''Tidal'' is the debut 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 on July 23, 1996 by

The WORK Group The Work Group (stylized as The WORK Group) was an American record label. History In July 1999, founders Jeff Ayeroff and Jordan Harris left the label. Catalog Artists *Tatyana Ali (MJJ Music/Work) * Fiona Apple (Clean Slate/Work) *El ...

. ''Tidal'' produced six singles: "

Shadowboxer ''Shadowboxer'' is a 2005 crime thriller film directed by Lee Daniels and starring Cuba Gooding Jr., Helen Mirren, and Mo'Nique. It opened in limited release in six cities: New York, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Philadelphia, and ...

", "Slow Like Honey", " Sleep to Dream", "The First Taste", "

Criminal In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Can ...

" and "Never Is a Promise". "Criminal", the album's most popular single, won a

Grammy Award for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance The Grammy Award for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance was an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to female recording artists for works (songs or albums) conta ...

in 1998. In 2017, ''Tidal'' got its first vinyl run as a "Vinyl Me Please" exclusive "Record of the Month".

Background and reception

"When I did ''Tidal''," Apple said in 2000, "it was more for the sake of proving myself; telling people from my past something. And to also try to get friends for the future." ''Tidal'' was received well by critics, with

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' ...

of ''Rolling Stone'' and Richard Harrington of ''The Washington Post'' describing it as a mature effort comparable to the work of singer/songwriters

Alanis Morissette Alanis Nadine Morissette ( ; born June 1, 1974) is a Canadian-American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her emotive mezzo-soprano voice and confessional songwriting, Morissette began her career in Canada in the early 1990s with tw ...

and

Tori Amos Tori Amos (born Myra Ellen Amos; August 22, 1963) is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. She is a classically trained musician with a mezzo-soprano vocal range. Having already begun composing instrumental pieces on piano, Amos won a full ...

. In 2010, ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' ranked the album at number 83 among the 100 greatest albums of the 1990s. The following year, ''

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 ...

'' placed it at number 74. The album is featured in the book ''

1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die ''1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die'' is a musical reference book first published in 2005 by Universe Publishing. Part of the ''1001 Before You Die'' series, it compiles writings and information on albums chosen by a panel of music critics ...

''. In 2022, ''Rolling Stone'' ranked the album at number 25 on its list of "100 Best Debut Albums of All Time", claiming that it was "just the beginning — and Apple has kept topping herself artistically ever since." As of July 2016, the album has sold 2.9 million copies in United States.

Track listing

Personnel

Musicians *Fiona Apple – vocals (all tracks), piano (1–3, 5–9),

Optigan The Optigan (a portmanteau of Optical Organ) is an electronic keyboard instrument designed for the consumer market. The name stems from the instrument's reliance on pre-recorded optical soundtracks to reproduce sound. Later versions (built under ...

(2) *

Jon Brion Jon Brion is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer, and composer. He performed with the Excerpts, the Bats, 'Til Tuesday and the Grays before becoming an established producer and film score composer. Brion has ...

– guitar (1–2, 6, 10),

vibraphone The vibraphone is a percussion instrument in the metallophone family. It consists of tuned metal bars and is typically played by using mallets to strike the bars. A person who plays the vibraphone is called a ''vibraphonist,'' ''vibraharpist,' ...

(1–3, 5–6, 9–10),

tack piano A tack piano (also known as a harpsipiano, jangle piano, and junk piano) is an altered version of an ordinary piano, in which objects such as thumbtacks or nails are placed on the felt-padded hammers of the instrument at the point where the ha ...

(1, 3, 6, 9), harp (8, 10),

dulcitone A dulcitone is a keyboard instrument in which sound is produced by a range of tuning forks, which vibrate when struck by felt-covered hammers activated by the keyboard. The instrument was designed by Thomas Machell of Glasgow in the 1860s, at the ...

(2),

marimba The marimba () is a musical instrument in the percussion family that consists of wooden bars that are struck by mallets. Below each bar is a resonator pipe that amplifies particular harmonics of its sound. Compared to the xylophone, the timbre ...

(2, 6),

Chamberlin The Chamberlin is an electro-mechanical keyboard instrument that was a precursor to the Mellotron. It was developed and patented by the American inventor Harry Chamberlin from 1949 to 1956, when the first model was introduced. There are severa ...

(4, 10), Optigan (8) *George Black – drum programming (6) *

Matt Chamberlain Matthew Chamberlain (born April 17, 1967) is an American session musician, drummer, producer and songwriter. Biography Life and career Chamberlain was born in San Pedro, California on April 17, 1967. He began learning how to play the drums ...

– drums (1–2, 4, 6, 8–10), percussion (1, 6, 10) *Larry Corbett – cello (7) *Danny Frankel – drums (3, 5), percussion (6) *Rob Laufer – guitar (4) *

Sara Lee Sara may refer to: Arts, media and entertainment Film and television * Sara (1992 film), ''Sara'' (1992 film), 1992 Iranian film by Dariush Merhjui * Sara (1997 film), ''Sara'' (1997 film), 1997 Polish film starring Bogusław Linda * Sara (2010 ...

– bass guitar (6, 9) *

Greg Leisz Gregory Brian Leisz ( ; born September 18, 1949) is an American musician. He is a songwriter, recording artist, and producer. He plays guitar, dobro, mandolin, lap steel and pedal steel guitar. Biography Leisz grew up in the garage band cu ...

–

pedal steel guitar The pedal steel guitar is a Console steel guitar, console-type of steel guitar with pedals and knee levers that change the pitch of certain strings to enable playing more varied and complex music than any previous steel guitar design. Like all s ...

(2, 8) * Amber Maggart – harmony vocals (9) *Ralph Morrison – first violin (7) *Claudia Parducci – second violin (7) *Greg Richling – bass guitar (2–3, 5) *Dan Rothchild – bass (1, 4, 8, 10) *

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 ' ...

– piano (1, 4), Chamberlin (1–3, 5–6, 8–10) *Evan Wilson – viola (7) *

Van Dyke Parks Van Dyke Parks (born January 3, 1943) is an American musician, songwriter, arranger, and record producer who has composed various film and television soundtracks. He is best known for his 1967 album ''Song Cycle (album), Song Cycle'' and for his ...

– string arrangement (7) Production *Andrew Slater – production *

Mark Endert Mark Endert is a Grammy award winning American music producer, mixer, arranger and musician. Biography From the early 1990s to the present, Endert is credited on albums spanning a wide array of musical genres with sales totaling more than 90 mil ...

– recording, mixing *Claude "Swifty" Achille – additional engineering *Brian Scheuble – additional engineering *Jim Wirt – additional engineering *

Niko Bolas Niko Bolas is an American music producer, sound engineer, and consultant and business developer in the fields of virtual reality and Internet radio. In 1989, Bolas founded Fakespace Music with Mark Bolas, Ian McDowall and Christian Greuel, which, ...

– additional engineering *Troy Gonzalez – assistant engineering *Al Sanderson – assistant engineering *Tom Banghart – mixing assistance *

Ted Jensen Ted Jensen (born September 19, 1954) is an American mastering engineer, known for having mastered many recordings, including the Eagles' ''Hotel California'', Green Day's '' American Idiot'' and Norah Jones' ''Come Away with Me''. Biography Ted ...

– mastering *Valerie Pack – production coordination *Nathaniel Goldberg – photography *Fred Woodward – art direction

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Singles

Certifications and sales

References

External links

* * *

Billboard chart history A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

br>Loyal fans helped free Fiona Apple's CD
''Associated Press''. {{DEFAULTSORT:Tidal (Album) Fiona Apple albums 1996 debut albums Columbia Records albums Epic Records albums Jazz albums by American artists