Word: albums
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...wentfor a walk in the gatineaus / and talked likewomen like women would / womyn to womyn would?"But when she tightens up her meaning and finds thebackground in which to frame it, the result isoften perfection. "I Was Hoping," for instance, isthe best track on the album simply because itscatchy melody is complemented, rather thantrivialized by it lyrics. No line repeats in thesong, preferring to move in a limitlessprogression...
Indeed, none of the songs on the album seem theleast bit circular. "Joining You," for instance,offers us a rush of hypotheticals: "If we were ourfutures / If we ere our futures / If we were ourdefenses I'd be joining you." Instead of thestandard verse-chorus-verse form, Alanis, modifiesthe verses with added harmonies and sets eachrefrain against a new set of lyrics. Themusic--unlike some of the redundant tracks onJagged Little Pill--never stagnates, neverbores...
...minor changes mightmake her music even more effective. At times,SFIJ besieges the listener with a torrentof words. "The Couch," for example, is an overlongconfessional that exhausts rather than involves.Verbosity sometimes clouds her haunting, oftenstartlingly beautiful melodies. "Front Row" thefirst track, is a surprisingly insipid start tothe album. Trying to muster resentment, she offersus a long stream-of-consciousness account of lovegone wrong. Words pile on words as the standardchorus is layered with dense sub-vocals thatslowly collapse into indecipherable clamor. Thesong turns out to be a mish-mash of etherealchattiness rather than a compelling introduction...
...solve and workthrough her problems in words. And suddenly, itseems like she has the whole world as her musicalcanvas. After a trip to India and an explorationof Eastern religion, she offers us her perspectivenot only on love, but spirituality andenlightenment. Indian themes and phrases pop upall over the album, especially in "Thank U," thefirst single off the album currently saturatingairwaves. (If the "Indian experience" revitalizedMadonna's torpid career and reawakened Alanis,imagine what it could do for someone like CelineDion...
...packagemusic in categorical compartments, SupposedFormer Infatuation Junkie might as well be aRubix Cube. The cathartic rage that made JaggedLittle Pill such a novelty has been harnessedand channeled into softer explorations of theself. And for a singer who became famous becauseof her angry ranting and her springy, blaringvocals, this new album proves that Alanis willproduce her best work when she opens her heart tothe subtle (and softer) complexities of life. Nowisn't that ironic?Maverick Records...