History is shaped by our hands.

I'm long-entry-boy this week.

After 6 years, Fiona Apple has released Extraordinary Machine, her third album. The album has been eagerly anticipated by fans and critics, both of whom applauded her previous release. Most casual fans, however, haven't paid much attention to Fiona since the video for "Criminal", in which she was wriggling around a 70s style apartment in her underwear. Not that it's important, but for the record I had Fiona's music committed to memory long before that video.

It's been a bumpy ride for Fiona, or maybe for her fans, in the last 6 years. Lies and allegations flew around the internet as month after month passed without any word on the third album. Eventually it was learned that Sony had shelved the album because there was no radio single on it. Eventually it was learned that this was almost the exact opposite of what actually did happen. Fiona shelved it herself, feeling that the producer had too much influence over the sound and she was never really in the driver's seat on the project. This information was never made public until very recently, so fans still thought that Sony had killed the project. They started 'Free Fiona' and rallied in front of the Sony headquarters in New York City. Fiona learned of this and felt a strange mix of guilt (it was her fault, not Sony's) and inspiration (the fans really care). She returned to the studio, brought in a new producer, and re-recorded the songs.

And then the age of the internet struck and the songs got leaked for downloading. High quality downloading, too. The songs came out, many fans downloaded, and many fans listened. Just like these fans, I downloaded it and gave it a listen. This leaves me with a rather interesting review. Not only am I reviewing a new album, but I'm comparing it to a prior album that had fully completed versions of the same songs. A lot of backstory up there, but here begins the review.

Extraordinary Machine leads off with the title track, which is familiar to people who heard the downloads and to those that haven't. It's familiar to the downloaders because it is one of two tracks that wasn't changed. It's familiar to the other folks because it is classic Fiona Apple. Just like "Waltz", the other unchanged track, it begs you to relive moments from Tidal, her first release. These songs are both beautiful, catchy, soft, and with powerful lyrics that manage to both explain exactly what's on her mind and also confuse you underneath metaphor. For the most part, that can be said of all the lyrics on the album.

Some songs should have not been touched. "Better Version of Me" already had two versions on that initial download. Both of those versions are much better than the one that ultimately ended up on Extraordinary Machine. There's not necessarily anything wrong with the official version. It's not a bad song, but it could be, and was, much better. We might not have even noticed that the song was a bit disjointed if we hadn't heard two other versions that both hit on all cylinders.

And then there is the exact opposite with the song "O' Sailor". "O' Sailor" didn't sound anywhere close to finished on the download. It had major holes in it, in my mind. The new version sounds complete, finished, and amazing. It's a whole song now, while the previous version was missing some pieces. I used to dislike "O' Sailor". Now I consider it one of my favorites of the collection.

And then there is "Red Red Red". I loved it on the leaked tracks. It was rather angry and full of energy. It's now very solemn and reflecting. Same lyrics, same chords, just a very different choice of instruments and pitch in Fiona's voice. It works. It's a great song, but I thought the original was an excellent song, so it seems inferior despite being great. My internal jury on that song is still out deliberating.

A lot of the other songs are generally the same, but with a few minor changes here and there. Mostly what I noticed is that orchestral string sections were replaced with strumming guitars or even tapping percussion. My favorite horn piece (just two quick chords) which was a highlight of the leaked release was removed, only to be replaced a few seconds later by a full horn bridge. For someone that has been asking himself, "Why aren't there more horns there? They fit great!" since I first heard that cut of the song, I'm loving the change here. Fiona's voice is also stronger and more confident on the re-recorded songs. It's even shifted and played over itself a few times in one song to give the impression of an entire Fiona chorus. Nice change. And the lyrics are generally unchanged, which is a very good thing. Her lyrics are often very honest, occasionally biting, but always incredible. I'm glad that she didn't go back and re-work the meanings of the songs too much.

There are some overall things that I noticed with the album. It is now produced by a producer whose previous body of work is most notably marked by a Snoop Dog album. The new producer's skills are generally rooted in hip-hop and that can be noticed by a stronger bass prescense than anything else in Fiona's back catalog, including the leaked versions of these songs. It's a little odd and jarring on first listen, but seems to fit in on subsequent visits to the songs. Fiona's piano is also much more audible on these tracks. It was buried underneath the similar sound of the strings on the leaked tracks, but now stands strong.

Another thing that is clear on all of these songs is Fiona's vocal range. Her voice is amazing no matter where on the range she's singing. I listened to this album immediately before listening to the new Liz Phair album, which also came out on Tuesday. The first syllable out of Liz's mouth was jarring and might have visibly shook me. Liz is a good singer, but she's not a great singer by any means. On her own she sounds just fine, but she can't follow Fiona Apple's voice. Smooth, sultry, with incredible range; this gal can sing.

So what are my final thoughts? There are leaked versions of songs that I like better. There are re-recorded versions of songs that I like better. I think to honestly review this album I need to try and block out my knowledge of the leaked tracks, even though I just spent a whole post comparing them. The truth of it all is that if I had never heard the leaked tracks and just picked up this CD blindly, I would have loved it. It is a Fiona Apple album. There are songs I would have loved and other songs that I would have loved, only not so much.