Several hundred Fiona Apple fans attended a rare in-store appearance by the elusive singer-songwriter Thursday night. Apple performed a 45-minute set, with most of the material from her just-released CD “Extraordinary Machine.”

Apple told AP Television that this was only the second time she’d ever done a concert in a music store.

“I have no idea why I’m doing it, she admitted. “I know what my part of the job is: I’m supposed to write songs and sing them … There’s other people that know what they’re doing and they say to do it and so I’m doing it.”

Clearly, this wasn’t like playing a nightclub or concert hall. “It’s really strange to be able to see the people that you’re singing in front of,” added Apple, referring to the store’s bright lights. “I’m not used to that.”

“Extraordinary Machine” is her first new CD release since her 1999 album, “When the Pawn Hits the Conflicts…”, which was nominated for the 2001 Grammy for best alternative music album, with the track “Paper Bag” nominated for best female rock vocal performance.

Understandably, Apple would want to take time to get the next CD right. But six years? She explained that she was unhappy with her first recordings of the songs on “Extraordinary Machine,” but disagreed with her record company on how to re-record them. “So, I said, ‘I’d rather do none at all.”

Enter Apple’s fans, some of whom began a “Free Fiona” campaign targeted at her record company. Apple said those protests helped the album ultimately get redone and released. “They (the fans) made certain people realize that it was probably a good investment.”

Indeed, the well-reviewed “Extraordinary Machine” debuted at No. 1 Tuesday on the iTunes album chart, and Apple begins her national concert tour this fall.

Apple noted she’s learned a lot from the releases of her previous CDs, the first of which came out when she was a teenager.

“It’s easier, it’s definitely easier,” said Apple, now 28, “because if you spend six years without really knowing whether or not you’re going to do another album, I know for sure that if all this were to go away, I’d be just fine. So it’s easier, I don’t take it all quite so seriously.”

Credit: AP