When asked about so-called "alternative" music, Elvis Costello once joked, "Alternative to what? Good?" The criminal behavior of Sony Executives who refused release Miss Apple's best work in an earlier incarnation produced by Jon Brion says a lot about the music industry's dependence upon phony constructions of new genres and its destructive dependence upon genre-based critical theory (an enemy to quality film production also, to which Fiona's former lover, P.T Anderson could readily attest). In the era of postmodernism and post-structuralist theory, the artist suddenly came to be viewed by popular culture as a spoiled brat - a greedy, selfish creature - despite the universal history of human culture in which artists were always holy and generous. Sure, most academics who've fallen for the whole "popular genres" approach to reading art can barely spell but there are many intelligent people who've been fooled too and, ultimately, betrayed by their own shallowness (they're the ones who sneer at everything because they're always disappointed). The founding principle of great art was love and fidelity. Record companies used to believe wholeheartedly in artist development because they understood the value of audiences making life-long connections with their favorite artists. To this end, Bob Dylan has remained Sony (formerly Columbia) Records' longest serving and most esteemed artist. In 2003, Fiona Apple delivered an album that gave her rightful claim to a place in the pantheon where Dylan resides. After hearing that original version of the album and now hearing the album that has finally made it to retail outlets, it is clear Sony had Fiona Apple pegged as an "alternative artist" and were nervous about her out-growing the likes of P.J Harvey as a literate, mature songwriter offering a great deal more than comfortable empathy when you're having a bad period.In the tradition of the masters, Miss Apple offers her whole heart and soul on this album. The lawyers and accountants, like so many pig-ignorant university grads in the last ten years, would surely have exclaimed: "Indulgent!" This is sad for everyone, including them, because there is nothing more generous and exquisite than a heart as big as it is appears here operating as an "Extraordinary Machine".Even more ironic is that Sony may save face somewhat because the ring-in Producer Mike Elizondo has done an amazing job of not destroying these brilliant songs. Jon Brion's version of the album was very jazzy and relied heavily on orchestration, echoing another under-appreciated masterpiece: Cindy Lee Berryhill's "Garage Orchestra". Fiona sang her hardest on the 2003 version and sounded much angrier. You could hear the fresh wounds from her heartbreak with P.T Anderson and her acrimony towards her label was also more transparent. But it definitely wasn't an Alanis Morisette revenge record; rather, it was more of a brutal, defiant, generational equivalent to Allen Ginsberg's "Howl". Sony will claim Mike Elizondo's production is more "dynamic". There are certainly more tempo changes, reverb and signifiers of technology. Happily, although some of the anger is diffused, Elizondo's production marries well with Fiona's predominant themes. Some tracks do sound improved, particularly "o' sailor", which no longer sounds like it belonged more on "Tidal". One feels this is, however, credit, most of all, to Miss Apple, herself, who obviously took every unjust setback on the chin and chose to embrace it as another opportunity to throw more love at these songs and more love our way, too.The album opens with the title track in all its unaltered glory. Lyrically, it serves as proof of why Alanis and PJ are infants compared to Fiona; her balance between confessional introspection ("I certainly haven't been shopping for any new shoes"), perceptive social observation ("...he's no good at being uncomfortable, so/He can't stop staying exactly the same") and wit, the most crucial ingredient, gives her a far greater grasp of insight into the human condition. One of only two tracks Produced by Jon Brion, "extraordinary machine" is a punchy, progressive jazz delight with an extremely deliberate vocal enunciation of the lyric."Get Him Back" was always one of the best songs on the album. If anything, it is more subtle than it was, yet somehow it seems to have transformed into an anthem of the highest order for the jilted everywhere. Again, the lyric is one of the best ever written by an internally focused writer, with sharp lines such as "I think he let me down when he didn't disappoint me". Musically, it compares well with "Fast As You Can" from "When the pawn" and retains some of that sound."o sailor" is an obvious choice for the first single: a universal ballad about not trusting love ("Everything good, I deem too good to be true"). Although Elizondo's production is, if anything, more studied than Brion's, what could have been a straightforward torch song seems to be driven by something more delicate and exquisite: the song sounds so intimate and immediate it could just be a naked heartbeat.Typically, there were many fine versions of "Better Version Of Me" recorded. The one that made the final cut is the most expansive and apt self-portrait. The song has a distinct Beatles (circa "Abbey Road") quality."Tymps (The Sick In The Head Song)" is another standout. Elizondo's embellishments were obviously intended to make the song sound more strange and evocative of mental illness but serendipitously Fiona Apple has seized upon the opportunity to sing with richer passion to the marimba and wurlitzer. Comparisons may be drawn with Tom Waits or the earliest work of The Eels. The result is sheer poetry: "My feet of clay, they dried to dust/ The red isn't the red we painted/It's just rust".The new track, "Parting Gift" is a virtuoso solo piano performance ranging from the tenderest caress to physical violence and self flagellation on the keys, not to mention the listener's heart-strings. It is difficult to convey the potency of lines like "You looked as sincere as a dog"."Window" is a breathtaking "I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore" number. Yes, it will appeal to anyone having a bad day: sing along with the words "Better that I break the window/Than him, or her, or me" and you are guaranteed to feel better. That said, there are depths to the song that reveal themselves only after repeated listenings. In spite of its rousing chorus, "Window" is really about the human right to an independent world view."Oh Well" is, simply, one of the most beautiful songs ever written: another fragile, intricate tune with moments of uncensored passion as operatic as any of Prince's best compositions. Fiona blames herself for love gone wrong as much as she blames anybody else and it is inspiring that the only crime she cannot forgive is not believing in "unconditional love"."Please Please Please" is the much anticipated onslaught on the record company and its values: "And you can hear our sad brains screaming:/'Give us something familiar". It must hurt them more that it's such a fantastic song and one of the most accessible pop efforts of Miss Apple's career."Red Red Red" is another example of a track improved by time. In its early incarnation, the song was absolutely harrowing without relief, especially when Fiona cried out "kill, kill, kill". The venom in those words is still there but the song is now a dreamy, melancholia that everyone can relate to: "And I don't understand; I'll never understand/-But I'll try to understand"."Not About Love" again displays a Beatles influence. The classical structure of the song deftly articulates how love turns to "a play for blood" but Fiona refuses to stoop to the same level as lesser artists and resolves the song with an effort to "Try to live in a lovelier light"."Waltz", a sweeping ballad, imbued with innocent wonder, embodies this very light: "If you don't have a point to make/Don't sweat it/ You'll make a sharp one being so kind". In fact, the entire album is the thematic embodiment of this light and wisdom.It may have taken 6 years to produce and release but "Extraordinary Machine" is the magnum opus every artist searches for: it is Fiona's "Sgt. Peppers", "Blonde On Blonde" and "Parade" rolled into one. What Sony failed to understand until now is that "Extraordinary Machine" is an album transcendent of genre: its songs are for everyone, by one of the great artists of our time.