Jagged Little Pill (Acoustic) - My Thoughts
Ok... first off... I think Alanis has enough money that she doesn't need to release this 10th anniversary edition of Jagged Little Pill. Second, I think she must subscribe to the same online blogs that George Lucas does if she thinks she can improve on her original masterpiece. Third, I think she just needed an excuse to tour and ran out of new material.
Anyway, I love Alanis. Early Alanis. I have a respectful opinion of her later work, but that's where it ends. In my opinion, she has never captured the success of her Jagged Little Pill and only very few of her songs on subsequent albums are actually worth listening to. For that reason, I have an Alanis playlist on my iPod with my favorites and I don't bother with the others.
That being said, there are a few songs on this CD that are worth listening to, or downloading if you're feeling slightly illegal. I love strings, string quartets and any type of music involving the violin. I am also learning to appreciate the acoustic guitar in addition to the electric one.
Skip over most of the CD, it's not worth it. In Entertainment Weekly, the reviewer suggested that Alanis should have called this album "Slightly Pointy Pill" instead. The bite and angst of You Oughta Know is gone, along with the matter-of-fact, but powerful rant in All I Really Want. Check out Mary Jane, Not The Doctor, Wake Up and Your House. Each song features new additions while may not improve upon the originals, may offer something different that can stand alongside them.
I did not like Mary Jane on the original because it did not fit. It was this slow, bittersweet ballad sandwiched between Head Over Feet and Ironic that could have been a single if it were a track on... say... Under Rug Swept. It did not go with the loudness and in-your-face attitude of the ablum. On this acoustic version, however, a piano is added that gives the song a bit of intimacy and sadness that it did not originally have. It lends the song something Sarah McLachlan-esque with the piano and vocal parts sounding similar to Sarah's Angel.
Not The Doctor has a total revision in terms of how she sings the song and what she emphasizes. The sound makes it seem like it was cut from one of her later CDs like Under Rug Swept or So-Called Chaos. The whiny early-20s Alanis is replaced with the wiser, sardonic early 30s Alanis and it suits the song well.
Wake Up was my favorite track on her original JLP. I liked the depth of the lyrics and the music surrounding them. Here, there aren't many things changed, but a little added strings goes a long way. It's not something tacked on to be the last official track.
Finally, Your House, which was done totally a cappella and a hidden track on the original JLP, is here featured with acoustic guitar, piano and percussion. It seems more mature. And, while it does take away from the earnestness and starkness of the original, it does make it radio-friendly and much more ear-friendly.
And on a tongue-in-cheek note, always moving up with the times, Alanis changed a line in her song Ironic... to "It's like meeting the man of my dreams, and meeting his beautiful... husband." Now, there's finally a line in the song that is ironic.
I guess if you're an Alanis nut, you will go out and buy this CD because you have to have it for your collection. If not, then save most of your money and download the tracks you want from iTunes. Out of 5 stars, I give it a 2.5.
Anyway, I love Alanis. Early Alanis. I have a respectful opinion of her later work, but that's where it ends. In my opinion, she has never captured the success of her Jagged Little Pill and only very few of her songs on subsequent albums are actually worth listening to. For that reason, I have an Alanis playlist on my iPod with my favorites and I don't bother with the others.
That being said, there are a few songs on this CD that are worth listening to, or downloading if you're feeling slightly illegal. I love strings, string quartets and any type of music involving the violin. I am also learning to appreciate the acoustic guitar in addition to the electric one.
Skip over most of the CD, it's not worth it. In Entertainment Weekly, the reviewer suggested that Alanis should have called this album "Slightly Pointy Pill" instead. The bite and angst of You Oughta Know is gone, along with the matter-of-fact, but powerful rant in All I Really Want. Check out Mary Jane, Not The Doctor, Wake Up and Your House. Each song features new additions while may not improve upon the originals, may offer something different that can stand alongside them.
I did not like Mary Jane on the original because it did not fit. It was this slow, bittersweet ballad sandwiched between Head Over Feet and Ironic that could have been a single if it were a track on... say... Under Rug Swept. It did not go with the loudness and in-your-face attitude of the ablum. On this acoustic version, however, a piano is added that gives the song a bit of intimacy and sadness that it did not originally have. It lends the song something Sarah McLachlan-esque with the piano and vocal parts sounding similar to Sarah's Angel.
Not The Doctor has a total revision in terms of how she sings the song and what she emphasizes. The sound makes it seem like it was cut from one of her later CDs like Under Rug Swept or So-Called Chaos. The whiny early-20s Alanis is replaced with the wiser, sardonic early 30s Alanis and it suits the song well.
Wake Up was my favorite track on her original JLP. I liked the depth of the lyrics and the music surrounding them. Here, there aren't many things changed, but a little added strings goes a long way. It's not something tacked on to be the last official track.
Finally, Your House, which was done totally a cappella and a hidden track on the original JLP, is here featured with acoustic guitar, piano and percussion. It seems more mature. And, while it does take away from the earnestness and starkness of the original, it does make it radio-friendly and much more ear-friendly.
And on a tongue-in-cheek note, always moving up with the times, Alanis changed a line in her song Ironic... to "It's like meeting the man of my dreams, and meeting his beautiful... husband." Now, there's finally a line in the song that is ironic.
I guess if you're an Alanis nut, you will go out and buy this CD because you have to have it for your collection. If not, then save most of your money and download the tracks you want from iTunes. Out of 5 stars, I give it a 2.5.