In a voice that transcends space and time, Fiona Apple delivers the lyric
"slow like honey, heavy with mood". Lean, yet powerful, the phrase "heavy
with mood" embodies the very essence of Apple's debut album, Tidal. This
young diva takes listeners on an intense journey through a world of love,
loss, scorn and sorrow in a manner as much painterly as it is poetic.
 
 Tidal is a rarity; a first effort which finds an artist possessed from
the onset, with a singular and indelible vision. Apple's music haunts as
it inspires, disclosing the subtle nuances of deep, complex emotion. Above
all, this is soul music: moving and candid. "The way I feel about music-
any song, any style- is that there is no right and wrong, only true and
false. If the music and lyrics are conceived out of honesty, and if the 
production of the song goes along with its original message, then, what
has been expressed is art, regardless of what anyone's opinion is of it.
So things are a lot simpler if you just tell the truth." Produced with 
extreme sensitivity and imagination by Andrew Slater, Tidal is a perfect
balanceof spontaneity, mood and intensity. Many of the tracks were rendered
in single takes and Apple's own piano work is dazzling. Combining diverse
musical influences with novel instrumentation (strings on Tidal were arranged
by the legendary Van Dyke Parks); Apple creates a unique masterpiece.

 Never far from any aspect of the emotional spectrum, Tidal conjures up
more feeling with a single song than many experience in an entire day.
"Sleep To Dream" is a stinging dichotomy of hurt and defiance, betrayal
and pride. Apple sings: "I got my feet on the ground and I don't go to
sleep to dream/ you've got your head in the clouds and you're not at all
what you seem/ This mind, this body and this voice cannot be stifled by
your deviant ways/ So don't forget what I told you, don't come around, I
got my own hell to raise." "Pale September" tug at the heart strings, while
"Criminal" brings out the devil in all of us. Truly blessed, Apple is an
amazing songsmith.
 
 Of a life in music, Apple now says: "This is something I think I've always
wanted to do but didn't dare say aloud- I couldn't admit it to myself,
because admitting it meant making myself vulnerable to the possibility
that it might not happen, and that thought was unbearable. It wasn't that
I didn't think I had a nice voice, but I consider myself more of a writer.
I've played piano since I was about 8, and always wrote songs- I sang them
because it wouldn't make sense for anyone else to. I didn't want to make
a move until I knew it was the right thing. And I wasn't sure until about
a year ago."

 As luck would have it, fate leant a hand. Apple's 3-song demo fell into
the hands of a prominent music executive who then passed it on to Andrew
Slater. Introductory meetings followed; soon Apple and Slater were working
as a creative team. At the time, however, Apple felt that she did not have
enough material that was album quality. "Songs don't just pour out; so I
pressured myself to write. I'd write two songs a week, and I don't know
how I managed it, because every time I write a song, I don't think I'll
be able to write another one ever again." Once she was satisfied, Apple
entered the studio with musicians gathered by Slater. No parts were written;
"we just played," Apple says.

 Since the release of Tidal in July 1996, Apple has toured with Chris 
Isaak and the Counting Crow, been featured in the New York Times, Rolling
Stone and Time Magazine, hosted MTV's "120 Minutes," performed on "Saturday
Night Live" and presented an award at the Grammy's. After reaching the
top ten with her first single "Shadowboxer", Apple was likened to none
other than 'the highest priestess of soul', Nina Simone, and had her
songwriting compared to that of Brecht-Well and Carol King.

 The sinner and swagger of "Criminal"- the bittersweet elegance of "Never
Is A Promise"- and the trandescendence of "Sullen Girl" combine with 7
more magnificent threads to weave the musical tapestry that is Tidal, one
of the very best albums in recent years. Tidal heralds the arrival of a
songwriter/musician/singer whose promise seems destined to pay off in music
of the timeless kind.