Alanis Morissette

MTV Unplugged

Unplugged Heaven

Review Score:

(8/10)
After 1998's spectacular second album, I wondered what Alanis Morissette could come up with next. She isn't the Madonna-like chameleon to throw a surprise in one's face, so when news of her 'MTV Unplugged' album being her third release surfaced, I was thoroughly delighted. I half expected the album to be a collection of songs from both her platinum albums, but when I was finally gifted the CD, I discovered that it was so much more than the usual Unplugged performance.

For one, Alanis sounds better here than on her studio albums (most people wouldn't agree, but thats just what I think). Secondly, her cover of songs such as 'King of Pain' are spellbinding, and utterly mesmerising. Third, her performance of her own songs are done with such soulful sweetness, that its deeply affecting. I haven't heard 'Ironic' sound this good ever. She also does a melancholy version of 'You oughta know', first performed this way at the Grammy awards ceremony a few years ago.

There are the occasional slip-ups, though. Songs like 'You learn' sound a tad off-key, but it still works. The instrumental arrangements aren't in top form and there are wrong notes flying all over the place. But through it all, Alanis manages to hold center stage admirably. There isn't a single knock-your-brains-out track here, and thats just as well. One couldn't possibly imagine her doing 'Baba' or 'Right Through You' at a setting such as this. What Alanis does offer, however, is her own rendition of some classic songs. The set is enriched by the presence of these, and they blend in remarkably well with Alanis' own compositions.

My personal favorite on this CD is 'Uninvited', which was first featured on the 'City of Angels' Soundtrack. Ever since I heard her perform it on the Grammys, I was convinced that this was a single that needed an acoustic re-rendering. And what an astonishingly good job Alanis does of it! Easily one of the finest rock ballads of the last decade, 'Uninvited' is one long, dark look at love and its' blemishes, and its never sounded better than it does here. Its' almost Gothic strains are incomparable.

Of course, with an album such as this, you are left wishing that a few of your favorites found their way in. I missed 'Not the Doctor', 'Wake Up' and 'Thank U', but I'm not really complaining. Maverick Records no doubt expected this CD to be a top seller and perhaps acquire cult status as other MTV Unplugged albums have (most notably, Eric Clapton's Unplugged CD), but the truth is that its been a bit of a bomb, with many die-hard Alanis fans expressing dismay at the choice of songs and the production values. Those complaints are valid, to a certain degree, as this isn't the best-produced CD in the world. But as a statement by the artist, and as a expression of creativity, Alanis' MTV Unplugged is unmissable. This young woman really comes alive on stage, and I would even call this one of the best live recordings of all last year. It also demonstrated (to me, at least), that when it comes to rockin' it live, Alanis Morissette is light years ahead of sister contemporaries such as Tori Amos (remember the embarassing 'To Venus and Back'?), and even Sarah McLachlan. And thats no small achievement. Very highly recommended.

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