Alanis Morissette

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Well, what can be said about Alanis? Simply that she's a brilliant musician and lyricist. No more, no less.

I remember it like it was yesterday. The year was 1995. A song came on the radio, and I immediately fell in love with it. The voice was raspy and angry, and the girl was telling an ex-lover that the way he had treated and ignored her wasn't fair. A star was born. Well, reborn more like. Because with You Oughta Know, she reintroduced herself to the world : She no longer was Alanis, the cute little pop singer (remember Too Hot ? Even Britney has better songs in her repertoire). She was Alanis Morissette, angry bitch and rock goddess. She was fed up with people (namely her former record company and ex-boyfriends) treating her like a baby, and she wanted the world to know that she wouldn't take no shit from anybody anymore.

The rest, of course, is history : her album Jagged Little Pill (which spawned other smash hits such as Hand in my pocket and Ironic) went on to sell a whopping 30 million copies worldwide, and Alanis became a superstar. And with good reason : at just 21, she was an accomplished singer and songwriter who was wise and talented beyond her years. After a while, however, fame began to take its toll on Alanis' mood. The pressure and the magnitude of her success were just too much to take. She needed to recharge her batteries and to sort out her priorities in life. And India is where it would all happen. When she came back, she recorded the much-awaited follow-up to Jagged, Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie, in which she shared her spiritual enlightenment and growth. Personally, that's where she lost me. Not that Supposed is a bad album. It sounded just a little too pompous and preachy for my taste. But I'll admit that I've never taken the time to really listen to it.

So I kind of lost interest for Alanis' work... until So-Called Chaos came out. This time around, I really felt that Alanis has finally come to terms with her inner demons and that she has nothing to prove anymore. The album got mixed reviewed, and I also heard that the sales weren't too great either, which is really sad because in my opinion, So-Called Chaos is Alanis's best effort since Jagged Little Pill. She shines in every song, and though she still has a fondness for pompous words and phrases, we really feel that Alanis has completed the transition from troubled and frustrated girl to grown, happy and content woman. I guess this is greatly due to her love affair with actor Ryan Reynolds who, just like Alanis, is Canadian. This just goes to show that there's nothing like love to help you find peace.

So, because she's extremely talented and was able to use her art as a therapy, I include Alanis Morissette in my list of artists that I admire.

Discography

Alanis (1991)

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Now Is The Time (1992)

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Jagged Little Pill (1995)

Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie (1998)

Alanis Unplugged (Live) (1999)

Under Rug Swept (2002)

Feast on Scraps (Enhanced CD & Live DVD) (2002)

So-Called Chaos (2004)

Jagged Little Pill Acoustic (2005)

Contains acoustic versions of the songs from Jagged Little Pill to celebrate its 10th anniversary. According to critics, the new takes on the formely angst-ridden songs show how mature Alanis has become. The songs are now more sung than screamed, and, while less edgy than the original, this Pill has a newly found beauty and sensitivity.