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- Date Released: November 9, 1999
- Genre: Alternative/Punk
- Label: Clean Slate/Epic
- Copyright: 1999 Sony Music Entertainment Inc.
A still-fiery Fiona’s smoldering second album
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We Say...
Fiona Apple is a mess. A beautiful, brilliant mess, but a mess all the same. Throughout her career she's cultivated a reputation as a damaged flower, the sullen girl whose tear-jerking ballads and fiery kiss-offs bristle with an impotent rage that can't quite mask her vulnerability. A total meltdown is always looming — in the most alluring, cathartic way. Her second album, 1999’s When the Pawn…, is Fiona at her best: brooding, defiantly eccentric, but somehow still in control. Credit producer Jon Brion with arranging majestic, sophisticated songs that are more challenging, more off-kilter than your typical singer/songwriter breakup fare. But make no mistake: they still pack an emotional punch.
"Hell don't know my fury," warns Apple on the album's opening track, and her rage continues to smolder from there. Songs like "Fast As You Can" and "Limp" are irate tongue twisters, Apple spitting out lyrics like "And when I think of it/My fingers turn to fists/I never did anything to you, man." But anger is only one stage of grief, and there is no better way to mourn dashed romantic dreams than with the torchy "Paper Bag," one of the best songs about unrequited love ever. If Apple is all agony and madness and gaping wounds, then the album's most surprising moment comes when she reveals her softer, more complacent side in the quietly stunning "I Know". Instead of picking fights or stirring up trouble, here she abandons her pride in order to cling to tiny scraps of the unavailable man she loves. In doing so she reveals herself to be the kind of woman who can say "It's OK" when it's clearly not OK at all. Now if that isn't madness, what is? -
They Say...
Fiona Apple may have been grouped in with the other female singer/songwriters who dominated the pop charts in 1996 and 1997, but she stood out by virtue of her grand ambitions and considerable musical sophistication. Even though her 1996 debut Tidal occasionally was hampered by naiveté, it showcased a gifted young artist in the process of finding her voice. Even so, the artistic leap between Tidal and its long-awaited 1999 sequel When the Pawn Hits... is startling. It's evident that not only have Apple's ambitions grown, so has her confidence -- few artists would open themselves up to the ridicule that comes with having a 90-word poem function as the full title, but that captures the fearless feeling of the record. Apple doesn't break from the jazzy pop of Tidal on Pawn, choosing instead to refine her sound and then expand its horizons. Although there are echoes of everything from Nina Simone to Aimee Mann on the record, it's not easy to spot specific influences, because this is truly an individual work. As a songwriter, she balances her words and melodies skillfully, no longer sounding self-conscious as she crafts highly personal, slightly cryptic songs that never sound precocious or insular. With producer Jon Brion, she created the ideal arrangements for these idiosyncratic songs, finding a multi-layered sound that's simultaneously elegant and carnival-esque. As a result, Pawn is immediately grabbing, and instead of fading upon further plays, it reveals more with each listen, whether it's a lyrical turn of phrase or an unexpected twist in the arrangement; what's more, Apple has made it as rich emotionally as it is musically. That's quite a feat for any album, but it's doubly impressive since it is only the second effort by a musician who is only 22 years old.
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| 01. |  |
On The Bound |
5:21 |
|
| 02. | |
To Your Love |
3:40 |
|
| 03. | |
Limp |
3:29 |
|
| 04. | |
Love Ridden |
3:22 |
|
| 05. | |
Paper Bag |
3:39 |
|
| 06. | |
A Mistake |
4:56 |
|
| 07. | |
Fast As You Can |
4:38 |
|
| 08. | |
The Way Things Are
|
4:16 |
|
| 09. | |
Get Gone |
4:07 |
|
| 10. | |
I Know |
4:55 |
|
10 Total Tracks, 42:23 Total Length
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Credits
- Jim Keltner - Drums // John Bainbridge - Arranger // John Bainbridge - Orchestration // Tom Banghart - Assistant Engineer // Robert Becker - Viola // Charlie Bisharat - Violin // Rob Brill - Assistant Engineer // Jon Brion - Producer // Jon Brion - Mixing // Matt Chamberlain - Percussion // Matt Chamberlain - Drums // Greg Cohen - Bass // Larry Corbett - Cello // Armen Garabedian - Violin // Berj Garabedian - Violin // Wendell Kelly - Horn // Peter Kent - Violin // Brian Leonard - Violin // Maria Newman - Viola // Michele Richards - Violin // Patrick Warren - Chamberlin // Patrick Warren - Wurlitzer // John Wittenberg - Violin // Susan Chatman - Violin // Scott Haupert - Viola // Robert Peterson - Violin // Edmund Stein - Violin // Suzie Katayama - Cello // Mike Breaux - Woodwind // Fiona Apple - Piano // Fiona Apple - Vocals // Fiona Apple - Design // Fiona Apple - Cover Art Concept // Valerie Pack - Production Coordination // Rich Costey - Programming // Rich Costey - Engineer // Rich Costey - Mixing // Denyse Buffman - Viola // Mike Elizondo - Bass // Steve Mixdorf - Assistant Engineer // John Tyree - Assistant Engineer // Greg Collins - Assistant Engineer // Eve Butler - Violin // Eddy Scheyer - Mastering // Bryan Jackson - Assistant Engineer
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