Alanis Morissette Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie CD

Personnel: Alanis Morissette (vocals, harmonica, flute, piano); Glen Ballard (guitar, piano, synthesizer, programming); Nick Lashley, Joel Shearer (guitar); Benmont Tench (organ, chamberlin); Chris Chaney (bass); Gary Novak (drums, percussion); Shad T. Scott, Christopher Fogel (programming); Dash Mihok (loop).
Engineers: Christopher R. Fogel, Glen Ballard.
Recorded at Royaltone Studios, Los Angeles, California.
"Thank U" was nominated for the 2000 Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.
Personnel: Alanis Morissette (vocals, flute, harmonica, piano); Glen Ballard (guitar, piano, synthesizer, programming); Joel Shearer, Nick Lashley (guitar); Benmont Tench (organ, chamberlin); Gary Novak (drums, percussion); Chris Fogel, Shad T. Scott (programming).
Audio Mixer: Chris Fogel.
Recording information: Royaltone Studios, L.A., CA.
Photographers: Heather Stanley; Regina Thomas; Dash Mihok; Alanis Morissette.
While it's not a repudiation of her blockbuster, Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie is a clear step forward, teeming with ambition and filled with new musical ideas and different sonic textures. Alanis Morissette's voice still sears, but she has more control over her singing, rarely reaching the piercing heights that occasionally made Jagged Little Pill jarring. Also, she has clearly spent some time crafting her lyrics; not only do they never sound like straight diary entries, she no longer is trying to fit too many syllables into a phrase. These two differences are subtle -- the brooding, Eastern-styled music that dominates Supposed is not. There are numerous extensions of the vague hip-hop and pop fusions that made "Hand in Pocket" and "All I Really Want" huge hits ("Front Row," "UR," "Thank U," "So Pure"), but much of the album is devoted to moody ballads and mid-tempo pop, where the textured production functions as a backdrop for Morissette's cryptically introspective lyrics. Far from being alienating, this approach works surprisingly well -- not only do the pop tunes sound catchier, but the ballads, with their winding melodies and dark colors, sound strong and brave. If anything, the record is more coherent album than its predecessor, and even if it isn't as accessible or as compulsively listenable, it's a richer record. That said, it won't win any new fans -- for all of her success, Morissette is a weird acquired taste, due to her idiosyncratic vocals and doggedly convoluted confessionals -- but it certainly confirms that she doesn't quite sound like anyone else, either. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Alanis has a lot to answer for; in the process of changing the face of '90s pop music, she opened the door to scores of inferior imitators who crowded the charts with their transparent careerist fury. What they missed was the renegade spirit that lurks beneath Morissette's statements off vengeance and dissatisfaction. It's that spirit that enlivens INFATUATION JUNKIE. From awkward title to the unconventional lyrical construction, it's clear that the years between this album and Morisette's previous breakthrough recording have not dulled her iconoclasm or put soft edges on her anger. INFATUATION JUNKIE is at once more immediate and more artfully constructed than its predecessor. Songs like "Baba" are full of thrusting guitars and sledgehammer rhythms, but from "Front Row" to "So Pure," Morissette displays an expanded understanding of pop song mechanics. It's this melodic progression that helps INFATUATION JUNKIE live up to Morissette's daunting past.Rolling Stone (12/10/98, pp.119-120) - 4 (out of 5) - "...She makes claim on hard rock, soft rock, spacey drum loops and harmonica solos, all while flaunting her titanic pop ambition....Alanis is one megastar who knows how to translate her gall into dynamic rock & roll..."
Spin (12/98, pp.169-170) - 7 (out of 10) - "...In the eternal tradition of Elvis Costello, John Cougar, Liz Phair, and the Beastie Boys, she's feeling pressure to pass herself off as respectable, but sacrificing energy in the process..."
Entertainment Weekly (11/6/98, pp.84-85) - "...Morissette has used her year-plus recording hiatus and newfound star status wisely, in pursuit of a way to make a vulnerable, openhearted album in the face of intense commercial expectations..." - Rating: B+
Q (12/99, p.120) - Stars (out of 5) - "...millennial rock trappings on most racks - booming processed drums here, a squall of stormy, distorted rock there - whilst Morisette contributes screeds of angsty, angry, sometimes funny lyrics..."