Alanis Morissette

MTV Unplugged

Once of the better unplugged albums around for Alanis

Review Score:

(10/10)
"Alanis Unplugged" is one of the best of these stripped down live albums that have become more common in the last couple of decades. I would probably have to go back to the one by 10,000 Maniacs for the last time I thought an artist came off better live and unplugged than they did in the studio. In large measure that has to do with Morissette reigning in her vocal affectations while singing most of these songs, which benefit from being stripped down so that the personal lyrics are emphasized more. With Morissette it is always about cryptic lyrics and moody melodies, but rally being able to hear the words and the way she vocalizes these songs in a more intimate situation makes them more approachable (e.g., "That I Would Be Good"). These songs are song without her voice being piercing or jarring, and there may well be those who find it too much of a change from what they first came to like about her music, but I would not be one of those people.

You also have to take the song choices into consideration of this album as well since Morissette only does four songs from her hit album "Jagged Little Pill," devoting more time to performing songs from to her less successful "Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie" album. There is only one cover song in the mix, but it is Sting's "King of Pain," which fits nicely into the overall tapestry of Morissette's songwriting, and several previously unreleased tracks such as "No Pressure Over Cappucinio" (a rare occasion for Morisette to let her voice soar into the higher octaves) and "Princess Familiar." I like the range of these songs. Both "Head Over Feet" and "Ironic" strike me as more playful and "I Was Hoping" more moody and mystical. "You Oughta Know" is the one song that really does not fit for me because the production values seem at odds with the rest of the album, but it does set up a strong finish with a stark version of "Uninvited," so that is a minor caveat. "Alanis Unplugged" has simply become the Alanis Morisette album that I listen to the most because I think it is her best one, even if that opinion has me swimming against the tide.

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