Jagged Little Pill - Alanis Morissette > Reviews > Anger Management

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Definitely a cut above the rest
Lyrics	Sublime
Quality and consistency of tracks	A couple of weak links
How does it compare to the artist's other releases	Outstanding
Value for Money

Advantages:	The songs are brilliant
Disadvantages:	Mary Jane sticks out like a sore thumb

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

Alanis Morisette is an angry woman, or at least that is what her debut album portrays her as. She is mad at men who have let her down, intent on revenge and doesn't care who knows about it. She thrust herself onto the music scene after signing to Madonna's Maverick label, and made us all sit up and pay attention with her strong lyrics and even stronger vocals. This is a great anger to listen to and sing until you get rid of all your pent up frustration. For best results turn up loud when the neighbours are out.

'All I Really Want' is a tremendous opener. You can imagine her singing this while stamping her feet in frustration at the things she wants but cannot have. If you think this is a strong track then you will be blown away by her debut release 'You Oughta Know'. Alanis claims she wrote this song about a married man she was seeing who dumped her and left her full of rage, and if this is anything to go by I would hate to get on the wrong side of her. All said and done though, it is a brilliant lyrical song, and one I love to sing at the top of my voice, especially the sections where the lyrics are especially harsh.

'Perfect' shows the other side to Alanis, and in this track she comes across in a quite melancholy way, and it is her way of crying out to the people she thinks rejected her because she was not perfect, or the people who criticised everything she did and made her feel that she was not good enough. There are hints that she had less than a perfect childhood, and she hides her anger behind timid lyrics and less in your face music. Here she shows that her voice can cope with a folk influenced ballad as well as it can with a more rock influenced track.

'Hand In My Pocket' is about as mainstream as you will get on this album, as it focuses less on the harder rock edge, and goes more towards pop, which probably explained why it was released as a single, and did very well.

My personal favourite on the album is 'Right Through You', and is another track which made people think that Alanis was a raging man hater. This time though she is not focusing on one man who has treat her badly, rather than the stereotypical man who thinks that dinner and drinks gives him a free pass into your knickers, and how most women can spot this type a mile off. The track itself changes throughout from being quite subtle and mellow in the verse to a screaming rant for the chorus. Great stuff. I love it.

'Forgiven' is all about double standards for males and females. This song throws open Alanis' relationship with her family, and how she felt that she had to live up to so much more than her brothers did, and you can tell by her voice this is something which makes her very emotional.

'You Learn' is all about not taking life too seriously, which pretty much goes against everything else she says in the album. It was released as a single, so you won't be surprised to know it is pretty mainstream rock with a pop influence. Not her strongest vocal performance, but very enjoyable nonetheless.

'Head Over Feet' is a beautiful song, and the lyrics are so meaningful, I can imagine many people have dedicated this to someone they love.

'Mary Jane' is the one weak link, and maybe it is because it is written about someone else's experiences and not her own.

'Ironic' is a witty song, and Alanis sings about all the things that happen when they shouldn't. 'It's like rain on your wedding day, a free ride when you've already paid'. You get the gist.

'Not For The Doctor' is all about molly coddled mother's boys, and how frustrating it is when they want their girlfriends to mother them.

'Wake Up' is really what it says. This is Alanis saying sit up, open your eyes and see what is going on, and you can't always expect to take the easy way out every time.

This is an album which is original, and very enjoyable. If you like strong lyrics and great vocals, then this is for you.