The Idler Wheel Is Wiser Than the Driver of the Screw and Whipping Cords Will Serve You More Than Ropes Will Ever Do

by Fiona Apple

The Idler Wheel Is Wiser Than the Driver of the Screw and Whipping Cords Will Serve You More Than Ropes Will Ever Do cover art
  • Type: Album
  • Released: June 19, 2012
  • Label: Epic, Clean Slate
  • Country: United States
  • Length: 45:14
  • Community rating: 4.3/5 from 26 ratings

Album Notes & Community Reviews

'The Idler Wheel Is Wiser Than the Driver of the Screw and Whipping Cords Will Serve You More Than Ropes Will Ever Do' features a stark, rhythmically complex, and percussive sound, marking a departure from Apple's more ornate earlier work. Produced with drummer Charley Drayton, the album is built from a raw sonic palette of piano, expressive vocals, and unconventional percussion, creating a stark backdrop for unflinchingly personal lyrics that explore emotional turmoil with startling frankness and dark wit. This intensely intimate and sonically inventive approach resulted in one of the most critically acclaimed works of its era, noted for its raw emotional power and masterful command of tension.

Genres

Descriptors: minimal, percussive, unadorned, lounge, confessional, folk, piano, candid

Tracklist

  1. Every Single Night (3:29)
  2. Daredevil (3:28)
  3. Valentine (3:33)
  4. Jonathan (5:04)
  5. Left Alone (4:51)
  6. Werewolf (3:13)
  7. Periphery (4:58)
  8. Regret (5:17)
  9. Anything We Want (4:41)
  10. Hot Knife (4:02)
  11. Largo (2:38)

Credits

  • Fiona Apple - field recording, loops, truck stomping, dance partner, thighs on "daredevil", percussion, piano, celeste, timpani on "hot knife", voice strings, singing, artwork, bass keyboard, production, words, music
  • Charley Drayton - kora, autoharp, truck stomper, dance partner, pillow, percussion, guichar, bouzouki, marimba, drums, voice strings, field recordist, voice of pain, baritone vocals, string harp, teisco guitar, producer
  • Sebastian Steinberg - acoustic bass, harmony guitar
  • Maude Maggart - harmony vocals on "hot knife"
  • John Would - recorded by (stanley recordings)
  • Dave Way - mixed by
  • Howie Weinberg - mastered by
  • Eric Roinestad - art direction, design
  • Andrew Slater - management
  • Dan Gerbarg - mastered by
  • Edison Sainsbury - recorded by (nbb studio)

More from Fiona Apple: full discography