Fiona Apple album available

Fiona Apple’s unreleased third album, “Extraordinary Machine,” was leaked to the Internet and radio earlier this year, but as of today fans of the idiosyncratic singer-songwriter can buy some of it through legal channels.

The full album, her first in six years, will be released Oct. 4, Epic Records announced Monday, and a bundle of two songs, “O’ Sailor” and “Parting Gift,” will be available on Apple’s iTunes Music Store today. “O’ Sailor” by itself will be available for download at other digital music stores. In addition, the singer’s new official website, www.fiona-apple.com, went online Monday.

“Extraordinary Machine” has been the center of controversy since early this year, when a coalition of fans accused Epic of rejecting the album because it was not commercial enough. Other reports said that Apple herself was unhappy with the Jon Brion-produced recording. The completed version of the album was produced by Mike Elizondo, a Dr. Dre protege.

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Richard Cromelin