Extraordinary Ear

Music M. Elizabeth Coy at Mental Yoga presents a dilligent yet fabulously witty analysis of what's changed in Fiona Apple's album Extraordinary Machine between the bootlegs and the release version. On "Window":

"What the hell happened to this song? Is this what happens when a producer goes mixing-mad in the studio or when a frustrated artist punishes the company that shelved her album for two years? I can't even explain, except that almost non-existant instrumentals on the verses used to match the piano on the chorus, without the extraneous synth, and if you just listen to the chorus of Window, you'll understand why this is a great improvement. Of course, even the vocals have been changed on this track, with changes in tempo, melody, and emotion. I greatly prefer the original to this mashup of over-produced, over-mixed bizarreness."

I forsee there being some debate online about which is the more valid edition and indeed there will be some who might throw together mix-cds that include tracks from both versions. Shades of the great White Album debate.