Search - Alanis Morissette :: Collection

The Best of the woman who played God

Amanda Richards | Georgetown, Guyana | 11/15/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Finally, Alanis Morissette's best songs are available all together in one convenient place. This heavenly collection from the woman who played God in the movie "Dogma" covers the period 1995 to 2005, with nineteen of her "impossible to sing along to" songs that we've come to love.



From the incredible album "Jagged Little Pill" (1995):



Head Over Feet; You Learn; You Oughta Know; Hand in My Pocket; Ironic



From "Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie" (1998):



Thank You; That I Would Be Good



From "Under Rug Swept" and "Feast On Scraps" (both 2002):



Hands Clean; So Unsexy; Simple Together; Sister Blister



From "So Called Chaos" (2004):



Eight Easy Steps; Everything



And those are not all - you also get "Princes Familiar" from her "MTV Unplugged" album; a cover of the Seal song "Crazy"; "Mercy" from "Prayer Circle"; "Still" from "Dogma; the haunting "Uninvited" from "City of Angels", and "Let's Do It" from "De-Lovely".



A must-have album for any fan of the often controversial, extremely talented, and sometimes foul-mouthed Canadian-American singer/songwriter/actress.





Amanda Richards, November 15, 2005.

"

Superb Canadian Talent Compiled!

Anthony Morelli | Montreal, Canada | 02/08/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I've followed Alanis Morissette since her first 2 commercially released albums "Alanis" in '91 and "Now is the time" in '92. I've always loved her voice and expected a come-back since the "NITT" CD...but she took a 3-year break and came back with a new image, voice and talent with "Jagged Little Pill" in '95. Since then, she's pumped out song after song, singing & voicing her own opinions, musically. I'm proud to live in a Country where we can have fantastic talent such as Alanis Morissette. Some really talented artists come from Ottawa, Canada...and I'm mighty proud to play their music. Alanis Rocks!



"The Collection" brings out Alanis' best, although, there are some songs which could've been included. There will always be compilations which don't have all the goodies of an artist on it. Forget about what this CD doesn't have and think about its good points...which are countless. The photos are lovely and the tracklist is pleasing to the ears. For one reason, Alanis' selection of songs puts the listener on a musical roller-coaster of emotions, whether it's a dark song or something really fast & happy.



My all-time favorite track has to be "Uninvited". For one, because it wasn't released on an album. Two, I like it because of the drama & the way Alanis' voice goes so well with the arrangements...starting with the organ & piano. Really nice! "Crazy" is a fine song & excellent choice for Alanis. I didn't think she would choose this song for her compilation...perhaps because I never heard it until playing this CD. The only Alanis albums I've got are her first 3 + the unofficial biography & fully-illustrated book. "Crazy" is right up there with Seal's version...and I like Alanis' version better. More emotion is put into it.



The first time I've heard "Let's do it (let's fall in love)"...I heard it sung by Eartha Kitt. Strange mix (eartha kitt & alanis morissette...huh?) Well, a true music lover will try anything once. I can't say I hate Eartha Kitt, but her music isn't anything near Alanis'. Alanis has given new life to "Let's do it..." and it's refreshing to find such a track on "The Collection".



Thank you, for not removing the F word from "You Oughta Know". Without it, the song doesn't have much meaning...'cos everyone's left waiting for her to say it, right? All the other tracks are fine & fit the tracklist well.



Tracklist:

01- Thank You

02- Head over feet

03- 8 easy steps

04- Everything

05- Crazy

06- Ironic

07- Princess Familiar (MTV Unplugged)

08- You learn

09- Simple together

10- You Oughta know

11- That I would be good

12- Sister Blister

13- Hands clean

14- Mercy (from the prayer cycle)

15- Still (from the dogma soundtrack)

16- Uninvited (from the city of angels soundtrack)

17- Let's do it (let's fall in love ) - from the de-lovely soundtrack

18- Hand in my pocket



Album Info:

- FBI Anti-Piracy Warning

- alanis.com

- maverick.com/alanis

- Distributed by Warner Bros Records Inc.

- Maverick Recording Company

- Full Song Credits in booklet

- Full Lyrics for each of the 18 tracks in booklet

- Small personal note from Alanis on inner front of booklet

- Additional info (legal & production) inside booklet

- Disc is purple with song titles written in pale purple & black

- Standard Jewel case packaging



I love all the songs & the recording quality is amazing. Alanis didn't leave anything out when she released this fine collection of her personal best. Thanks Alanis! You rock!!!"

As one writer put it, "An Iffy Collection."

Timothy T. Ward | 11/16/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Even if you don't care much for Alanis Morissette's music, she is inarguably one of the most recognized singer/songwriters of our time. As a devoted fan for many years, I was pleased when I learned last year of a greatest hits package in the works. Instead, we have "The Collection," more of a retrospective, a reflection of sorts, an offering of half hits and half...whatever. One would automatically think that such a release would contain half of the songs from her milestone album Jagged Little Pill, and with good reason since the album produced six radio hits, so the omission of "All I Really Want" from this collection is almost unforgiveable. Morissette said in an interview that she hand-picked each song for this release, so I also question why she buried many of the included hits from JLP towards the end. Not that each song should be arranged in chronlogical order, but I think most fans would enjoy hearing many of the early hits first just for the sake of reminiscence. Also not included is "So Pure," another one of her best singles, while she only includes one other track from her second album after "Thank U," and then there's only ONE song from her third release, Under Rug Swept. So what happened to "Precious Illusions?" or "21 Things I Want in a Lover?" Other tracks that seem out of place are a cut she did for a "Prayer Circle" collaboration, in which Morissette sings in Hungarian, and an absolutely boring cover of a Cole Porter song she recorded a couple of years back titled "Let's Do It," but the majority of fans couldn't care less. If that isn't enough, included are "Sister Blister" and "Simple Together" from a 2002 release of B-sides and previously unreleased material, so why are they back in light of deleting more of her recognized material. So, again, maybe this "collection" wasn't meant to come across as a greatest hits compilation after all. This release does include two of Morissette's best tracks, "Uninvited,"(City of Angels)and "Still"(Dogma) but you can also own these songs by purchasing the soundtracks from which they originated. What you won't find elsewhere is the brilliant cover Alanis recorded of Seal's 1991 hit "Crazy," almost making it impossible on how to rate this CD with so many hits and misses all the way through, so I guess we'll go with not good, not bad, or perhaps fair to good."