''When the Pawn...'' is the shortened title of the second studio album by American singer-songwriter

Fiona Apple Fiona Apple McAfee-Maggart (born September 13, 1977) is an American singer-songwriter. She has released five albums from 1996 to 2020, which have all reached the top 20 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' 200 chart. Apple has received numerous awards an ...

. Released by

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America Sony Corporation of America (SONAM, also known as SCA), is the American arm of the Japanese conglomerate Sony Group ...

in the United States on November 9, 1999, ''When the Pawn...'' was wholly written by Apple, with production by Jon Brion. In 2010, ''

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning * Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis * Spin (propaganda), an intentionally b ...

'' magazine named the album the 106th greatest of the last 25 years, and ''

Slant Magazine ''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York ...

'' named it the 79th best album of the 1990s. The album received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Alternative Album. In 2020, '' Rolling Stone'' ranked ''When the Pawn...'' at number 108 on its " 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" list.

Title

The album's title is a poem Apple wrote in response to unfavorable reactions from readers of an unfavorable ''

'' magazine cover story about her. Richard Harrington of ''The Washington Post'' called it Apple's version of

Chumbawamba Chumbawamba () were a British rock band formed in 1982 and disbanded in 2012. They are best known for their 1997 single "Tubthumping", which was nominated for Best British Single at the 1998 Brit Awards. Other singles include "Amnesia", " Enou ...

's " I get knocked down, but I get up again". "It came from being made fun of," she said, "and then, of course, it becomes a thing I'm being made fun of for." Upon its release, ''When the Pawn...'' broke the record for longest album title at 444 characters (previously held by a volume in '' The Best... Album in the World...Ever!''). Chumbawamba themselves would later hold the record with 2008's '' The Boy Bands Have Won'', whose full title contains 865 characters, nearly twice as many as ''When the Pawn''...'s. The album was produced and mixed by Jon Brion and co-mixed and engineered by

Rich Costey Rich may refer to: Common uses * Rich, an entity possessing wealth * Rich, an intense flavor, color, sound, texture, or feeling ** Rich (wine), a descriptor in wine tasting Places United States * Rich, Mississippi, an unincorporated commun ...

. The full title is:

Release

The first single, "

Fast as You Can "Fast as You Can" is a song written by Fiona Apple, and produced by Jon Brion for her second album, '' When the Pawn...''. It was released as the album's lead single in the United States on October 5, 1999, and in the United Kingdom on February ...

", was fairly popular and received moderate radio and video airplay. It reached the top 20 on the US ''Billboard''

Modern Rock Tracks Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks (1988–2009) and Alternative Songs (2009–2020)) is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in ''Billboard'' magazine since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-played ...

chart and became Apple's first top 40 hit on the UK Singles Chart. The follow-up singles, "Limp" and especially " Paper Bag", which was nominated for a Grammy Award, were less successful. Apple's boyfriend at the time, filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson, directed videos for all three singles. In 2019, Apple collaborated with King Princess on a cover of "I Know". The song was released for Spotify's RISE program on January 25. A reissue by Vinyl Me Please was announced in 2020 featuring a new cover chosen by Fiona herself, marking the album's first ever vinyl pressing.

Reception

In comparison to Apple's debut album '' Tidal'', Harrington stated, "''When the Pawn'' is a decidedly more mature work that trades in youthful melodrama for somber ruminations on shattered relationships and romantic obsession". In ''The New Rolling Stone Album Guide'',

Jenny Eliscu Jenny Eliscu is a radio host for Sirius XM and a contributing editor for ''Rolling Stone'' magazine. She also had a recurring presence on the TV program ''I'm from Rolling Stone'' and has been on other music programs, including ''Behind the Music' ...

states that ''Pawn'' is "more musically complex and melodically advanced" than the previous album, while focusing on Apple's "sultry voice and moody piano playing". Rob Sheffield of ''Rolling Stone'' gave the album three-and-a-half out of five stars, calling it "richer, deeper and stronger than ''Tidal'', in every way", with "a far more muscular approach to both the songs and the singing". '' Entertainment Weekly''s David Browne awarded the album an A grade, praising Jon Brion's production as well as Apple's songwriting: "Apple hasn't gained much in psychic confidence following the success of ''Tidal''. On ''When the Pawn...'', Apple presents herself as a mental shambles, and she’s more than happy to tell us about it." '' Pitchfork'' originally gave the album a score of eight out of ten, with reviewer Chip Chanko praising Apple's lyrics, writing: " ppleseems older. Her voice is full of a heartfelt soul that seems almost timeless. While Billie Holiday would never have considered the possibility of lines like, 'It won't be long till you'll be/ Lying limp in your own hand,' Apple executes them flawlessly with a modern passion. Amy Linden of '' Vibe'' wrote: "''When the Pawn...'' is full of images that resonate. Apple's a sad, sultry woman with a sense of who she is—even if that person isn't someone she wants to be. Once again, her pain brings us joy." Piers Martin of '' NME'' rated it a 5 out of 10, calling it Apple's "second album of Amos-aping MTV-branded Lilith Fair fodder." On the U.S. '' Billboard 200'', ''When the Pawn..'' debuted at number 13 with 103,000 copies sold in first week. As of 2005, sales of the album in the United States had exceeded 922,000 copies, according to

Nielsen SoundScan Luminate (formerly Nielsen SoundScan, Nielsen Music Products, and MRC Data) is a provider of music sales data. Established by Mike Fine and Mike Shalett in 1991, data is collected weekly and made available every Sunday (for albums sales) and eve ...

. On March 26, 2020, ''When the Pawn..'' was certified Platinum by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

Track listing

Personnel

* Fiona Apple – piano, vocals, synthesized bass * Jon Brion – bass, keyboards, vibraphone, guitars, drums, percussion * John Bainbridge – orchestration * Robert Becker – viola *

Charlie Bisharat Charlie Bisharat is an American violinist known as a member of Shadowfax and for his work in film and with other New Age Jazz artists. He was born in Inglewood, CA in 1963 to parents who immigrated to the United States from Palestine in the 1950 ...

– violin * Mike Breaux – woodwind * Denyse Buffman – viola * Jonathan "Butch" Norton –

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

, percussion * Eve Butler – violin * Matt Chamberlain – percussion, drums * Susan Chatman – violin * Greg Cohen – bass guitar * Larry Corbett – cello * Mike Elizondo – bass guitar * Armen Garabedian – violin * Berj Garabedian – violin * Scott Haupert – viola * Suzie Katayama – cello * Wendell Kelly – horn * Jim Keltner – drums * Peter Kent – violin * Brian Leonard – violin *

Maria Newman Maria Louise Newman (born January 18, 1962) is an American composer of classical music, violinist and pianist. She is the youngest child of Alfred Newman, a major Hollywood film composer. Maria holds the Louis and Annette Kaufman Composit ...

– viola * Robert Peterson – violin * Michele Richards – violin * Edmund Stein – violin *

Patrick Warren Patrick Warren (born March 26, 1957) is an American musician, composer, and record producer. He is known for his work on the films ''Magnolia'', ''Fifty Shades of Grey'', ''Boogie Nights'' and ''Red State'', as well as the television series '' ...

– Chamberlin, Wurlitzer * John Wittenberg – violin

Production

* Jon Brion – producer, mixing, assistant engineer *

– mixer / engineer * Tom Banghart – assistant engineer * Rob Brill – assistant engineer * Greg Collins – assistant engineer * Bryan Jackson – assistant engineer * Steve Mixdorf – assistant engineer * John Tyree – assistant engineer * Eddy Scheyer – mastering * Valerie Pack – production coordination *

– programming * John Bainbridge – arranger * Ian Sefchick – vinyl mastering (2020) *

– design, cover art concept * Hooshik– art direction

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications and sales

Notes

References

External links

* * * {{Authority control 1999 albums Albums produced by Jon Brion Epic Records albums Fiona Apple albums Jazz albums by American artists