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This week marks the 20th anniversary of Fiona Apple’s third studio album “Extraordinary Machine,” a project somewhat hidden in the greater context of an exceptional career. Apple burst onto the scene in 1996 a fully-realized artist, despite having never stepped foot in a recording studio nor performed a single show.

Inspired by songwriters like Kate Bush, Apple settled into a lane of her own with a signature jazz-pop style and hasn’t wavered from it in the nearly 30 years since. And why should she? Her debut album “Tidal” went triple platinum, while lead single “Criminal” won a Grammy for Best Female Rock Performance and peaked at #21 on the Billboard Top 40 charts, in an era dominated by grunge rock and boy bands — all while she was still a teenager.

Apple followed up with her sophomore album “When The Pawn…” which is widely considered a modern classic and has received heaps of praise from the likes of Lady Gaga, Caroline Polachek, and Florence Welch. So when Apple opens up “Extraordinary Machine” with the lines “If there was a better way to go it would find me,” and shortly after, “I’m an extraordinary machine,” she’s more than earned the right to make such a boastful statement.

“Extraordinary Machine” sits right in the middle of her discography, flanked by “When The Pawn…” and “The Idler Wheel…” — her two most well-regarded albums. It is thus overshadowed by their enormity — in both acclaim and title length — and serves as a divide between her classic works and more experimental projects. You won’t find a single song from it in her top 10 most streamed tracks on Spotify — there’s no certifiable hit.

Nonetheless, it cannot be said that “Extraordinary Machine” is bad because it doesn’t stand out compared to the rest of her discography. It’s a stellar album in its own right. The album’s smaller stature appears to be an intentional choice as we see Apple reign in a lot of the rage that colored “When The Pawn…” and instead opt for a more lowkey expression.

We open with the title track, a song which seems gentle, but is in fact a fierce assertion of her independence. On the bridge, rather than diving into her usual chest voice, she slides up to her seldom-utilized head-voice to great effect, stating “Do I so worry you? / You need to hurry to my side, it’s very kind / But it’s to no avail, and I don’t want the bail / I promise you, everything will be just fine.” This line has been interpreted as a response to tabloids who were quick to paint her as unstable due to a series of mild public incidents — most notably her MTV Video Music Awards acceptance speech, in which she states “this world is bullshit” before encouraging her young fans not to subscribe to celebrity culture and instead think for themselves.

Whatever this album may lack in unbound fury and experimentation, it still more than delivers on the quality of songwriting you can expect from a Apple project. Rather than expressing her rage with the slamming of keys and her signature soulful roar, she channels all that energy into some of the best lines in her discography: “He lived to put things in their place / He did a commendable job / He put himself so low / He can hardly even look me in the face” from the second track “Get Him Back,” as well as “I took off my glasses / While you were yelling at me once, more than once / So as not to see you see me react / Should’ve put ’em, should’ve put ’em on again / So I could see you see me sincerely yelling back” from “Parting Gift.”

Regardless of any slight differences, there is still getting plenty of the classic Fiona Apple we’ve come to know and love. On tracks like “Oh Well” and “O’Sailor” especially, you can hear the small marimba and flute flourishes she so often uses to color in the small gaps left by the broad strokes of piano and drums.

The album’s subject matter is also thematically very consistent, with Apple painting herself as a flawed protagonist and her partners as the main foil, a technique which would feel a lot more one-sided if she weren’t such a great writer. She does, however, take some time on the song “Please Please Please” to take aim at her record label, lamenting their constant demands to repeat the commercial success that her debut received. This standoff actually led to “Extraordinary Machine” being shelved by Epic Records for almost three years before an early version of the album leaked online, leading to an outpouring of support from fans asking for the album’s release.

This album also marked a shift in Apple’s willingness to engage with the public, both as an artist and a public figure. After the album’s release, fans had to wait another seven years before “The Idler Wheel…” came out and another eight for her latest album, “Fetch the Bolt Cutters.” She’s been largely content to stay out of the public eye, only surfacing occasionally to drop a single here or there and give the occasional interview. She’s been fairly candid about her struggles with OCD and PTSD due to childhood traumas.

Regardless of the album’s middle child status, “Extraordinary Machine” should stand tall with its head held high. In just about any other family, they’d be the model child whose artwork is always front and center on the fridge. But when your mother is a child prodigy and your siblings are legends in their fields, fridge real-estate can be hard to come by. Maybe today we can all pretend it’s an only child and shower it with the praise it’s always deserved. After all, it is its birthday.