MTV Unplugged (Alanis Morissette album)

MTV Unplugged
Live album by Alanis Morissette
Released	November 9, 1999 (1999-11-9)
Recorded	September 18, 1999 (1999-9-18) MTV Unplugged at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, New York
Genre	Alternative rock, acoustic rock
Length	53:42
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
"That I Would Be Good" Released: November 1999 "You Learn" Released: 1999 (France and Europe) "King of Pain" Released: April 19, 2000

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Entertainment Weekly	B− [2]
Q	[3]
Robert Christgau	[4]
Rolling Stone	[5]
Select	[6]
The Harvard Crimson	B [7]

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 also performed "Baba", "Thank U" (both from 1998's Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie ) and "Your House" (the hidden track on 1995's Jagged Little Pill ) during the live taping. 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. ^[8]

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, "was inspired by [her] twin brother," Wade. ^[9]

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.

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Alanis Morissette; all music is 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

• Alanis Morissette – vocals, guitar, harmonica and flute
• Nick Lashley – guitar
• Joel Shearer – guitar
• Deron Johnson – keyboards, background vocals in "King of Pain"
• Chris Chaney – bass
• Gary Novak – drums and percussion
• Chris Fogel – mixing
• Brad Dutz – percussion
• David Campbell – musical arranger and viola
• Suzie Katayama – cello and string arrangement for "You Oughta Know"
• Joel Derouin – violin
• Laura Seaton – violin
• Erik Friedlander – cello
• Juliet Haffner – strings contractor

Charts

Weekly charts Weekly chart performance for MTV Unplugged Chart (1999–2000) Peak position Australian Albums (ARIA) [10] 101 Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria) [11] 5 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) [12] 10 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia) [13] 41 Canada Top Albums/CDs ( RPM ) [14] 42 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [15] 4 French Albums (SNEP) [16] 21 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [17] 5 Italian Albums (FIMI) [18] 6 Norwegian Albums (VG-lista) [19] 6 Portuguese Albums (AFP) [20] 1 Scottish Albums (OCC) [21] 88 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) [22] 56 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) [23] 4 UK Albums (OCC) [24] 56 US Billboard 200 [25] 63

Year-end charts 1999 year-end chart performance for MTV Unplugged Chart (1999) Position Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [26] 63 2000 year-end chart performance for MTV Unplugged Chart (2000) Position Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) [27] 67 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [28] 25 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [29] 80 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) [30] 44

Certifications

Certifications and sales for MTV Unplugged

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Austria (IFPI Austria) [31]	Gold	25,000*
Belgium (BEA) [32]	Gold	25,000*
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil) [33]	Platinum	250,000*
France (SNEP) [34]	Gold	100,000*
Germany (BVMI) [35]	Platinum	300,000^
Italy (FIMI) [36]	Gold	50,000*
Spain (PROMUSICAE) [37]	13× Platinum	1,300,000^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland) [38]	Gold	25,000^
United Kingdom (BPI) [39]	Gold	100,000^
United States (RIAA) [40]	Gold	500,000^
Summaries
Europe (IFPI) [41]	Platinum	1,000,000*
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

1. Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Allmusic review
2. Entertainment Weekly review
3. Q Magazine review
4. Robert Christgau review
5. Rolling Stone review
6. Select review
7. The Harvard Crimson review
8. Trust, Gary. "Ask Billboard: What Are the Billboard 200's Longest-Charting Albums Ever?". Billboard . December 24, 2012.
9. "No Pressure Over Cappuccino", performed by Alanis Morissette, Berkeley 1996. 13 No Pressure over Cappuccino Alanis Morissette Berkeley 1996 , retrieved 2015-12-15
10. "Alanis Morissette ARIA chart history (albums) to 2024, received from ARIA in May 2024". ARIA. Retrieved 14 July 2024– via Imgur.com. N.B. The High Point number in the NAT column represents the release's peak on the national chart.
11. "Austriancharts.at – Alanis Morissette – MTV Unplugged" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 12, 2016.
12. "Ultratop.be – Alanis Morissette – MTV Unplugged" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 12, 2016.
13. "Ultratop.be – Alanis Morissette – MTV Unplugged" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 12, 2016.
14. "Top RPM Albums: Issue 5775". RPM. 17 July 2013. Retrieved October 27, 2023.
15. "Dutchcharts.nl – Alanis Morissette – MTV Unplugged" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 12, 2016.
16. "Lescharts.com – Alanis Morissette – MTV Unplugged". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 12, 2016.
17. "Longplay-Chartverfolgung at Musicline" (in German). Musicline.de. Phononet GmbH. Retrieved April 12, 2016.
18. "Italiancharts.com – Alanis Morissette – MTV Unplugged". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 12, 2016.
19. "Norwegiancharts.com – Alanis Morissette – MTV Unplugged". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 12, 2016.
20. "Hits of the World" (PDF). Billboard . Vol. 112, no. 8. February 19, 2000. p. 49. Retrieved September 28, 2023.
21. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 29, 2023.
22. "Swedishcharts.com – Alanis Morissette – MTV Unplugged". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 12, 2016.
23. "Swisscharts.com – Alanis Morissette – MTV Unplugged". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 12, 2016.
24. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 29, 2023.
25. "Alanis Morissette Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved April 12, 2016.
26. "Jaaroverzichten – Album 1999". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved September 1, 2020.
27. "Jaaroverzichten 2000". Ultratop. Retrieved September 1, 2020.
28. "Jaaroverzichten – Album 2000". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved September 1, 2020.
29. "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts" (in German). GfK Entertainment . Retrieved May 19, 2018.
30. "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 2000". hitparade.ch. Retrieved September 1, 2020.
31. "Austrian album certifications – Alanis Morissette – MTV Unplugged" (in German). IFPI Austria.
32. "Ultratop − Goud en Platina – albums 2000". Ultratop. Hung Medien.
33. "Brazilian album certifications – Alanis Morissette – MTV Unplugged" (in Portuguese). Pro-Música Brasil . Retrieved April 6, 2015.
34. "French album certifications – Alanis Morissette – Unplugged" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique.
35. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Alanis Morissette; 'Unplugged')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
36. Dondoni, Luca (November 20, 1999). ""Unplugged", riecco Alanis Morissette". La Stampa (in Italian). p. 30. Retrieved November 28, 2020.
37. "Spanish album certifications – Alanis Morissette – MTV Unplugged". El portal de Música. Productores de Música de España . Retrieved November 10, 2024.
38. "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards ('MTV Unplugged')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien.
39. "British album certifications – Alanis Morissette – MTV Unplugged". British Phonographic Industry.
40. "American album certifications – Alanis Morissette – Unplugged". Recording Industry Association of America.
41. "IFPI Platinum Europe Awards – 2000". International Federation of the Phonographic Industry . Retrieved March 28, 2020.