Album A Day: Alanis Morissette – Jagged Little Pill

Artist: Alanis Morissette
Album: Jagged Little Pill
Release Date: June 13, 1995

Think whatever you want about Alanis Morissette and her career in the late 90’s to the present, and there’s more than enough evidence to suggest a fall from relevancy (her last significant chart appearance was in 2002 with “Hands Clean”, at #22. “Everything” hit #76 two years later but everything since has topped out in the triple digits). But Jagged Little Pill is a brilliant, visceral record. You’d never guess that the vocals were all recorded in no more than two takes (oh, the things a trip to Wikipedia will teach you). And the instrumentation on tracks like the biting “You Oughta Know” (featuring clutch assists from Dave Navarro and Flea) are simultaneously harsh and catchy, matching the extremes of Morissette herself. Despite the dubious honor of a slew of Grammy wins and a number of hits on the usually bland adult contemporary chart, Jagged Little Pill fights back against the stereotypically boring acoustic balladry with full, blasting arrangements and a blend of smooth and sandpapery vocals. Written in a quick timespan wrought with highs and lows in Morissette’s life, terribly few albums match the seemingly perfect storm of real life, artistic peaks, and raw musical talent that appears on Jagged Little Pill. The amateur screenwriter in me tells me there’s a wonderful story in this, but alas, I’m pretty sure I’ve already been beaten to the punch.

Alanis Morissette – Head Over Feet [iTunes] (YSI)

==TJ==