Alanis Morissette: MTV Unplugged

Alanis Morissette's "MTV Unplugged" - A Cramped Single-Disc Disappointment from Music On Vinyl
MTV Unplugged: The Cultural Phenomenon

By the time Alanis Morissette took her seat for MTV's acoustic showcase in 1999, the "Unplugged" series had firmly established itself as a career-defining opportunity for artists. Launched a decade earlier in 1989, the stripped-down format had produced numerous commercial and critical triumphs, transforming live recordings into cultural touchstones.

Eric Clapton's 1992 session stands as the format's crowning achievement, moving an astounding 26 million copies worldwide to become the best-selling live album ever released. Other landmark sessions—Mariah Carey (1992), Nirvana (1994), and Alice In Chains (1996)—similarly transcended their status as mere television performances to become essential entries in these artists' discographies.
For Morissette, riding the massive success of her breakthrough album "Jagged Little Pill," the Unplugged platform offered a perfect opportunity to showcase the raw emotional power of her songwriting in an intimate setting. The original broadcast revealed the versatility of her material when stripped of its studio production, with tracks like "You Oughta Know" and "Ironic" taking on new dimensions in acoustic arrangements.

The Music On Vinyl Pressing: A Puzzling Misstep
Music On Vinyl (MOV) has built its reputation as a European "audiophile" label with generally commendable pressing quality and thoughtful production choices. Their previous MTV Unplugged releases—particularly the excellent Alice In Chains double-LP set—demonstrated clear understanding of the format's requirements and sonic potential.

Which makes their treatment of Morissette's Unplugged session all the more perplexing. Rather than spreading the performance across two discs as they did with Alice In Chains, MOV opted to compress the entire session onto a single LP—a decision with predictably detrimental consequences.
The pressing's sonic issues manifest in classic fashion: while the opening tracks on each side deliver impressive clarity, dynamic range, and soundstage depth, these qualities deteriorate noticeably as the needle approaches the inner grooves. The inner groove distortion becomes increasingly pronounced toward the center of each side, with high frequencies suffering the most obvious degradation and Morissette's distinctive vocal peaks losing their clarity.

This compression-induced distortion represents the most fundamental error in vinyl production—sacrificing sonic quality for manufacturing economy. The physics of vinyl playback make this inevitable; as groove diameter decreases toward the center, tracking becomes more challenging and high-frequency reproduction suffers. By attempting to fit too much music on each side, MOV has compromised the very acoustic intimacy that makes Unplugged performances special.

The Frustrating Trade-Off
What makes this pressing particularly frustrating is that when it sounds good, it sounds very good. The dynamic range throughout the recording is excellent, with Morissette's vocal nuances and the subtle details of the acoustic instrumentation rendered beautifully on the outer grooves. The warm analog character suits the material perfectly, highlighting the organic nature of the performance.
Had MOV followed their own precedent and spread this material across two discs, this could have been a reference-quality release. Instead, listeners are left with a pressing that starts strong but falters precisely when some of the most emotionally resonant moments occur.

The Vinyl Verdict: A Missed Opportunity
For dedicated Morissette collectors, this remains the only vinyl option for her MTV Unplugged performance. The pressing's strengths make it worth considering despite its flaws, particularly for those with high-end cartridges that might mitigate some of the inner groove distortion.

However, one can't help but wonder what might have been had MOV given this important musical document the same thoughtful treatment they afforded Alice In Chains. As it stands, this release represents a frustrating compromise—a pressing that simultaneously demonstrates vinyl's potential and its limitations when production choices prioritize economy over quality.💵

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