Extraordinary Machine
by Fiona Apple
  • Record Label: Sony
  • Release Date: Oct 4, 2005
User Score
8.7

Universal acclaim- based on 221 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 197 out of 221
  2. Mixed: 12 out of 221
  3. Negative: 12 out of 221

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  1. BrianM
    Oct 3, 2005
    6
    are they crazy? jon brion's production added an extra dimension to this "machine"... but the new production simply sounds boring.
  2. Matt
    Oct 10, 2005
    6
    Not up to the level of Tidal or When The Pawn.. too many songs have a sterile quality, and that's too bad considering her compelling voice. She's best on low-key songs like O' Sailor and Parting Gift.
  3. orieand
    Nov 25, 2005
    4
    Everyone seems to think Sony shelved the album when it was really Fiona who put the project on hold. Despite the controversy, it doesn't really live up to the hype. With the exception of a few tracks, there's nothing too memorable about this album. Waiting 6 years for this is quite a disappointment...
  4. PerspicaciousCritic
    Oct 21, 2005
    4
    Will someone close to Fiona Apple please advise her to stop those lazy, predictable middle 8s in most of her songs? Such beautiful, filmic music -- Extraordinary Machine, Get Him Back, O Sailor, et al. -- ruined by familiar, conventional bridges. I've listened to the album for the third time and now I've had it. To the bottom of the CD pile it goes! To paraphrase Ms. Apple, Will someone close to Fiona Apple please advise her to stop those lazy, predictable middle 8s in most of her songs? Such beautiful, filmic music -- Extraordinary Machine, Get Him Back, O Sailor, et al. -- ruined by familiar, conventional bridges. I've listened to the album for the third time and now I've had it. To the bottom of the CD pile it goes! To paraphrase Ms. Apple, "Please, please, please, no more grating middle 8s."… Expand
  5. BrianB
    Dec 4, 2005
    4
    I wouldn't have even written a review of this if I hadn't noticed that it's on the "best of 2005" list. Are you serious? I adored "Tidal" and "When The Pawn...", but this is...not good. I've read the other reviews, and I have to agree with terms like "overrated" and "unfocused". She had six years to get inspired; to come up with a great record. I mean, it has its I wouldn't have even written a review of this if I hadn't noticed that it's on the "best of 2005" list. Are you serious? I adored "Tidal" and "When The Pawn...", but this is...not good. I've read the other reviews, and I have to agree with terms like "overrated" and "unfocused". She had six years to get inspired; to come up with a great record. I mean, it has its moments (hence, the 4 rating), but her "best album to date"? Please. If you don't have her other albums, get those, and leave this on the shelf (which, coincidentally, Ms. Apple should've done for you).… Expand
  6. RobbieC
    Apr 11, 2007
    5
    An utter disappointment. The original tracks sounded audacious, ostentatious, grandiose! Unlike any other music being made today. In their finished state, she is part Eminem, part Fiona-on-Quaaludes, all weak and compromised. The only reason this album gets so much as a 5 is because two of the tracks are unchanged and two others might have been improved.
  7. beeb
    Oct 18, 2005
    5
    over produced and overrated. Songs have lots of potential but her man-boxing overshadows them. can i get an "amen"?
  8. SeanT
    Dec 11, 2005
    6
    very disapointing. she should have spent more time on and released the jon brion version. it was richer and not cluttered at all.
  9. All_ButTrU4
    Feb 11, 2022
    5
    solid set of passionate, angry, marvelously produced songs delivered by a singular voice, and it succeeds by following a muse that doesn't just ignore genre distinctions and pop delineations—it doesn't know they exist.

Awards & Rankings

31
#31 Best Album of 2005
26
#26 Most Discussed Album of 2005
46
#46 Most Shared Album of 2005

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
84

Universal acclaim - based on 27 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 26 out of 27
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 27
  3. Negative: 0 out of 27
  1. Entertainment Weekly
    100
    The cleaner take on Extraordinary Machine is like a trip to a less cluttered haunted house, and Apple's more nuanced delivery sticks the knife in, but slowly. It's both charming and devastating. [7 Oct 2005, p.72]
  2. The New York Times
    90
    There's a new layer of perspective on her magnificent third album. [3 Oct 2005]
  3. Billboard
    80
    With a less confessional and more confrontational attitude, this long-gestating album has lost the tenderness found on "Tidal" and some of "When the Pawn . . .," but her execution still commands attention. [8 Oct 2005]
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