Alanis Morissette

Jagged Little Pill 25th Anniversary Deluxe Edition RHINO/WARNER

Album-plus-live-set reissue for an angst-rock landmark.

As tends to happen with anyone who becomes hugely successful quickly from making faintly alternative rock, the hunt is on for reasons to doubt their authenticity. But although at 21 years old Alanis Morissette had previously released two albums of deeply un-grungey dance-pop in her native Canada, there was no doubting the raw emotional bite of the Alanis version 2.0.

Listening now, she sounds younger than ever. Maybe because so many aspiring teen angst merchants have copied that startling see-sawing voice. But the songs still sting, even if the melodrama might still seem too overcooked to some ears. The ferocity of You Oughta Know hasn’t dimmed, and (fair point, comedy fans) Ironic doesn’t bear grammatical scrutiny. But once again it’s about the feeling, not the fine details. And as the voice of first-world twentysomethings’ everyday first-world problems, it’s still loud and clear.

One thing this expanded edition doesn’t offer is much that’s new. While the 2015 reissue included a disc of outtakes, here we just get a 6/10 live set from this year’s London shows. And despite the odd new accompaniment and updated lyric (‘found your Spotify password’, she quips on an acoustically enhanced version of Your House), it hardly justifies investment a second time. For newcomers, though, Jagged Little Pill retains its powerfully emotive edge. ■■■■■■■■■■