Project 1001: Tidal by Fiona Apple
I do not struggle in your web / Because it was my aim to get caught
Fiona Apple was part of the much-welcomed wave of female singers emerging to prominence in the 1990s that washed over the music industry bringing fresh voices and perspectives to the scene. I remember being very impressed the first time I heard “Criminal” off this album. Apple’s voice sounded different and exciting. After listening to this album today I regret not diving deeper into it back in the day. But I did think she was very much expanding the tradition of artists like Alannis Morrisette, Tory Amos, Liz Phair, Sheryl Crowe and others even though Apple was much younger than most of those others. She had yet to turn 19 when this record was released, but this music is more polished and mature example of deep self-reflection than what might be expected from a teenager. The Grammys noticed and awarded her Best Female Rock Vocal Performance in 1998.1 Tidal is a truly remarkable album.
My Rating:
In a review, Jay Pirz wrote, “Her songs are haunting, dusky and stark confessionals rife with emotional torment. Tidal is dark and at the same time funky, with a hint of Broadway. Above all, however, Tidal is musical poetry, one of 1996's most poignant releases.”2
Nick Levine offered this in a retrospective piece after twenty years: “These songs are feminist because she's singing about who she is and what she's feeling even when the pictures she paints are not especially flattering.”3
In 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, Emily Kelly wrote:
“Apple’s sullen, heartbroken yet defiant words dictated the sound of many of the tracks. Heartache, however, had never sounded so good.”4
Charts
• Peak on Billboard 200 album chart: #155
• Singles on Billboard Hot 100 chart: “Criminal” #216
• RIAA certification:
- 3x Platinum | April 1, 1999
-2x Platinum | October 31, 1997
- Platinum | July 30, 1997
- Gold | December 19, 19967
Released on July 23, 1996. Here’s what else was happening:
Pop Culture
• Number one song: How Do U Want It/California Love by 2Pac Featuring K-Ci And JoJo8
• Number one album: It Was Written by Nas9
• Number one movie: Independence Day by Roland Emmerich10
• Most watched TV programs: Games of the XXVI Olympiad11
• NYT bestseller, fiction: Cause of Death by Patricia Cornwell12
• NYT bestseller, non-fiction: Outrage by Vincent Bugliosi13
Other albums released that month
• Broken Arrow by Neil Young and Crazy Horse
• It Was Written by Nas
• Stakes Is High by De La Soul
• Blue by LeAnn Rimes
• Building the Bridge by REO Speedwagon
• Chaos and Disorder by Prince
• Lemon Parade by Tonic
• Miracle of Science by Marshall Crenshaw
• Static Prevails by Jimmy Eat World
• Three Snakes and One Charm by The Black Crowes
• Beats, Rhymes and Life by A Tribe Called Quest
• Sublime by Sublime
• Unplugged by Alice in Chains14
Sport
• Jul 19 XXVI Summer Olympic Games open in Atlanta, Georgia.
• Jul 21 83rd Tour de France won by Bjarne Riis of Denmark.
• Jul 21 British Open Men's Golf, Royal Lytham & St. Annes: American Tom Lehman wins his only major championship by 2 strokes from Mark McCumber and Ernie Els; first American to win at Lytham since Bobby Jones 70 years earlier.
• Jul 21 Wayne Gretzky signs a 2 year deal with NY Rangers.
• Jul 27 Bomb explodes at Atlanta Olympic Park, 1 killed, 110 injured.
• Jul 27 Brazilian pair Jackie Silva and Sandra Pires win inaugural women's beach volleyball gold medal at the Atlanta Olympics.
• Jul 28 Americans Karch Kiraly & Kent Steffes win inaugural beach volleyball gold medal at the Atlanta Olympics; Kiraly first to win gold in both indoor and beach events.
• Jul 28 NY Yankee Darryl Strawberry hits his 300th HR.
• Jul 30 Tommy Lasoda retires as LA Dodger manager.15
• Jul 27 Canadian Donovan Bailey wins Olympic Gold in 100m with world record.16
• Jul 29 American Michael Johson completes historic double winning gold while breaking world records in the 400m and 200m.17
Notable Births
• Jul 5 Dolly the sheep, first mammal to be cloned from an adult cell, born in Scotland.
• Jul 11 Alessia Cara, Canadian Juno and Grammy Award-winning pop singer-songwriter ("Here"; "How Far I'll Go"), born in Mississauga, Ontario.
• Jul 20 Ben Simmons, Australian basketball point guard (2016 NBA Draft: #1 pick Philadelphia 76ers), born in Melbourne, Victoria.
• Jul 23 Rachel G. Fox, American actress (Desperate Housewives), born in Lawrenceville, Georgia.18
Historical Events
• Jul 17 Paris-bound flight TWA 800, explodes off the coast of Long Island, New York, killing all 230 on board the Boeing 747.
• Jul 18 Storms provoke severe flooding on the Saguenay River, beginning one of Québec's costliest natural disasters ever.
• Jul 20 In Spain an ETA bomb at an airport kills 35.
• Jul 28 Kennewick Man, the remains of a prehistoric man, is discovered near Kennewick, Washington.19
Notable Deaths
• Jul 16 John Panozzo, American rock drummer (Styx), dies of cirrhosis of the liver at 47.
• Jul 17 Paul Touvier, French Nazi collaborator in World War II called the "Hangman of Lyon" and convicted war criminal, dies of prostate cancer at 81.
• Jul 17 [Bryan] Chas Chandler, English rock bassist (The Animals - "House of the Rising Sun"), and manager of Jimi Hendrix, dies at 57.
• Jul 21 Herb Edelman, American actor (Good Guys, Strike Force, 9 to 5), dies of emphysema 62.
• Jul 23 Jean Muir, American actress (Fugitive in the Sky, The Aldrich Family) and the 1st performer to be blacklisted for being an alleged communist sympathizer, dies at 85.
• Jul 28 Harold Fox, American fashion designer (the zoot suit), and big band trumpeter, dies of cancer at 86.
• Jul 28 Marguerite "Marge" Ganser, American pop singer (The Shangri-Las - "Leader of the Pack"), dies of breast cancer at 48.
• Jul 29 Jason Thirsk, American punk rock bassist (Pennywise), dies of an accidental self-inflicted gunshot at 28.
• Jul 30 Claudette Colbert, French-born Oscar-winning American actress (It Happened One Night, Texas Lady), dies of a stroke at 93.
• Jul 31 Seagram Miller, American rapper killed in an unsolved drive-by shooting in Oakland, California at 26.20
Enjoy and listen without prejudice. Cheers!
On Prime: 130. Tidal by Fiona Apple
And a big bonus playlist! 130. v2.0 Bonus
All the videos: You're Welcome 130; Tidal by Fiona Apple
Kelly, Emily; 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die; ed. by Robert Dimmery.
Ibid.
Ibid.