Alanis Morissette Releases Holiday LP 'Good Weather for Immaculate Conception'

Alanis Morissette will release Good Weather for Immaculate Conception, a 14-track holiday album, on November 6 through Virgin Music's Epiphany imprint. The collection gathers cover songs she has recorded each Christmas season since 2020 alongside two new originals.

What is on the album?

The tracklist spans traditional carols, pop standards and the two new Morissette compositions. Highlights include a version of "Beautiful Star of Bethlehem" with Brandi Carlile and Steve Martin, "Silent Night" with Joy Oladokun, "Momma Mary" with Amythyst Kiah, and "O Tannenbaum" recorded with Trans Voices. Comedians Steve Martin and Martin Short both appear on the record, on separate tracks.

Good Weather for Immaculate Conception runs more than an hour:

• 01 O Holy Night
• 02 To an Empath at Christmas Time
• 03 What Child is This?
• 04 Happy Xmas (War is Over)
• 05 Little Drummer Boy
• 06 Beautiful Star of Bethlehem [ft. Brandi Carlile and Steve Martin]
• 07 Ave Maria
• 08 Christmas on the Dancefloor
• 09 River
• 10 Momma Mary [ft. Amethyst Kiah]
• 11 O Tannenbaum [ft. Trans Voices]
• 12 Last Christmas
• 13 Silent Night [ft. Joy Oladokun]
• 14 Merry Christmas [ft. Martin Short]

How did the project come together?

Since 2020, Morissette has released a new Christmas cover each holiday season. The album marks her first full-length studio release since Such Pretty Forks in the Road, also issued in 2020.

Morissette entered the Songwriters Hall of Fame earlier this year. She made a surprise appearance at Olivia Rodrigo's inaugural Daisy Chain Fields festival, joining Rodrigo onstage for a duet on "Ironic."

Where does Brandi Carlile fit in?

Carlile performed her own arrangement of Morissette's 1998 single "Uninvited" at the Newport Folk Festival in July. The two singers reunited at Red Rocks Amphitheatre last month to perform the song together. Carlile then joined Morissette in the studio for the "Beautiful Star of Bethlehem" track that anchors the new LP.

What makes the guestlist unusual?

The pairing of banjo-playing comedian Steve Martin and Martin Short on the same album places comedy veterans next to roots musicians Kiah and Oladokun. The cross-genre casting reflects Morissette's stated habit of writing about spirituality in personal terms rather than doctrinal ones.

What comes next?

The November 6 release lands at the start of the holiday retail window. A live rollout appears likely given the Red Rocks and festival appearances already logged this fall. Whether Immaculate Conception signals a return to non-seasonal songwriting or remains a one-off detour will become clearer once Morissette schedules her next round of non-holiday studio sessions.