The Collection [Enhanced, Best of]

CD:

The record's only new track is Alanis' cover of Seal's track "Crazy". Originally done for a compilation put out by the Gap called "Favorites", the track is the only new track to be featured here, not to mention it is a remix version of it. I really liked the version off of the "Favorites" CD, but this James Michael Remix just doesn't so it for me. Included in this collection are some of her larger hits, and some of her non-existent hits, and is obviously missing some hits. The major inclusion that baffles me is "Mercy", of the Jonathan Elias disc "The Prayer Cycle", in which Alanis provided vocals for. A hit? Hardly. A good track? Hmm.. I'll let you decide that. What really baffles me is how she blatantly ignored the hits off of her disc "Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie". Of the 5 singles released, only "Thank U" and “That I Would Be Good”, made it onto this disc. A little contradictory don't you think to include a track that no one has heard of on a so called "collection", and miss 3 radio hits completely. Also included are some of her lesser known tracks, such as "Still" which was included on the "Dogma" soundtrack, "Let's Do It (Let's Fall In Love)" off of the "De-Lovely" soundtrack (which is a movie she had a role in), "Princes Familiar" which is a b-side that was performed in ther 1999 "Unplugged" sessions, "Sister Blister" and "Simple Together" which were both "Under Rug Swept" b-sides that were included on her "Feast on Scraps" compilation.

Overall, I the disc is nice to have for a casual fan that really doesn’t want to dig too deep into her career and wants most of the stuff they heard on the radio, which you do get *most* of. Please note that I stress the word “most”. For a true fan like myself, I only bought this for completeness.

DVD:

This DVD was very well made. When first popped into the DVD player, no trailers to skip, no "FBI warning" to yawn through. You immediately see the menu and can begin watching. The major feature of the DVD is an hour long documentary highlighting Alanis' career throughout the 90's and into the 2000's. It features interviews with Alanis herself, her producer for "Jagged Little Pill" and "Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie" Glen Ballard (known for producing the track "Man in the Mirror" by Michael Jackson), the CEO of her record company Guy Oseary among others. The DVD is split into chapters based on the album eras. Mixed into the interviews are clips from various other interviews, award shows, pictures and what I enjoyed most, clips from her music videos. The most stand out part of this DVD is the fact that Alanis included her previously unreleased video for her track "Joining You". Prior to this release, there were rumors that this video was made but never released, and up until now, no one has ever seen this video. Fortunately, Alanis included this into this release for fans to watch. In addition to the documentary, Alanis also included three previously unreleased live performances of her songs. “Can’t Not” and “King of Intimidation”, which was first debuted during her 1996 tour, and “Your House (Acapella)”, from her most recent “Jagged Little Pill Acoustic Tour”. “Can’t Not” and “King of Intimidation” were both audience recordings of the tracks, and both video and audio quality are lacking, but “Your House” was professionally shot, which makes it an awesome addition. As well, you can surf your way through all of Alanis’ tour books from all her previous tours and preview pictures and tour passes from the tour as well.

Overall, this DVD is well made. The documentary doesn’t include much that a hardcore fan doesn’t know anyways, but it’s nice to have all the information compiled. The addition of the “Joining You” video, for me anyways, made this DVD an essential item for me to purchase. For the casual fan however, this is merely a bonus to her greatest hits collection, and is negligible.

Overall:
If you're a die hard fan, then purchase the limited edition with DVD. If you're a casual fan, pick up the CD version only.