won't be long till
you'll be/ Lying limp in your own hand."
"For a while, I was really afraid of not being able to write new
songs," Apple said. "Mainly, I write to clarify my thoughts and
feelings, and when I sing, I just concentrate on getting my
point across. I just want to make a statement and make it
right."
The singer's search for clarity comes across in songs such as
the album opener, "On the Bound," a creeping jazz-rock track
in which the singer mourns her indecision in a sultry,
blues-belting growl. "You're all I need," Apples sings, her voice
quivering, "and maybe some faith would do me good/ I don't
know what I'm doing, don't know should I/ Change my mind, I
can't decide, there's too many/ Variations to consider."
Apple plays the percussive piano riff on the song as well as
the variously classical-sounding and downbeat boogie
woogie竩tyle piano parts on the album's other tracks. Los
Angeles musician and producer Jon Brion (Aimee Mann), who
performed on Tidal, produced the new effort and plays a
variety of instruments on all the songs.
Other guests include eels drummer Butch, who performs on
"Limp" and the album's opening song, the chaotic,
crime-jazzlike "To Your Love." Veteran session drummer Jim
Keltner (Bob Dylan) plays drums on the downbeat ballad "I
Know."
With poetic lyrics that reveal a greater emotional depth than
some of the more straightforward songs on Tidal 霠such as
"Sullen Girl" (RealAudio excerpt) 霠the new album strikes
some fans as presenting the 22-year-old singer in a more
mature light, both vocally and lyrically.
"On this album, [Apple's voice is] stronger and more flexible,"
wrote 17-year-old Lane Collins, who said she'd heard the
entire album already. The webmaster of the unofficial "Fiona
Has Wings" website said she thought When the Pawn Hits ...
has more of a jazz influence and a confidence and playfulness
that weren't as pronounced on Tidal.
"The new material is better than Tidal, in that it's more
connected and settled," Collins said. "Not to say that all the
songs sound the same, but her personal style weaves through
the album, and you can hear a piece of Fiona in the
production and sound of each song."
In addition to the frantic, drum & bass-meets-jazz of the first
single, "Fast As You Can" (RealAudio excerpt), the album
also features the lush, sultry ballads "Love Ridden" and "The
Way Things Are" and the psychedelic lounge song "A
Mistake."
Other songs include the emotional roller-coaster ride of "Get
Gone" 霠one of several songs to feature a Chamberlin, a
presynthesizer sampler that uses audiotape to cue sounds 霊and "Paper Bag." The latter, a sly, sing-songy pop tune, also
features muted-brass backing reminiscent of famed composer
Burt Bacharach's arrangements in the '60s with such artists
as Dionne Warwick. The song has some of Apple's most
playful lyrics to date.
"He said 'It's all in your head,' and I said 'So's everything'/ But
he didn't get it," she sings in a languid voice. "I thought he
was a man/ But he was just a little boy."
--
gender is just an excuse, relationship shouldn't just be an excuse,
love is often an excuse, although sometimes these excuses are all
we have to hold onto,
death is the reason and living is the celebration
- Beth Orton
--
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