Unplugged - Alanis Morissette

Listened to this again today for the first time in a while and remembered just how great it is. Alanis Morissette shot to world wide fame with the release of her bestselling and fantastic album 'Jagged Little Pill'. Her follow up album 'Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie' was no where near as critically acclaimed although in my opinion is still a brilliant album. The MTV Unplugged album has a mix of songs from both the aforementioned albums along with some extra tracks which are all performed acoustically. This album demonstrates the strength and versatility of Alanis' voice as well as her ability to rework her songs, giving them a ...  Read the complete review

I am a massive Alanis fan and I also love the MTV unplugged sets as it really brings out the best in vocal performances. This is no exception as Alanis's voice is in splendid form, very clear and crisp. This CD is of the highest production quality I have heard in a long while. Some of the older classics of JLP are here like 'Ironic', 'You Oughta Know' and my personal favourite, the opener, 'You Learn'. The best ones from the disappointing 'Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie' are here and sound better, this is displayed on 'Joining You' especially. All this and a couple of unheard new tracks make this a great album. ...  Read the complete review

Stripping down songs to their essence is the ideal of MTV's Unplugged series, and the concept has worked beautifully on occasion, with memorable performances over the years from luminaries such as Nirvana, Neil Young, Elvis Costello and Tori Amos. But others didn't fare as well (think 10,000 Maniacs, KISS, Sheryl Crow) when they peeled away the bombast and stood near-naked in the spotlight's glare. While Alanis Morissette doesn't manage to create something entirely new from her slim body of work — just two albums worth — she handles herself respectably enough during this Unplugged session. The 12 ...  Read the complete review

The Unplugged format often allows artists to showcase great songs in a fresh and stripped down form. Unfortunately Alanis has taken the lazy option of playing very similar versions of some of her best songs, with a bored sounding session band swapping electric guitars for the electro-acoustic variety.Fans will probably love it but for those with only a passing interest will not find much here to tempt them. A version of "King of Pain" by The Police is included, but unfortunately is just a straight cover. ...  Read the complete review