DATE:
July 22, 2005
FROM:
MITCH SCHNEIDER/MARCEE RONDAN/LATHUM NELSON
ALANIS
MORISSETTE TO PERFORM ON THREE NATIONAL TELEVISION SHOWS TO COINCIDE WITH THE
JULY 26 RETAIL RELEASE OF
‘JAGGED
LITTLE PILL ACOUSTIC’
ALANIS
MORISSETTE will mark
the July 26 retail release of her JAGGED LITTLE PILL ACOUSTIC
studio album (on Maverick Records) by performing on The Tonight Show
(Monday, July 25) and Jimmy Kimmel Live (Wednesday, July 27). The
singer, songwriter and musician will also return to PBS’ Tavis Smiley
Show for a performance (airdate TBA).
JAGGED
LITTLE PILL ACOUSTIC--on
which ALANIS “casts
her classics in a more atmospheric, contemplative light” (Chicago
Tribune, 6/13/05)--was
originally released June 13
exclusively at Starbucks, where it logged the biggest single-week CD sales in
Starbucks history (more than 61,000 copies). The six-week Starbucks
exclusivity coincided with ALANIS’ recently completed 27-date North American
“JAGGED LITTLE PILL ACOUSTIC TOUR.” In a stripped down acoustic
setting, where her passionate vocals highlighted the personal sentiment in her
music, the seven-time Grammy Award winner has earned huge critical praise.
A
new fan favorite, JAGGED LITTLE PILL ACOUSTIC gave ALANIS the
opportunity to “re-interpret the songs in ways that have developed in my
touring and acoustic shows over the past ten years.” The original JAGGED
LITTLE PILL is recognized as the best-selling debut by a female solo
artist, having sold over 30 million copies worldwide, including 14 million in
the U.S. Hailed as “Album of the Decade” by Billboard magazine, the
album earned ALANIS four Grammy awards--Album of the Year, Best Female Rock
Vocal Performance (“You Oughta Know”), Best Rock Song (“You Oughta
Know”) and Best Rock Album--and inspired a whole new generation of
singer-songwriters.
Ben
Wener of the
ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER (7/16/05) noted how JAGGED LITTLE PILL
ACOUSTIC "...has fortified the backbone of her artistry with a
thoughtful reworking from a different vantage point. Instead of wallowing in
the ire of youth, she has found fresh ways of hearing this material, bringing
maturity and wisdom she hasn't possessed until now to ‘Right Through You,’
say, or ‘All I Really Want,’ songs that once got by on snarling,
hair-flailing antagonism more than a both-sides-now temperament. A sleepier
yet no less ebullient ‘Hand in My Pocket’ and the haunting ‘Forgiven’
now play like letters from a less restless woman rooted by a measure of
peacefulness, not pining for a shred of it."
Here
are more critical quotes about the JAGGED LITTLE PILL ACOUSTIC album
and tour:
ALBUM
QUOTES
“An
acoustic song-by-song retooling of Morissette and co-composer/producer Glen
Ballard's masterwork, the album casts her classics in a more atmospheric,
contemplative light.”
--Moira
McCormick, CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 6/13/05
“Certain
songs, like ‘All I Really Want,’ feel markedly different. They benefit
from their acoustic makeovers, and brim with exotic percussive elements like
the Eastern-tinted wheezing of the perapaloshka and the breezy drive of the
pump organ that carries Morissette's plea. On ‘Ironic,’ Morissette
slightly tweaks her lyrics to reflect political questions of the day,
supplanting the word ‘husband’ for ‘wife’ in the line, ‘It's like
meeting the man of my dreams and then meeting his beautiful wife.’ But few
changes are as overt."
--Brian
Orloff, ST. PETERSBURG TIMES, 6/23/05
“JAGGED
LITTLE PILL ACOUSTIC is a unique juxtaposition. It's the same songs in the
same order, but they're also artfully different from their predecessors. The
angsty jam that broke Alanis and her fearless message to the world, ‘You
Oughta Know,’ becomes a methodical, down-tempo manifesto of matured
understanding."
--Ricardo
Baca, DENVER POST, 7/3/05
"A
decade of singing these songs, from the angry ‘You
Oughta Know’ to the more reflective ‘Head
Over Feet,’ gave her the ability to inflect new emotion in each
performance. ‘You Oughta Know’
seethes more than rages; other songs get a treatment that is more
assured."
--Mark
Brown, ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS, 7/5/05
"What
this new acoustic collection does quite well is accentuate that fine line
between love and hate, especially during a smartly reworked ‘You Oughta
Know.’ The outright joy--even sweetness--beaming from both ‘Head Over
Feet’ and ‘You Learn also refute the notion that Morissette was little
more than an angst-ridden male-basher."
--John
Roos, OC WEEKLY, 7/16/05
TOUR
QUOTES
“…one
exceptional singing performance after another…”
--Gary
Graff, BILLBOARD.com, 6/9/05
“…‘You
Oughta Know’’s makeover was a revelation: It laid bare Morissette's
anguish, not her anger, and your heart broke right along with hers.”
--Moira
McCormick, CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 6/13/05
”…magnetic
stage presence.”
--Brian
Orloff, CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 6/13/05
“She
practically brought the show to a stop at its start....”
--Christa
Titus, HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 6/16/05
"...still
one of pop's most intense performers…Her voice
was passionate, piercing and pretty all evening.”
--David
Hiltbrand, PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 6/16/05
“On
‘Mary Jane,’ another song about the psychological scars of adolescence,
Morissette's voice rang out beautifully...”
--Rafer
Guzman, NEWSDAY, 6/17/05
"...[she]
offered a warmer and subtler spin on songs such as ‘Head Over Feet’ and
‘Right Through You.’”
--Mark
Hirsh, BOSTON GLOBE, 6/20/05
“Morissette
brilliantly revealed her evolution as an artist while exploring the lyrical
pain of her past.”
--Rashod
D. Ollison, BALTIMORE SUN, 6/20/05
"...a
warm, triumphant performance...Morissette's
command and poise were astounding."
--Linda
Laban, BOSTON HERALD, 6/18/05
"The
purity and passion of her voice was beautifully showcased by the stripped-down
setting."
--Rosanne
Gallagher, DETROIT NEWS HERALD, 6/l1/05
"That
Morissette's striking alto is every bit as powerful, but more nuanced, as it
was in her heyday was evident in ‘Your House’ and the ensuing 90
minutes.”
--Keith
Spera, NEW ORLEANS TIMES PICAYUNE, 7/1/05
"...Morissette
gave new voice to her body of work. Many of the songs definitely benefit from
reinvention. Morissette's voice...has gotten rich and flavorful. ‘Hand
in My Pocket’ comes across more contemplative and grateful. ‘Forgiven’
actually goes the opposite way, coming off angrier, as the years have taught
Morissette that many of the things she felt guilt and shame about were never
her fault to begin with."
--Mark
Brown, ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS, 7/6/05
"...powerful...a
terrific showcase for Morissette's clear, powerful vocals...timeless,
heartfelt songs...The acoustic format gave the lyrics, as well as Morissette's
vocals, more impact."
--Gene
Stout, SEATLLE POST-INTELLIGENCER, 7/11/05
"...Alanis
Morissette slipped on the musical equivalent of a decade-old prom dress
Wednesday and guess what? All in all, it's a classic that still fits
remarkably well...The reason it rarely felt like a cultural time capsule had
less to do with her new acoustic reinterpretation than the fact that the
venting of sadness and fury over busted relationships will never go out of
style as long as people live and try to love."
--Randy
Lewis, LOS ANGELES TIMES, 7/15/05
"...impeccable
throughout the show...has gained a greater command over her voice over the
last 10 years..."
--Theresa
Cano, ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 6/17/05
"...The
unplugged format allowed her storytelling to come front and center, her lyrics
living and breathing in a fresh manner."
--Christina
Fuoco, LIVEDAILY.COM, 7/18/05
###