When The Pawn...
Average Customer Review:
Audio CD (09 November, 1999)
list price: $11.98 -- our price: $7.99
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Editorial Review

When the Pawn Hits fulfills the promise of Fiona Apple's debut, Tidal, a strong statement given that her first outing was one of 1996's most exciting collections. Dark and emotionally dense, Apple's sophomore effort is awash in alluring and witty undercurrents that belie its creator's youth. --Steven Stolder ... Read more

Reviews (515)

Fiona is an artistic genius.
Fiona Apple is an artistic genius. I love this album for it's depth, honesty, poetry, and intensity of spirit. The way Fiona's voice cracks at the end of the song, I Know, is hearbreaking. And the way Fiona compairs one way love with anorexia in the song Paper Bag is ingenius. I wish there were more artists like this out there on the scene today. Fiona Apple, Tori Amos, Corinna Fugate, and Vanessa Carlton stand as one of a kind songwriters. I hope they release Fiona Apple's new CD soon! I will be the first to buy it! Free Fiona!

Another bite from the Apple
Recently I picked up Fiona Apple's second album, 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....which is typically shortened to When the Pawn... I was inspired to do this by my recent listening to the unreleased Extraordinary Machine, which is floating around all over the internet, and I would buy in a heartbeat.

So, When The Pawn... is another excellent album from Fiona. I've been listening to it mostly as I drive to and from work this week, and have fallen in love with a number of the tracks: "To Your Love", "Fast As You Can", "Limp", "Get Gone", and "A Mistake" are the ones which come to mind. Fiona has her own rather unique musical style, a mix of rock and blues and jazz and funk which complements her interesting and thoughtful lyrics.

This is not dance music. The songs don't all sound the same. The lyrics don't read like they were written by a teenager. If that's not your cup of tea, perhaps you should move on.

It's too bad that musical crap like Britney flourishes, while Fiona creates excellent music and is mostly ignored. Even the Grammy-winning Norah Jones can only aspire to be as thoughtful as this.

So, in case you were wondering, I do recommend this album. ;)

Vastly overrated
I don't know who the people leaving all these "she's a genius" reviews here, but let me tell you, this album is a huge disappointment. I bought the album lured primarily by the glowing reviews, and I feel cheated.

The music is neither melodic nor touching, instead she produces a cocophany of loud noise and hopes her fans will see it as a "wonderfully elaborate arrangement".

The vocals are unremarkable, the composition is mediocre, and the lyrics are hardly poetic. This is just another singer riding high on the hype generated by her record label. ... Read more

Asin: B00002MZ4W
Subjects:  1. Pop    2. Rock   

Revelling/Reckoning
Average Customer Review:
Audio CD (10 April, 2001)
list price: $25.98 -- our price: $23.49
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Editorial Review

As she has become both indie icon and industry force, AniDiFranco has grown more unpredictable, savvy, and restless with everyrelease. On this sumptuously packaged double set, DiFranco often poursher brutally personal and political images into summery, horn-basedjazz arrangements--Maceo Parker eventakes one gorgeously funky sax solo--and yet somehow still keeps thefocus on her own minimalist guitar and vulnerable, emotionallystrung-out voice. Her jittery, jazzy phrasing deconstructs the pleasure andpoison of her lyrics, so that even vicious lines like "our culture isjust a roughneck / teenage jerk / with a bottle of pills / and a bottleof booze" resonate beyond easy condemnation. This is a dark, brooding,but ultimately cathartic work of confessional art. On nearly everytrack, DiFranco pursues the kind of defenseless honesty and personalvision that few other performers today would dare. --Roy Kasten ... Read more

Reviews (102)

politically apathetic fans' rantings
what is it with these people reviewing ani's albums and bitching about ani's left-wing politics and how that makes the albums go from great to just good?!?!

other than her great song-writing ability and ultra-personal lyrics that strike a chord with listeners, what makes ani ani is her unapologetic criticisms of mainstream and conservative politics...... i dont think she'd appreciate knowing that some of her "fans" are apparently politically apathetic and complacent....It's one thing if you don't agree with her politics, but the impression i get from these reviewers is that they'd rather live in a self-imposed bubble where they can view life through rose-colored glasses.if you want that go listen to avril lavigne or someone equally as vapid.

other than that though i am one of those people that prefers her earlier stuff.I dont think she pulls of this jazz/fusion direction she's taking, there aren't hooks to the songs and her lyrics just don't carry the same punch that they used to.

A very mixed bag...
This album contains everything that I love about Ani diFranco. And everything that infuriates me about her.

Let's start with the bad news: the unadulteralted rinky-dink left-wing whining is in full force here. "Your Next Bold Move" is SO full of potential, but it alternates thoughtful writing with drivel about the plague of Reagan and Bush or the left wing being broken or... god, I don't know, just a lot of political ranting that diFranco doesn't even try to dress up as art. And much later comes "Subdivision," which starts out "White people are so afraid of Black people that..." Gee, thanks. Tell me something I don't know...

But then -- bam! Interspersed with this self-indulgent political nonsense are some of the greatest lyrics my ears have ever had the pleasure of hearing. "Garden of Simple" and "School Night" just blow me away; she must have sold her soul to come up with those metaphors. The "back" button on my car's CD player is now worn out because I repeat these two songs so frequently. And then there are so many other great images scattered throughout the rest of the album ("her Picasso face twisted..." is a favorite).

Ani, how could you sing a line like "you are a party and I am a school night," such a sweet, simple and PERFECT metaphor, and then give me drivel like white people are so cared of black people that white people have to live in subdivisions? AAARGH.

But still: you have to respect this woman. If I had nuts, I'd give my left one to be half the writer she is.

SO: GET THIS CD. Then master your own version, and treasure it forever. The really good stuff here should fit easily on one CD. And, oh, that one CD should have "School Night" and "Garden of Simple" twice each.

Give the jazz shtick a rest Ani
I am a huge fan of mid-career Ani.Out of Range through To the Teeth were brillant albums.I think that the success that she enjoyed cultivating the funky side of To the Teeth (probably with the help of others) gave her an inflated impression of the scope of her abilities.She is not a jazz musician and the music that she creates when she is trying to be jazzy/funky just plain sucks.

None of the songs are catchy.The feeble moaning of horns at strange and inopportune times are irritating.The lyrics are occassionally interesting but not what they used to be.The arrangement of the music is amateurish.She could handle a couple of guitars, bass, drums and vocals but she is in way over her head with the jazz ensemble.

In short I think that this album has few, if any, redeeming features.I will proceed with caution with Ani in the future.If she pulls another one of these she will be off of my instant-buy list. ... Read more

Asin: B000059XKZ
Subjects:  1. Alternative Folk    2. Alternative Pop/Rock    3. Anti-Folk    4. Indie Rock    5. Pop    6. Rock    7. Singer/Songwriter    8. Urban Folk   

Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea
Average Customer Review:
Audio CD (31 October, 2000)
list price: $18.98 -- our price: $14.99
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Editorial Review

She may not break new ground with Stories from the City, Stories fromthe Sea, but Polly Jean Harvey proves one thing: she sure knows how to tendto her plot. Hard-rocking, guitar-driven numbers, mesmerizing vocal wordplay,and plenty of noisy atmospherics prove that Harvey is still the queen ofrock-noir. --Jason Verlinde ... Read more

Features

• Explicit Lyrics

Reviews (194)

Her Worst Work
Although not surprising, it's rather ironic that an artist as groundbreaking and original as Harvey is getting a commercial and critical recognition for her most mediocre release.
This is not a bad album it contains good tracks ('Big Exit', 'Whore Hustler') and at time strokes an emotional chord ('We Float') but most of the time it sounds predictable and disturbingly catchy. Both lyrically and musically the album is far behind the level that most Harvey fans are use to and it's understandable that a lot of them alienated her for it.

PJ Harvey's best album
PJ Harvey's fifth album "Stories From the City, Stories From the Sea" is the singer/songwriter's finest album and should please fans of her older albums and new fans alike. "Stories From the City, Stories From the Sea" is somewhat slicker, less rough-around-the-edges than her other albums. I would recommend this album to start off with, as it is probably her most assessable work.

I personally feel that this album has her best collection of songs. From the opening rocker "Big Exit" to the beautiful "We Float," every song is a winner. There isn't any filler to be found. Each song is well written and memorable. It's a good mix of fast paced rockers, mid-tempo songs, and slower ones. The listener never gets bored. This CD deals with themes of love, relationships, etc, but never gets tedious or trite. Everything on this album is sincere and straight from the heart.

The album opens up strong with "Big Exit" an excellent rocker with a good, infectious hook. "Good Fortune" keeps up the momentum. "A Place Called Home" is a beautiful, somewhat morose, slower number whose enchanting background vocals stay with the listener long after the song has ended. The album slows down a bit for the next few songs. The mid-tempo "One Line" leads in perfectly to the dark, atmospheric "Beautiful Feeling." The pace is picked up with "The Whores Hustle, and the Hustlers Whore." "The Mess We're In" features a duet with Thom Yorke. Their overlapping vocals work nicely together. "You Said Something" is another softer number in the vein of "A Place Called Home," only slightly more upbeat. The pace picks up considerably with the excellent rockers "Kamikaze" and "This is Love." The album starts to wind down with the beautiful "Horses in my Dreams" The duel piano and guitar make "Horses in my Dreams" enchanting. The album ends with its' finest track, the majestic "We Float." The verse serves mostly to build up the song and it's mesmerizing chorus totally engulfs the listener.

If you don't own any PJ Harvey albums, this is a good place to start. It's a really good album and should please old and new fans alike.

Mature PJ - like good wine
I feel that this is a very personal album of Polly Jean's.I can feel that the songs came out of her experiences, as if they had come right out of her skin.That's what makes this so great.I also think that it's an album that anyone leaving their twenties and entering their thirties can truly relate to.PJ's grown up and lightened up about a lot of things, but is, as always, very intelligent, emotional and perceptive."We Fall" is a masterpiece.This is an album I keep coming back to. ... Read more

Asin: B00004YW6I
Subjects:  1. Adult Alternative Pop/Rock    2. Alternative Pop/Rock    3. Pop    4. Rock    5. Rock/Pop   

Homogenic
Average Customer Review:
Audio CD (23 September, 1997)
list price: $18.98 -- our price: $13.99
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Editorial Review

Headline-grabbing personal upheavals turn into introspective surges on Homogenic, the third album by Icelandic singer Björk. Driven inward after a bizarre year accented by a much publicized mail bomb, airport cat fight and brawl between ex-lovers Tricky and Goldie, Björk gets lost in a wash of strings and minimalist techno patterns on her latest outing. The eccentricity and stylistic schizophrenia of Debut and Post have been cast away in favor of darker, more sublime edginess. Filled with songs about paranoia, heartbreak, and lost faith, Homogenic not only showcases more mature themes, but a more uniform mood. Notch that up to Björk's decision to produce the album herself. Aside from a few nominal collaborations with Mark Bell of obscure techno outfit LFO and the Icelandic String Octet, this is the purest representation of the artist's vision. Little did we know that such a quirky personality would have such a bleak world view. Homogenic is almost too heavy to take in sitting, and songs, like the grating "Pluto," are downright unlistenable. But there are moments of inspiration that burn through the dark clouds, particularly on the contemplative "Joga" and the uplifting "Bachelorette." --Aidin Vaziri ... Read more

Reviews (289)

Hi my name's Bjork and I'm really weird.
Bjork is strange, so is her husband, and so are her videos. But Homogenic is her best yet. Medulla is still good because it has "Who is it?" and it's all composed using voices instead of instruments, but I like Homogenic more and I have found that most people do.

The highlights of the CD are, 'Joga', 'Hunter', 'All is full of Love'(I really like the lyrics for this one, and the light airy feel of it is quite, well, nice. I would say it is definalty worth the 15 bucks to shell out. It puts me in a good mood.

With Homogenic, not every other track is just a filler. That is also why it is good. Maybe go check out(download) some of Ben Gibbard's solo stuff. He does a lot of Bjork covers.

Bjork's Best Album before Medulla!
Homogenic is a very good collboaration of music from the kinda mellow sounds of Hunter to the very soothing sounds toward the end. I bought Medulla today w/ Homogenic. Homogenic is the best album that I own @ this time. I like everything from Anggun to Angie Stone, but I have never heard a better voice than Bjork. It all started when i was watching MTV cribs and somebody said that Bjork's Homogenic album is the best created. It was wierd because friends say that she is awesome too. So I buy Homogenic and find that i'm a fan as well. If anyone is having an internal battle of buying this album, I would go to your nearest big chain cd store (Best Buy, Barnes & Noble etc.) and get your copy today.

BJORK'S BEST YET ALONG WITH MEDULLA!!!!!! :-)
Bjork's third album is the culmination of two emotional years compressed into 10 beautiful tracks. The cover has a tinge of emotion,even. So much contrast in one album is hard to come to terms with. Bjork's albums usually take a couple of listens to truly appreciate, but this one only took one and I was hooked.

She shows wide versatility on this album, with sliding strings and grating dance beats.You will love this album, I promise.
She shows so much tenacity in her voice and immerses herself fully into the song. That is why so many people like Bjork because of her genius, that shows well on this album.

... Read more

Asin: B000002HPV
Subjects:  1. Pop    2. Rock