Alanis (album)
Encyclopedia
Alanis is the debut album by Alanis Morissette
, released only in Canada
in April 1991 by MCA Records Canada
(see 1991 in music
). Morissette recorded the album with Leslie Howe
, who produced her second album Now Is the Time
(1992), and it was certified platinum.
for MCA Records Canada, first heard a demo tape from Morissette in 1983, when she was nine years old. He called it "very promising. Her voice was very strong, and it was remarkable that the tape included some original songs written by her at that age." However, he decided not to sign her to a record deal because "from an A&R standpoint, I said, 'What am I going to do with a nine-year-old?'" In 1987 Morissette met entertainment manager Stephan Klovan, and at the 1988 World Figure Skating Championships she recorded a well-received version of "O Canada
" with two musicians, one of whom was Leslie Howe of the new wave/synthpop duo One to One. Klovan intended for Howe to work with Morissette so that she could audition on the television show Star Search
, but eventually both he and Howe decided to try to secure a record contract for her.
One of the demo recordings Howe and Morissette created with keyboardist Serge Côté in the studio was "Walk Away
", for which Howe and Klovan funded an expensive promotional video that was filmed in Paris, France. In 1988 Howe sent the video to Alexander, who later arranged a dinner meeting with Morissette. "I could tell that she was a very focused and passionate 14-year-old girl, who was also very talented", Alexander said. "I felt strongly that we could work together to build her music career." The next day he met Morissette and her parents and told them he wanted to sign her, but MCA Records did not endorse this decision. Leeds Levy, president of MCA Publishing in North America, thought that Morissette had talent and agreed to sign her to a publishing deal as well as help fund a record deal for her. MCA Publishing financed the album through Hot Mustard Records, its new independent label for the development of new artists, and MCA Records distributed it. The album was recorded in Distortion Studios, Ottawa
between September and December 1990.
According to Morissette, people from MCA placed "hardcore" pressure on her to lose weight in time for the album's release, leading her to develop anorexia nervosa
and bulimia. She recalled returning to the studio to re-record some vocals, only to be told "I actually wanted to talk to you about your weight. You can't be successful if you're fat." During this period, she lived on a diet of carrot
s, black coffee
and Melba toast
, and her weight fluctuated between 15 and 20 pounds. She subsequently began therapy, which she called "a long process to un-program [my brain]. I try to remember, whatever my body is, it's perfect the way it is."
singers at the time such as Debbie Gibson
and Tiffany
. Its first single, "Too Hot
", reached number fourteen on the Canadian singles chart and, in July, peaked within top ten on contemporary hit radio
. CBC
called the song "Paula Abdul
-inspired", and the Arizona Daily Wildcat
described it as "cheesy" and "poppy". "Feel Your Love
" was released as a single during this period, and the CRIA
certified the album gold. Alanis reached number twenty-five on the Canadian album chart, and two other singles were released: "Walk Away", the video for which featured Matt LeBlanc
, and "Plastic". At the 1992 Juno Award
s "Too Hot" received nominations for "Single of the Year
" and "Best Dance Recording" (for the "Hott Shot" remix
), and Morissette won the award for "Most Promising Female Vocalist". The album went on to sell over 200,000 copies, though Morissette's popularity experienced a backlash at her high school, where her version of "O Canada" was played over the PA system every morning. In 1993 John Alexander attempted to get Alanis and Now Is the Time released in the United States by approaching Scott Welch, who became Morissette's agent and manager but was not impressed nor cared about the albums. The music scene in the States was covered during this time with young women doing much the same dance/hip-hop/pop and releasing an album from a Canadian teen just didn't appeal to the American record industry. The music scene there during 1991 was changing and releasing a Dance/pop album at this time was not considered by most in the industry to be a worthy or smart move. The record Industry said "the genre" was on the way out but the fans of early 90's hip-hop-pop said it was more like being "pushed out". The record industry of America had other plans for the '90s which included grunge/alternative rock
TIME
magazine said the album "brought [Morissette] modest renown ... (one presumes) among people [in Canada] who don't read lyric sheets", while Rolling Stone
described it as "vaguely Madonna
-esque dance pop" and "fairly generic". The Kansas City Star
labelled it "a faux Janet Jackson
album", and Spin
magazine wrote, "It's as if her high school yearbook picture came to life and made an album designed to haunt her forever. Sometimes cheese is Velveeta
." In 1995 Morissette released her international debut album Jagged Little Pill
through U.S. label Maverick Records
. Executives at Maverick persuaded MCA Records to withdraw all copies of Alanis and Now Is the Time from circulation, and they did not mention either album in the promotional material for Jagged Little Pill. According to Spin, Morissette's transformation from "the Debbie Gibson of Canada" to an alternative rock
musician made some Canadians skeptical. As of 2008 Alanis is officially out of print, but some pirates and mp3
s have circulated.
Morissette said of Alanis and Now Is the Time, "...I'm not scared people might hear these records. I never did Playboy centrefolds. There's nothing I regret. Maybe people will just understand that my lyrics are from different experiences if they hear those records. It validates [Jagged Little Pill] ... There was an element of me not being who I really was at the time and I'm now more experienced with my life. It was because I wasn't prepared to open up that way. The focus for me then was entertaining people and getting my feet wet in the business, it was about being young & having fun as opposed to sharing any revelations I had at the time. I had them, but I wasn't prepared or comfortable with sharing it." She considered including material from both albums on her 2005 compilation The Collection
, but she was talked out of it and decided against it, citing the genres dance/pop wouldn't match other material from her current discography, also "it was right around when I was 19 and Jagged Little Pill where I first felt writing was a channelled experience. That has a lot to do with where I was at then, with having met Glen Ballard
, with my moving from Canada and moving away from any preconceived notions of how songs 'should' be written. It was the beginning of a new way to approach songwriting altogether."
Alanis Morissette
Alanis Nadine Morissette is a Canadian-American singer-songwriter, guitarist, record producer, and actress. She has won 16 Juno Awards and seven Grammy Awards, was nominated for two Golden Globe Awards and also shortlisted for an Academy Award nomination...
, released only in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
in April 1991 by MCA Records Canada
MCA Records
MCA Records was an American-based record company owned by MCA Inc., which later gave way to the larger MCA Music Entertainment Group , of which MCA Records was still part. MCA Records was absorbed by Geffen Records in 2003...
(see 1991 in music
1991 in music
See also:* 1991 in music Record labels established in 1991-Summary:The year 1991 is the year that grunge music made its popular breakthrough. Nirvana's Nevermind, led by the surprise hit single "Smells Like Teen Spirit", becomes the most popular U.S. album of the year...
). Morissette recorded the album with Leslie Howe
Leslie Howe
Leslie Howe is a musician and record producer born in Ontario, Canada.He has been a member of the bands Mainstream, One to One, Sal's Birdland and Artificial Joy Club, and produced Alanis Morissette's early pop music albums, Alanis and Now Is the Time .In 1986, Howe was nominated for two Juno...
, who produced her second album Now Is the Time
Now Is the Time
- Credits :* Produced, engineered and mixed by Leslie Howe for Ghetto Records at Distortion Studios* Photography by Dan Seguin and Andrew LeBlanc* Design: Martin Solort* A&R direction: John Alexander- References :* RPM ....
(1992), and it was certified platinum.
Background and recording
John Alexander, head of A&RA&R
Artists and repertoire is the division of a record label that is responsible for talent scouting and overseeing the artistic development of recording artists. It also acts as a liaison between artists and the record label.- Finding talent :...
for MCA Records Canada, first heard a demo tape from Morissette in 1983, when she was nine years old. He called it "very promising. Her voice was very strong, and it was remarkable that the tape included some original songs written by her at that age." However, he decided not to sign her to a record deal because "from an A&R standpoint, I said, 'What am I going to do with a nine-year-old?'" In 1987 Morissette met entertainment manager Stephan Klovan, and at the 1988 World Figure Skating Championships she recorded a well-received version of "O Canada
O Canada
It has been noted that the opening theme of "O Canada" bears a strong resemblance to the "Marsch der Priester" , from the opera Die Zauberflöte , composed in 1791 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and that Lavallée's melody was inspired by Mozart's tune...
" with two musicians, one of whom was Leslie Howe of the new wave/synthpop duo One to One. Klovan intended for Howe to work with Morissette so that she could audition on the television show Star Search
Star Search
Star Search is a television show that was produced from 1983-95, hosted by Ed McMahon, and created by Alfred Masini. A relaunch was produced in 2003-04. The show was originally filmed at the old Earl Carroll Theatre at 6230 Sunset Blvd...
, but eventually both he and Howe decided to try to secure a record contract for her.
One of the demo recordings Howe and Morissette created with keyboardist Serge Côté in the studio was "Walk Away
Walk Away (Alanis Morissette song)
"Walk Away" is a pop-dance song co-written by Alanis Morissette, Leslie Howe, Louise Reny and Frank Levin, and produced by Howe for Morissette's debut album Alanis . Its protagonist sends a warning to her boyfriend who "never think[s] twice before [he] break all the rules", telling him "I'll walk...
", for which Howe and Klovan funded an expensive promotional video that was filmed in Paris, France. In 1988 Howe sent the video to Alexander, who later arranged a dinner meeting with Morissette. "I could tell that she was a very focused and passionate 14-year-old girl, who was also very talented", Alexander said. "I felt strongly that we could work together to build her music career." The next day he met Morissette and her parents and told them he wanted to sign her, but MCA Records did not endorse this decision. Leeds Levy, president of MCA Publishing in North America, thought that Morissette had talent and agreed to sign her to a publishing deal as well as help fund a record deal for her. MCA Publishing financed the album through Hot Mustard Records, its new independent label for the development of new artists, and MCA Records distributed it. The album was recorded in Distortion Studios, Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
between September and December 1990.
According to Morissette, people from MCA placed "hardcore" pressure on her to lose weight in time for the album's release, leading her to develop anorexia nervosa
Anorexia nervosa
Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder characterized by refusal to maintain a healthy body weight and an obsessive fear of gaining weight. Although commonly called "anorexia", that term on its own denotes any symptomatic loss of appetite and is not strictly accurate...
and bulimia. She recalled returning to the studio to re-record some vocals, only to be told "I actually wanted to talk to you about your weight. You can't be successful if you're fat." During this period, she lived on a diet of carrot
Carrot
The carrot is a root vegetable, usually orange in colour, though purple, red, white, and yellow varieties exist. It has a crisp texture when fresh...
s, black coffee
Black Coffee
Black coffee may refer to:* Coffee, served as a beverage without cream or milk-Music:* "Black Coffee" , written by Sonny Burke, the lyrics by Paul Francis Webster* Black Coffee , 1956...
and Melba toast
Melba toast
Melba toast is a very dry, crisp and thinly sliced toast often served with soup and salad or topped with either melted cheese or pâté. It is named after Dame Nellie Melba, the stage name of Australian opera singer Helen Porter Mitchell. Its name is thought to date from 1897, when the singer was...
, and her weight fluctuated between 15 and 20 pounds. She subsequently began therapy, which she called "a long process to un-program [my brain]. I try to remember, whatever my body is, it's perfect the way it is."
Release and legacy
Alanis was released in April 1991 to mixed reviews, and the media drew comparisons between Morissette and other teen popTeen pop
Teen pop is a subgenre of pop music that is created, marketed and oriented towards teenagers. Teen pop copies genres and styles such as pop, dance, R&B, hip hop, country and rock....
singers at the time such as Debbie Gibson
Deborah Gibson
Deborah Ann "Debbie" Gibson is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. In 1987 she was pronounced the youngest artist to write, produce, and perform a No. 1 single on the Billboard Hot 100, with her song "Foolish Beat" and she remains the youngest female to write, record, and...
and Tiffany
Tiffany (singer)
Tiffany Renee Darwish , known popularly as Tiffany, is an American singer and former teen icon. She is most notable for her 1987 cover version of "I Think We're Alone Now", originally recorded by Tommy James and the Shondells in 1967. Released as the second single from her eponymous album, Tiffany,...
. Its first single, "Too Hot
Too Hot
"Too Hot" is a pop-dance song co-written by Alanis Morissette and Leslie Howe, and produced by Howe for Morissette's debut album Alanis...
", reached number fourteen on the Canadian singles chart and, in July, peaked within top ten on contemporary hit radio
Contemporary hit radio
Contemporary hit radio is a radio format that is common in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by the Top 40 music charts...
. CBC
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...
called the song "Paula Abdul
Paula Abdul
Paula Julie Abdul is an American singer-songwriter, dancer, choreographer, actress and television personality.In the 1980s, Abdul rose from cheerleader for the Los Angeles Lakers to highly sought-after choreographer at the height of the music video era before scoring a string of pop music-R&B hits...
-inspired", and the Arizona Daily Wildcat
Arizona Daily Wildcat
The Arizona Daily Wildcat is a student newspaper serving the University of Arizona. It was founded in 1899 as the Sage Green and Silver. Previous names include Arizona Weekly Life, University Life, Arizona Life and Arizona Wildcat. Its distribution is within the university and the Tucson, Arizona...
described it as "cheesy" and "poppy". "Feel Your Love
Feel Your Love
"Feel Your Love" is a pop-dance song co-written by Alanis Morissette and Leslie Howe, and produced by Howe for Morissette's debut album Alanis . Its protagonist tells a boy she has "got this thing" for him, and that "it's drivin' me right out of my mind ... I wanna feel your love; you know this...
" was released as a single during this period, and the CRIA
Canadian Recording Industry Association
Music Canada is a Toronto-based, non-profit trade organization that was founded 9 April 1963 to represent the interests of companies that record, artists, manufacture, production, promotion and distribution of music in Canada...
certified the album gold. Alanis reached number twenty-five on the Canadian album chart, and two other singles were released: "Walk Away", the video for which featured Matt LeBlanc
Matt LeBlanc
Matthew Steven "Matt" LeBlanc is an American actor, best known for his role as Joey Tribbiani on the NBC sitcoms Friends and its spin-off Joey....
, and "Plastic". At the 1992 Juno Award
Juno Award
The Juno Awards are presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music...
s "Too Hot" received nominations for "Single of the Year
Juno Award for Single of the Year
The Juno Award for Single of the Year has been awarded since 1974 for the best single in Canada. It has also been known as Best Single and Best Selling Single.-Best Single :...
" and "Best Dance Recording" (for the "Hott Shot" remix
Remix
A remix is an alternative version of a recorded song, made from an original version. This term is also used for any alterations of media other than song ....
), and Morissette won the award for "Most Promising Female Vocalist". The album went on to sell over 200,000 copies, though Morissette's popularity experienced a backlash at her high school, where her version of "O Canada" was played over the PA system every morning. In 1993 John Alexander attempted to get Alanis and Now Is the Time released in the United States by approaching Scott Welch, who became Morissette's agent and manager but was not impressed nor cared about the albums. The music scene in the States was covered during this time with young women doing much the same dance/hip-hop/pop and releasing an album from a Canadian teen just didn't appeal to the American record industry. The music scene there during 1991 was changing and releasing a Dance/pop album at this time was not considered by most in the industry to be a worthy or smart move. The record Industry said "the genre" was on the way out but the fans of early 90's hip-hop-pop said it was more like being "pushed out". The record industry of America had other plans for the '90s which included grunge/alternative rock
TIME
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
magazine said the album "brought [Morissette] modest renown ... (one presumes) among people [in Canada] who don't read lyric sheets", while Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
described it as "vaguely Madonna
Madonna (entertainer)
Madonna is an American singer-songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album in 1983...
-esque dance pop" and "fairly generic". The Kansas City Star
The Kansas City Star
The Kansas City Star is a McClatchy newspaper based in Kansas City, Missouri, in the United States. Published since 1880, the paper is the recipient of eight Pulitzer Prizes...
labelled it "a faux Janet Jackson
Janet Jackson
Janet Damita Jo Jackson is an American recording artist and actress. Known for a series of sonically innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows, television and film roles, she has been a prominent figure in popular culture for over 25 years...
album", and Spin
Spin (magazine)
Spin is a music magazine founded in 1985 by publisher Bob Guccione Jr.-History:In its early years, the magazine was noted for its broad music coverage with an emphasis on college-oriented rock music and on the ongoing emergence of hip-hop. The magazine was eclectic and bold, if sometimes haphazard...
magazine wrote, "It's as if her high school yearbook picture came to life and made an album designed to haunt her forever. Sometimes cheese is Velveeta
Velveeta
Velveeta is the brand name of a processed cheese product having a taste that is identified as a type of American cheese with a texture that is softer and smoother. It was first made in 1918 by Swiss immigrant Emil Frey of the Monroe Cheese Company in Monroe, New York. In 1923, The Velveeta Cheese...
." In 1995 Morissette released her international debut album Jagged Little Pill
Jagged Little Pill
Jagged Little Pill is the third studio album by Canadian recording artist and songwriter Alanis Morissette. It was Morissette's first internationally released album, and her first studio album after the three year hiatus following her break with MCA Records. The album marked a shift from her style...
through U.S. label Maverick Records
Maverick Records
Maverick Recording Company is an American record label owned and operated by Warner Music Group, and distributed through Warner Bros. Records.-Company history:...
. Executives at Maverick persuaded MCA Records to withdraw all copies of Alanis and Now Is the Time from circulation, and they did not mention either album in the promotional material for Jagged Little Pill. According to Spin, Morissette's transformation from "the Debbie Gibson of Canada" to an alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
musician made some Canadians skeptical. As of 2008 Alanis is officially out of print, but some pirates and mp3
MP3
MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a patented digital audio encoding format using a form of lossy data compression...
s have circulated.
Morissette said of Alanis and Now Is the Time, "...I'm not scared people might hear these records. I never did Playboy centrefolds. There's nothing I regret. Maybe people will just understand that my lyrics are from different experiences if they hear those records. It validates [Jagged Little Pill] ... There was an element of me not being who I really was at the time and I'm now more experienced with my life. It was because I wasn't prepared to open up that way. The focus for me then was entertaining people and getting my feet wet in the business, it was about being young & having fun as opposed to sharing any revelations I had at the time. I had them, but I wasn't prepared or comfortable with sharing it." She considered including material from both albums on her 2005 compilation The Collection
Alanis Morissette: The Collection
- Album :- Single :- External links :*...
, but she was talked out of it and decided against it, citing the genres dance/pop wouldn't match other material from her current discography, also "it was right around when I was 19 and Jagged Little Pill where I first felt writing was a channelled experience. That has a lot to do with where I was at then, with having met Glen Ballard
Glen Ballard
Glen Ballard is an American songwriter and record producer, best known for co-writing and producing Alanis Morissette's Jagged Little Pill , which won Grammy Award for "Best Rock Album", and "Album of the Year" amongst others, and is ranked by the Rolling Stone amongst The 500 Greatest Albums of...
, with my moving from Canada and moving away from any preconceived notions of how songs 'should' be written. It was the beginning of a new way to approach songwriting altogether."
Track listing
Credits
- Produced, engineered and mixed by Leslie HoweLeslie HoweLeslie Howe is a musician and record producer born in Ontario, Canada.He has been a member of the bands Mainstream, One to One, Sal's Birdland and Artificial Joy Club, and produced Alanis Morissette's early pop music albums, Alanis and Now Is the Time .In 1986, Howe was nominated for two Juno...
for Ghetto Records - Serge Côté: KeyboardsElectronic keyboardAn electronic keyboard is an electronic or digital keyboard instrument.The major components of a typical modern electronic keyboard are:...
- Leslie "Bud" Howe: Drum programming, guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, additional keyboards, little cool bits here and there, finger pulling - Frank "Fish" Levin: Mastermind on "Human Touch", keyboard solo on "Too Hot" and extra strings arrangement on "On My Own"
- Alanis Morissette: All vocals
- Back-up vocals on "Too Hot" & "Feel Your Love": Chad & Wade Morissette, Tyley Ross, John & Peter (The "Burn Bros."), Tom "Sloppy" Saidak, Kevin "Iceman" Little, Dan "Capt. Pin", Deane Josh Lovejoy, Sean Daley, Jenny "Frank #1" Parlier, Mr. Fish, Sal, Rick "Slick" Kumar.
- Recorded at Distortion Studios September–December 1990 in OttawaOttawaOttawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
, CanadaCanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean... - Art direction & design: Martin Soldat
- Photography: Dimo Safari