10 Years On, Alanis Unplugs 'Little Pill'

By Melinda Newman

LOS ANGELES (Billboard) - As she neared the 10th anniversary of her landmark album "Jagged Little Pill," Alanis Morissette (news) began pondering how to commemorate the occasion.

She ultimately decided to do it all again. Together with the album's producer/co-writer, Glen Ballard, she is in the middle of recording an acoustic version of the career-defining set.

"It just sounded much more appealing than creating my own awards show," Morissette, 30, said with a laugh. "There's no better way to honor things than through music."

The as-yet-untitled album will come out on June 13 -- exactly 10 years to the day after the original release. It will initially be sold only at Starbucks' 4,500 North American outlets for a six-week exclusive period, after which it will hit traditional retail outlets on July 26.

The collection, which will feature the songs in their original order, will include previously unreleased video footage from that era plus different artwork.

In the decade since its release, "Jagged Little Pill" has sold 30 million copies across the globe, according to her label, Warner Music Group's Maverick Records. In the United States, it has sold 14.4 million units, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

The album is the best-selling debut by a female artist and the 14th best-selling album ever in the United States, according to the Recording Industry Association of America (news - web sites). It also yielded four Grammys (news - web sites), including album of the year.

The album featured a number of hits, many of which are still in recurrent rotation on adult top 40 stations, including "You Oughta Know," "Hand in My Pocket," "You Learn," "Head Over Feet" and "Ironic."

But perhaps the biggest "irony" is that Morissette barely remembers the 18 months surrounding the project's peak period. "When the album came out, I feel like I immediately went into survival mode to keep the 'overwhelm' that comes from being famous at bay," she said. "Ten years later, I have the luxury of time and distance to formally honor it."

In fact, that era is so dazzling for Morissette, reality was unrecognizable. "The one vivid memory is of being in the van touring around America and I remember almost willing myself to get back to sleep, to get back to reality. Waking life was a little too overwhelming."

Morissette estimates that she's acoustically worked up 75% of the songs from "Jagged Little Pill" over the years in concert, but she still looks forward to what she can bring to them now.

"My voice has changed over the last 10 years in a way that I'm just loving," she said. "I have access to notes that I never had access to. Even if we were to do the songs arranged the same way as the original, the way I approach them emotionally is different and I bring 10 years of life experience to them."

Ballard stresses that the songs will definitely be recognizable, "they'll just express their DNA slightly differently." He added, "We're limiting our palate to more acoustic instruments, but there's a great wealth of instruments to try. I have a hurdy gurdy in there. It's fun to explore. My goal is, we make an album that's interesting so that even if someone had never heard the original, they'd still dig it."

Morissette will also tour acoustically behind the album, playing theaters in June and July. "We'll play the album from start to finish," she said, "although we'll probably play around some with the order. We'll also throw in some other songs from the last 10 years." But Morissette adds she is in no way saying goodbye to these songs: "I'll be playing them until I'm dead."

The acoustic project will be followed by a greatest-hits set with at least one new song due by Christmas.

Morissette, who inked a new deal with Maverick in 2001, says she's ready to start a new project. "I have four journals-full at this point and I usually start a new album after two journals-full," she said. "So I'm very pregnant with songs."

Reuters/Billboard

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Oh, shit, she's got even MORE diaries in the wings!

Those songs were actually pretty acoustic to begin with. Glen Ballard on acoustic guitar... plus extra percussion/production

VoicesCarry said:

A two month theater tour!!!! complete Spinal Tap reasoning .....


That’s it, it has to be true....fame does fuck up creativity. I would like to see her weekly soundscan numbers.

CinisterCee said:

And most of the singles had an acoustic version available anyway. I still haven't purchased her last album...but I'm sure I'll get it before buying this one.

Love the title of this thread!

CinisterCee said:

Acoustic with the hip hop production.

This will be intersting. Is this her Let It Be Naked?

Alanis made like $120 Million off her first tour because it was sponsered by MP3 when the Internet Boom was just starting! She got stock & made about $125 Million off that first tour. She sold most of it before Naspter got huge.

She is just having fun living off her nice nest egg!

Voicescarry, even though you hate Bjork for some inexplicable reason, I commend you on the threads and thread titles you come up with.

I've given three of her four major albums (I never bought "Supposed..." and only bought "Jagged..." years after it's release) a chance and have never been impressed beyond the singles. I couldn't agree with the title more. That is really screwed up...but also kind of interesting....
[Edited 3/6/05 20:56pm]

lilgish said:

Do you mean weekly....or weakly? Her last album must have eaten it pretty quick, even though I bought it like a fool. She needs to release a singles collection and then make a new album. Her singles tend to be really good...her albums, not so much....

Eight Easy Steps rocks though, that song is awesome.

Looks like a desperate career move to me.Her recent albums bombed,so she's gonna re-make her one classic album?

DavidEye said:

Yep, I totally agree. Jagged Little Pill was a great album, but I don't see the need for this at all.

I have to say....I'm looking forward to it...Most of my favorite tracks of hers I would love to own in an acoustic version...that album was released during my 'coming of age' so to speak so it holds a special place...

It's funny that Morisette refuses to learn how to write songs.

CynicKill said:

Actually I thought that "Under Rug Swept" was her best album. There was too much of the "Glen Ballard Factor" on JLP.

DiamondGirl said:

Yeah alot of those songs had breakbeats instead of new drums.

CynicKill said:

I think she can write songs and even produce on her own...it's just that the half the songs on her newest albums are not memorable at all. She just can't make a good or great album.