Fiona Apple : "When the Pawn Hits the Conflicts" (HQ MP3, FULL CD)
FIONA'S SECOND ALBUM - GENIUS NEVER DIES!
One of my most favorite albums ever. Download and enjoy. And please share this slice of musical and lyrical heaven.
1 On the Bound 5:23
2 To Your Love 3:40
3 Limp 3:31
4 Love Ridden 3:22
5 Paper Bag 3:40
6 A Mistake 4:58
7 Fast as You Can 4:40
8 The Way Things Are 4:18
9 Get Gone 4:10
10 I Know 4:57
Fiona Apple, what a character. Between the softcore video, the awards show rebuke, and now for her second album concocting history's most ludicrous title (the full thing runs 90 words long), Apple is earning a rep as a world-class oddball. Which may be the case. In contrast to many of her faux eccentric contemporaries, however, this wolf in waif's clothing seems to be genuinely astray in the straight world. And Apple is the real thing in another way--as a talent. When the Pawn Hits picks up where her eye-opening debut, Tidal, left off.
With Jon Brion back in the producer's seat, the twosome concoct a heady, keyboard-heavy soundscape that perfectly complements the singer's assertive, dangerously sexy Nina Simone-meets-Chrissie Hynde delivery. Unforeseen embellishments color the arrangements, including the sinister carnival interlude in "On the Bound," the George Harrison-like guitar in "Mistake," and the drum solo (when's the last time you heard one of those on a pop album?) in "Limp." All Brion's enhancements are in service of Apple, who comes through with preternaturally confident expressions of insecure sentiments ("Change my mind, I can't decide, there's too many variations to consider") and cold-eyed accounts of recrimination and self-recrimination.
Cohesive, gutsy, and finely honed, When the Pawn Hits pummels any notions of a sophomore slump for 1996's most promising newcomer. A character, yes, but what an artist, too!
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
Fiona Apple : "When the Pawn Hits the Conflicts" (HQ MP3, FULL CD)
