The Deal: Fresh off her tour opening for Matchbox Twenty, seven-time Grammy winner releases first studio album in four years.
The Good: The bitter ex who wrote “You Oughta Know” so many years ago should be plenty pissed off after her engagement to Ryan Reynolds ended – especially since he’s now hooked up with Scarlett Johannson. However, this is a kinder, gentler Morissette who’s looking forward instead of focusing on the past. During a recent radio interview, she said these songs were written as a healing process. You have to laugh at the humorous, yet serious, lyrics of “This shit’s making me crazy” set to a techno beat on “Straitjacket.” The opening track, “Citizen of the Planet” uses a distorted, heavy guitar riff, while other moments she goes clubbing or finds solitude with a piano – “Not as We.”
The Bad: Morissette sounds best on the rock and pop songs, shining when her vocals are the main focus. A handful of tracks on this album are too distracted and out-of-character by going with a techno, electronic beat.
The Verdict: The album teeters between some of her best work (where the vocals shine) and some of her worst (the thumping techno).
This article appears in Jul 2-8, 2008.
