Shadowboxer (song)

Last updated
"Shadowboxer"
FionaAppleShadowboxer.png
Single by Fiona Apple
from the album Tidal
B-side "Never Is a Promise"
ReleasedJuly 1, 1996 (1996-07-01)
Studio Ocean Way Recording
(Los Angeles, California)
Genre
Length5:26
Label
Songwriter(s) Fiona Apple
Producer(s) Andrew Slater
Fiona Apple singles chronology
"Shadowboxer"
(1996)		"Slow Like Honey"
(1996)
Music video
"Shadowboxer" on YouTube

"Shadowboxer" is a song written and performed by American alternative singer-songwriter Fiona Apple. It was released on July 1, 1996, by Work Records and Columbia Records as her debut single from her debut studio album, Tidal .

Contents

Background and release

Apple recorded the song with collaborator Jon Brion in 1995 immediately after being signed to a record deal with Sony Music Entertainment. Its lyrical content mainly explores the themes of the dangers of desire and vulnerability. [2] It was then released as her debut and lead single from her forthcoming debut studio album on July 1, 1996. A music video of the song directed by Jim Gable was released. Apple performed "Shadowboxer" in various events, most notably during the 22nd season of Saturday Night Live [3] and on the television special MTV Unplugged: Fiona Apple . [4]

Music video

Shot entirely in black-and-white, this takes place in a recording studio, with scenes of her playing the piano and in Fostex T20RP headphones singing in front of a microphone. [5]

Chart performance

The song charted inside the Top 40 of two different Billboard charts. It spent six weeks on the Alternative Songs chart, peaking at number 34. [6] It fared much better on the Adult Pop Songs, peaking at number 32 and spent over 15 weeks on the chart. [6]

Critical reception

"Shadowboxer" has received critical acclaim from music critics, with many of them comparing Apple's voice to Nina Simone and her lyrical talent to Carole King. [7] Steven Mirkin of Entertainment Weekly gave the song an A−, he wrote, "Singing to a former lover, her slurred, smoky vocals float above a loping, gospel-tinged piano, vibes, and string arrangement, making her 'Shadowboxer' sound like Nina Simone covering early Elton John. Although she's only 18, she has the poise of a seasoned singer." [8] Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic described the song as "haunting", remarking that while "it strives to say something deep and important, much of the lyrics settle for clichés." [9]

Track listing

CD single [10]

  1. "Shadowboxer" – 5:26
  2. "Never Is a Promise" – 5:56

Maxi single [10]

  1. "Shadowboxer" (radio edit)
  2. "Shadowboxer" (album version)
  3. "Never Is a Promise"
  4. "Carrion" (Live)

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Tidal; [11]

Charts

Chart (1996)Peak
position
US Adult Pop Airplay ( Billboard ) [12] 32
US Alternative Airplay ( Billboard ) [13] 34

Release history

CountryDateFormatLabelRef.
United StatesJuly 1, 1996CD single Work, Columbia [10]
France Sony Music Entertainment
Austria
United KingdomColumbia
United States [10] October 1, 1996 Contemporary hit radio Work, Columbia [14]

References

  1. ↑ Britton, Amy (May 15, 2021). "Fiona Apple – Tidal - 25th Anniversary". Louder Than War . Retrieved December 21, 2024. Shadowboxer is a beautiful, minimal modern jazz record which sees her still caught up in the painful spell of one 'once a lover, now a friend.'
  2. ↑ "Fiona Apple - Tidal". Soundstage.com. Retrieved 17 July 2012.
  3. ↑ "Saturday Night Live - Robert Downey Jr.-Fiona Apple - Season 22, Episode 6". TV.com . Archived from the original on 5 July 2012. Retrieved 17 July 2012.
  4. ↑ "MTV Unplugged - Fiona Apple". TV.com . Archived from the original on 16 October 2014. Retrieved 17 July 2012.
  5. ↑ Fiona Apple music video "Shadowboxer"
  6. 1 2 "Fiona Apple Chart History". Billboard . Retrieved 8 May 2020.
  7. ↑ Helligar, Jeremy (25 November 1996). "Apple's Way". People . Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved 20 July 2012.
  8. ↑ Mirkin, Steven (23 August 1996). "Music Review: Fiona Apple, Shahowboxer' (1996)". Entertainment Weekly . Archived from the original on October 11, 2008. Retrieved 20 July 2012.
  9. ↑ Thomas Erlewine, Stephen (23 July 1996). "Fiona Apple - Tidal - Review". AllMusic . Retrieved 20 July 2012.
  10. 1 2 3 4 "Fiona Apple - Shadowboxer". Discogs . Retrieved 17 July 2012.
  11. ↑ "Fiona Apple - Tidal". Discogs. Retrieved 17 July 2012.
  12. ↑ "Fiona Apple Chart History (Adult Pop Songs)". Billboard.
  13. ↑ "Fiona Apple Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard.
  14. ↑ "Selected New Releases: Adds October 1" (PDF). Radio & Records : 43. September 27, 1996.
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