What’s Coming Is Already On Its Way

Fiona Apple “Red Red Red” – 10.0, *****, A+, two thumbs waaaaaaaaaaaaaay up. I don’t care what your rating system is, I just know that whatever it is, the officially released version of Extraordinary Machine is the one record that I’ve heard this year that deserves the top ranking, and believe you me, I’ve heard a LOT of music in 2005. Many will romanticize the original Jon Brion production, but I maintain that the Mike Elizondo versions are uniformly superior, lending a greater range of color and dynamics to an already-excellent batch of songs that would have been among the best records of the year either way. Whereas Brion was content to throw a string arrangement on a song and call it a day, Apple and Elizondo maximized the potential of each selection, crafting a collection of compelling invidual works rather than let the songs blend together in a coffee shop wallpaper AAA haze. For example, whereas the demo version of “Not About Love” featured a Brion-by-numbers string counter melody, the final take is simplified considerably, with the dramatic emphasis shifted from string bombast to bustling percussion by ?uestlove of the Roots, resulting in a nimble track that mirrors the manic disposition of the song and its lyrics.

For the most part, the songs have remained fairly similar in tone in spite of the new arrangements. “Red Red Red,” my favorite song from the original version, is the notable exception as it takes on a very different personality. Entertainment Weekly’s David Browne accurately noted in his review that the new version comes off as being more thoughtful, as though the intensity of the Brion recording had worn away through the perspective of time, allowing the singer to come to terms with the song’s subject. I have trouble picking a favorite between the two versions – there’s something to be said for the strident urgency of the original, but the burned resignation of the final track rings very true. I’m glad to have them both as a set of emotional bookends for the entire project. (Click here to buy the regular version of Extraordinary Machine, and here to buy the Dualdisc version, which contains some excellent live footage on the dvd including two unreleased covers and a bluegrass-y version of “Fast As You Can” with Nickel Creek.)

Shrag “Pregnancy Scene” – At long last, we have some new material from Brighton’s Shrag, whom some of you will remember from the instant-classic one-off single “Punk Grammar” from over a year ago. The grand tally of Shrag songs is barely up to a handful at this point, but you’ll be glad to know that their quality control is on lock. “Pregnancy Scene” sounds like Huggy Bear knicking The Fall’s “Theme From Sparta FC,” which if you know me well roughly translates to “OMG IT RULES IT RULES IT RULES!” (Click here for Shrag’s MySpace page.)