Jagged Little Pill
Jagged Little Pill is a top-selling album by Canadian singer Alanis Morissette, released on June 13, 1995 (see 1995 in music). Morissette's emotional vocals combined with confessional songwriting led to incredible sales, dominating the year's sound in music.
Jagged Little Pill launched five massively successful singles in the United States, including:
You Oughta Know: Released as the album's first single, the infamous song detailed the stalking of a man by an enraged ex-girlfriend. Its unabashedly sexual lyrics, at times humorous, and at times chillingly cruel, helped propel Morissette into pop infamy. "'Cause the love that you gave that we made / Wasn't able to make it enough for you / To be open wide / And every time you speak her name / Does she know how you told me you'd hold me / Until you died / 'Til you died / But you're still alive / ... / And every time I scratch my nails down someone else's back / I hope you feel it / Well can you feel it?"
Hand In My Pocket: The second single showed Morissette's fondness for repetition, though she does it in a style that demonstrates thoughtfulness as opposed to laziness. Morissette does not choose exact opposites (as one would expect), but instead chooses meaningful contrasts that only appear to be contradictory. The result is a unique insight into the thoughts and emotions of a 20-year-old woman. "I'm sane but I'm overwhelmed / I'm lost but I'm hopeful, baby/ ... I care but I'm restless / ... / I'm free but I'm focused / I'm green but I'm wise / And what it all comes down to / Is that no one's really got it figured out just yet / Well I've got one hand in my pocket / And the other is giving the peace sign"
Jagged Little Pill won the Grammy Award for Best Album and Best Rock Album.
Track listing
- All I Really Want (Ballard/Morissette)
- You Oughta Know (Ballard/Morissette)
- Perfect (Ballard/Morissette)
- Hand in My Pocket (Ballard/Morissette)
- Right Through You (Ballard/Morissette)
- Forgiven (Ballard/Morissette)
- You Learn (Ballard/Morissette)
- Head over Feet (Ballard/Morissette)
- Mary Jane (Ballard/Morissette)
- Ironic (Ballard/Morissette)
- Not the Doctor (Ballard/Morissette)
- Wake Up (Ballard/Morissette)
- You Oughta Know [alternate take] (Ballard/Morissette)
Personnel
- Michael Thompson - Organ
- Glen Ballard - Guitar, Keyboards, Programming, Producer, Engineer, Mixing
- Benmont Tench - Organ
- Ted Blaisdell - Engineer
- Francis Buckley - Mixing
- Flea - Bass
- Basil Fung - Guitar
- Michael Landau - Guitar
- Lance Morrison - Bass
- Dave Navarro - Guitar
- David Schiffman - Engineer
- Gota Yashiki - Rhythm
- Alanis Morissette - Harmonica, Vocals
- Rob Ladd - Percussion, Drums
- Matt Laug - Drums
- Joel Shearer - Guitar
- Jolie Jones Levine - Production Coordination
- Chris Bellman - Mastering
- Tom Recchion - Art Direction, Design
- Victor McCoy - Engineer
- Chris Fogel - Engineer, Mixing
- Rich Weingart - Engineer
- John Patrick Salisbury - Photography
Chart positions
Billboard Music Charts (North America) - album
1995 The Billboard 200 No. 1 1995 Heatseekers No. 2 1997 Top Canadian Albums No. 7
Billboard (North America) - singles
1995 Hand In My Pocket Mainstream Rock Tracks No. 8 1995 You Oughta Know Mainstream Rock Tracks No. 3 1995 All I Really Want Modern Rock Tracks No. 14 1995 Hand In My Pocket Modern Rock Tracks No. 1 1995 You Oughta Know Modern Rock Tracks No. 1 1995 Hand In My Pocket Top 40 Mainstream No. 4 1995 You Oughta Know Top 40 Mainstream No. 7 1995 Hand In My Pocket Adult Top 40 No. 25 1996 Hand In My Pocket Adult Contemporary No. 30 1996 Ironic Adult Contemporary No. 28 1996 You Learn Adult Contemporary No. 23 1996 Ironic The Billboard Hot 100 No. 4 1996 Ironic Mainstream Rock Tracks No. 18 1996 You Learn Mainstream Rock Tracks No. 40 1996 Head Over Feet Modern Rock Tracks No. 25 1996 Ironic Modern Rock Tracks No. 1 1996 You Learn Modern Rock Tracks No. 7 1996 Ironic Rhythmic Top 40 No. 11 1996 You Learn Rhythmic Top 40 No. 32 1996 Ironic Top 40 Adult Recurrents No. 1 1996 Hand In My Pocket Adult Top 40 No. 26 1996 Head Over Feet Adult Top 40 No. 1 1996 Ironic Adult Top 40 No. 5 1996 You Learn Adult Top 40 No. 3 1996 Head Over Feet Top 40 Mainstream No. 1 1996 Ironic Top 40 Mainstream No. 1 1996 You Learn Top 40 Mainstream No. 1 1996 You Learn The Billboard Hot 100 No. 6 1997 Head Over Feet Adult Contemporary No. 27 1997 You Learn Top 40 Adult Recurrents No. 1 1997 Head Over Feet Top 40 Mainstream No. 5 1997 Head Over Feet Top 40 Adult Recurrents No. 1