Jagged Little Pill
Jagged Little Pill is the third studio album by Canadian-American singer Alanis Morissette, released on June 13, 1995, through Maverick and her first album to be released worldwide. It marked a stylistic departure from the dance-pop sound of her first two albums, Alanis (1991) and Now Is the Time (1992). Morissette began work on the album after moving from her hometown Ottawa to Los Angeles, where she met producer Glen Ballard. Morissette and Ballard had an instant connection and began co-writing and experimenting with sounds. The experimentation resulted in an alternative rock album that takes influence from post-grunge and pop rock, and features guitars, keyboards, drum machines, and harmonica. The lyrics touch upon themes of aggression and unsuccessful relationships, while Ballard introduced a pop sensibility to Morissette's angst.[8] The title of the album is taken from a line in the first verse of the song "You Learn".
For other uses, see Jagged Little Pill (disambiguation).Jagged Little Pill
June 13, 1995
1994–1995[1]
- Westlake, Los Angeles, California
- Signet Sound West Hollywood, California
57:23
Jagged Little Pill was a worldwide commercial success, topping the charts in thirteen countries. With sales of over 33 million copies worldwide, it is one of the best-selling albums of all time and made Morissette the first Canadian to achieve double diamond sales.[9] Jagged Little Pill was nominated for nine Grammy Awards, winning five, including Album of the Year, making the then 21-year-old Morissette the youngest artist to win the top honor up to that point. Rolling Stone ranked Jagged Little Pill at number 69 on its 2020 list of "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time".[10][11]
The album has been re-released twice: on October 30, 2015, in a 2-disc deluxe edition and a 4-disc collector's edition commemorating its 20th anniversary; and on June 26, 2020, in a 25th anniversary deluxe edition. An acoustic re-recording of the album was released on June 13, 2005, to mark its 10th anniversary. A musical stage production based on the album premiered at the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge on May 5, 2018; it transferred to Broadway the following year, and was nominated for 15 Tony Awards including Best Musical.[12] A world tour celebrating the 25th anniversary of Jagged Little Pill began in early 2020 but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[13][14][15]
Background[edit]
In 1991, MCA Records Canada released Morissette's debut studio album Alanis, which went Platinum in Canada.[16] Her second album Now Is the Time sold a little more than half the copies of her first album.[17][18] With her two-album deal complete, Morissette was left without a recording contract. In 1993, Morissette's publisher Leeds Levy at MCA Music Publishing introduced her to manager Scott Welch.[19] Welch told HitQuarters he was impressed by her "spectacular voice", her character and her lyrics. At the time she was still living with her parents in Ottawa. Together they decided it would be best for her career to move to Toronto and start writing with other people.[19]
After graduating from high school, Morissette made the move.[17] Her publisher funded part of her development and when she met producer and songwriter Glen Ballard, he believed in her talent enough to let her use his studio.[17][19]
Content[edit]
Jagged Little Pill departed from Morissette's previous releases – Alanis and Now Is the Time – that predominantly featured dance-pop. Most of the lyrics were written by Morissette. Morissette stated that during the process of making the album, she was in a bad mental condition after being robbed at gunpoint, suffering from angst and daily panic attacks, and tried to overcome her troubled feelings by expressing her emotions in the lyrics.[27] She said that her goal was "doing work that is a completely truthful side of yourself", adding that "I say things in my songs that I wouldn't say in normal conversation or even the most serious talk."[20]
The album opens with "All I Really Want". It features harmonica, swirly guitars and canned drums, and is in a grunge-pop vein. The lyrics talk about "intellectual intercourse" and a mental connection with another angry, frustrated, frightened, uncomfortable soul. The lyrics of "You Oughta Know" have been described as exploring themes of "raw anger and frank portrayal of female sexuality".
"Hand in My Pocket" is a cataloging of contradictions set over fuzzy guitar and a '90s drum machine. It portrays a lighter side to Morissette, with lyrics that touch upon themes of her self-effacing and hopeful side. "Right Through You" is a grunge song with angry lyrics about sleazy record bosses who prey on female artists who they want to "Wine dine and sixty-nine" rather than actually supporting their musical careers.
"Forgiven" draws on Morissette's Catholic upbringing. "I was told," she recalled, "that if I wasn't a virgin when I was a teenager, I must be a real whore. I believed that if I had sex I would be damned in hell forever."[28] "You Learn" is a mid-tempo self-help rock song, with Morissette giving out advice; "Ditch the fear, open your heart, speak your mind, and when the going gets tough, walk around the house naked."[29] It also is the source of the album title Jagged Little Pill, which Morissette stated that reflected how “a lot of times when I’m immersed in something really difficult, I don’t realize that there’s a lesson in there somewhere and that it’s only in retrospect that I’ll realize why I went through it. So the lyric following it is ‘just swallow it down, it feels so good swimming in your stomach’ … so there’s some sort of a payoff, and it may not be right away.”[30] "Head Over Feet" is a ballad that contains guitar and drum box backing, with plainspoken vocals. The lyrics talk about Morissette being a "handful", and that she's not the type to get emotional.
"Perfect" is thought to be about internalised negativity, the pressure to do well and approval. Meanwhile, "Mary Jane" is built over a ballad's tense and ringing electric guitar. It addresses themes about depression and anorexia as it sees Morissette trying to reassure a friend who's having a rough time.[31] In 2010 a writer suggested it was an example of an anti-rhetorical argument about taking action.[32] Though the name "Mary Jane" is another name for marijuana, the song seems not to be about the plant.
"Ironic" is a pop rock song,[33] set in the time signature of common time, composed in a moderate tempo of eighty-two beats per minute.[34] The song's use of situational irony[35] led to some fascination with whether it is a correct application of the term ironic.[36][37] According to the Oxford English Dictionary "irony" is "a figure of speech in which the intended meaning is the opposite of that expressed by the words used"[38] making lyrics such as "It's like rain on your wedding day" not ironic.[39]
The closing "Wake Up" takes the shape of a cry for help to an apathetic world.[40]
The album cover, featuring photography by John Patrick Salisbury and art direction by Thomas Recchion, combines a picture of Morissette crouched atop a cliff in Malibu, California and another of her face with various shades of red, blue and green, and typewriter-style fonts.[41][42]
Commercial performance[edit]
Jagged Little Pill is one of the most successful albums of the 1990s. In the US, it debuted at No. 117 on the Billboard 200 and peaked at No. 1 in October 1995, almost four months after it was released, remaining in that position for twelve weeks in total.[61][62] It was the first album to reach both 12 million (in February 1997) and 13 million (in August 1998) in sales in the US since 1991, when Nielsen SoundScan started tracking music sales.[63] It was certified 16× Platinum for shipments of 16 million copies. Morissette held the record as the youngest artist—she was 21 at the time—to be certified diamond in the US, until Britney Spears claimed that title with her debut album ...Baby One More Time certified diamond in December 1999 as she turned 18.[64] The album recorded a further 350,000 units sold through BMG Music Club.[65] On the week ending June 21, 2015, the album sold 5,000 copies, bringing its sales to just over 15 million, making it one of only three albums to have sold at least 15 million copies in the United States since Nielsen Music began tracking data in 1991.[66] It also peaked at No. 1 on the Canadian Albums Chart, and was certified 2× Diamond for selling over 2 million copies.[67]
Jagged Little Pill was very successful worldwide. In Oceania, the album debuted at No. 46 in Australia and rose to peak at No. 1, staying there for 10 non-consecutive weeks.[68] It was certified 14× Platinum, selling over 980,000 copies there.[69] The album debuted at No. 46 in New Zealand, then rose to No. 1, staying there for 11 non-consecutive weeks.[70] In Europe, it peaked at No. 6 on the French Albums Chart, staying in the charts for 37 weeks,[71] and was eventually certified Platinum in that country. In Italy, the album has shipped half a million copies.[72] The album debuted at No. 76 in the United Kingdom and later reached No. 1, spending a total of 221 weeks on the charts.[73] The album was certified 10× Platinum, shipping over 3 million copies.[74]
With 18.7 million copies sold globally in 1996, Jagged Little Pill was the best-selling album of that year. It sold 500,000 or more copies during more than 15 non-consecutive weeks. As of 2009, it has sold 33 million copies worldwide.[75] Overall, the album is one of the most successful albums in music history and one of the best-selling albums worldwide.
Impact and legacy[edit]
The album received numerous awards and accolades. Morissette and the album won five Juno Awards in 1996, including the Album of the Year, Single of the Year for "You Oughta Know", Female Vocalist of the Year, Songwriter of the Year and Best Rock Album.[76]
At the 1996 Grammy Awards, she won four awards: Best Female Rock Vocal Performance, Best Rock Song (both for "You Oughta Know"), Best Rock Album and Album of the Year; Morissette consequently tied with Carole King and Bonnie Raitt for the record of most Grammys won by a woman at a single ceremony, at the time.[77][78] Glen Ballard was nominated as Producer of the Year, Non-Classical for the album's production.[79]
"Ironic" was nominated for two 1997 Grammy Awards—Record of the Year and Best Music Video, Short Form[80]—and won Single of the Year at the 1997 Juno Awards, where Morissette also won Songwriter of the Year and the International Achievement Award.[81] The video Jagged Little Pill, Live, which was co-directed by Morissette and chronicled the bulk of her tour, won a 1998 Grammy Award for Best Music Video, Long Form.[82]
In 2000, it was voted No. 51 in Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums.[83] In October 2002, Rolling Stone ranked it No. 31 on its Women In Rock – The 50 Essential Albums list, and in 2003 the magazine ranked it No. 327 on its list of "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" (while left out of the 2012 update, the album's rank shot up to number 69 in the 2020 reboot of the list).[84][85] The album was included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.[86] The album also appears on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and National Association of Recording Merchandisers' list of 200 Definitive Albums at No. 26. The album ranked at No. 50 on Rolling Stone's 2012 list of "Women Who Rock: The 50 Greatest Albums of All Time".[87] The album peaked at No. 1 on the US Billboard 200, making Morissette the first Canadian woman to top the chart.[88]
It also topped Billboard's "Best Selling Pop album of the 1990s".[75][89]
Morissette's success with Jagged Little Pill (1995) was credited with leading to the introduction of female singers such as Fiona Apple,[90] Shakira, Tracy Bonham, Meredith Brooks, and in the early 2000s, Pink, Michelle Branch, and fellow Canadian Avril Lavigne.[91] American singer Katy Perry cites Jagged Little Pill as a significant musical inspiration, and opted to work with Morissette's frequent collaborator Ballard as a result. Perry stated, "Jagged Little Pill was the most perfect female record ever made. There's a song for anyone on that record; I relate to all those songs. They're still so timeless."[92] Grammy Award winner Kelly Clarkson said of the album, "It made me a better writer. It made me a better singer."[93] Avril Lavigne cited Jagged Little Pill as one of her all-time favorite albums, stating: "It is an album I can revisit over and over, belt every song, and never get sick of."[94] In 2018, the album won the Polaris Heritage Prize Audience Award in the 1986–1995 category.[95]
Benny Anderson of ABBA listed the album as one of the 6 soundtracks of his life: ″I listened to this a lot when it came out, at a time when I wasn't writing pop songs any more. It was a remembrance of solid golden pop, from a fantastically talented woman with great writing and a great voice, and a very nicely produced album by Glen Ballard. It's one of the top 10 albums in my life when it comes to pop records, alongside Rumours and Hotel California.″[96]
In August 2021, Morissette began a tour for the album's 26th anniversary. The tour was scheduled to begin in 2020 for the album's 25th anniversary, but was postponed to summer 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and stretched until 2023.[97] Garbage, Cat Power, Beth Orton, Aimee Mann and Feist were the supporting acts on the tour.[98][99][100]
In 2015, for its sixth and final season, American TV series Glee paid tribute to this album, alongside Carole King's Tapestry, in its episode "Jagged Little Tapestry" airing January 16, 2015. Three songs from the album are performed in a mashup with one of the songs from Tapestry: "Hand in My Pocket" is mashed up with "I Feel the Earth Move", "Head Over Feet" with "Will You Love Me Tomorrow?", and "You Learn" with "You've Got a Friend". The episode was watched by 1.98 million viewers and received a 0.7/2 in the adult 18-49 demographic.[101]