There really was no reason for Alanis Morissette [ tickets ] to re-record her 1995 blockbuster "Jagged Little Pill" as an acoustic album. But here it is in all its Starbucks-inspired, repackaged glory.

Now available at regular CD shops, "Jagged Little Pill Acoustic" is a weird little disc, as annoying and, occasionally, as inspired as the original.

Of course, Alanis' breathy, nasal whine sounds as painful as it did 10 years ago. Despite that voice--or maybe because of it--part of the original album's appeal was the bile and pissed-off woman behind the goofy vocals. But soft, acoustic arrangements make perturbed tunes like "You Oughta Know" and "All I Really Want" sound relaxed and chill--not quite their original design. Today, a gentler, wiser Alanis replaces that angry lady. The result? Songs that are toothless interpretations of the originals.

Better are the tracks whose appeal originally came from hopeful innocence, a much more appropriate disposition for the acoustic formula. Indeed, the versions of "Hand In My Pocket," "You Learn" and the piano-laced "Hand Over Feet" found here would have been wonderful on an MTV Unplugged album.

Sadly, this album is a pill that's often harder to swallow than it should have been.