MTV Unplugged (Alanis Morissette album)

MTV Unplugged
Live album by Alanis Morissette
Released November 9, 1999
Recorded September 18, 1999
MTV Unplugged at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, New York
Genre Acoustic rock
Label Maverick, Reprise
Producer Alanis Morissette
Alanis Morissette chronology

Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie
(1998)		 MTV Unplugged
(1999)		 Under Rug Swept
(2002)
Singles from MTV Unplugged
  1. "That I Would Be Good"
    Released: February 2000
  2. "King of Pain"
    Released: April 2000
  3. "You Learn"
    Released: April 2000
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [1]
Entertainment Weekly B−[2]
Robert Christgau [3]
Rolling Stone [4]

MTV Unplugged is the first live album by Canadian singer-songwriter Alanis Morissette, released by Maverick Records in the United States on November 9, 1999 (see 1999 in music). It comprises songs performed by Morissette on the television program MTV Unplugged. Twelve tracks were included on the album, but Morissette performed several others, including "Baba", "Thank U" (both from 1998's Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie) and "Your House" (the hidden track on 1995's Jagged Little Pill), during her Unplugged concert. These were later released as B-sides on the "King of Pain" single release. The first single, "That I Would Be Good", was moderately successful, and two other tracks, "King of Pain" (a cover of the song by The Police) and "You Learn" were released as singles outside North America. As of March 2012, the album has sold 673,000 copies in the U.S.[5]

In addition to material from Morissette's first two U.S. albums, MTV Unplugged featured performances of "No Pressure over Cappuccino" and "Princes Familiar", two previously unreleased songs from her tours, and "These R the Thoughts", a previously released b-side. Morissette has stated that "Princes Familiar" in particular is one of her favorite and most vocally challenging songs. She performed it on her 2005 Diamond Wink Tour, where she dedicated it to "all of the dads in the audience." The ballad "No Pressure over Cappuccino", one of the first songs she wrote following the release of Jagged Little Pill, is presumably about the singer's twin brother, Wade.

Featuring cleaner vocals, slower arrangements and a few drastic reinventions (particularly in the case of "You Oughta Know"), MTV Unplugged foreshadowed much of Morissette's later, softer work, particularly 2005's Jagged Little Pill Acoustic and the accompanying Diamond Wink Tour.

MTV Unplugged is Alanis's best-selling album in Brazil.

Track listing

All lyrics written by Alanis Morissette, all music composed by Alanis Morissette and Glen Ballard, except where noted.

No. Title Length
1. "You Learn"   4:22
2. "Joining You"   5:09
3. "No Pressure over Cappuccino" (Morissette, Nick Lashley) 4:41
4. "That I Would Be Good"   4:14
5. "Head over Feet"   4:23
6. "Princes Familiar"   4:37
7. "I Was Hoping"   4:54
8. "Ironic"   4:14
9. "These R the Thoughts"   3:26
10. "King of Pain" (lyrics and music: Sting) 4:05
11. "You Oughta Know"   5:00
12. "Uninvited" (Alanis Morissette) 4:37

Personnel

Charts

Chart Peak
position
Portuguese Albums Chart[6] 1
Belgium Albums Chart (Flanders)[6] 10
Belgium Albums Chart (Wallonia)[6] 41
France Albums Chart[6] 21
Italy Albums Chart[6] 6
Norway Albums Chart[6] 6
Netherlands Albums Chart[6] 4
UK Albums Chart[7] 56
Sweden Albums Chart[6] 56
Switzerland Albums Chart[6] 4
US Billboard 200[8] 63

Certifications

Region Certification Sales/shipments
Austria (IFPI Austria)[9] Gold 25,000x
Brazil (ABPD)[10] Platinum 125,000*
Germany (BVMI)[11] Platinum 250,000^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[12] Gold 25,000x
United Kingdom (BPI)[13] Gold 100,000^
United States (RIAA)[14] Gold 673,000^
Summaries

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone
xunspecified figures based on certification alone

Notes

  1. ↑ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Allmusic review
  2. ↑ Entertainment Weekly review
  3. ↑ Robert Christgau review
  4. ↑ Rolling Stone review
  5. ↑ Trust, Gary. "Ask Billboard: What Are the Billboard 200's Longest-Charting Albums Ever?". Billboard. December 24, 2012.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 6.7 6.8 spanishcharts.com - Alanis Morissette - MTV Unplugged
  7. ↑ ALANIS MORISSETTE - The Official Charts Company
  8. ↑ Alanis Morissette Album & Song Chart History
  9. ↑ "Austrian album certifications – Alanis Morissette – MTV Unplugged" (in German). IFPI Austria. Enter Alanis Morissette in the field Interpret. Enter MTV Unplugged in the field Titel. Select album in the field Format. Click Suchen
  10. ↑ "Brazilian album certifications – Alanis Morissette – MTV Unplugged" (in Portuguese). Associação Brasileira dos Produtores de Discos. Retrieved April 6, 2015.
  11. ↑ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Alanis Morissette; 'MTV Unplugged')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
  12. ↑ "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards (Alanis Morissette; 'MTV Unplugged')". Hung Medien.
  13. ↑ "British album certifications – Alanis Morissette – MTV Unplugged". British Phonographic Industry. Enter MTV Unplugged in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Select Gold in the field By Award. Click Search
  14. ↑ "American album certifications – Alanis Morissette – MTV Unplugged". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH