So-Called Chaos is the sixth studio album (fourth released internationally) by Canadian singer-songwriter Alanis Morissette, released in May 2004.
History
It had been two years since Morissette released her fifth studio album, Under Rug Swept. In that time she had met her then fiancé Ryan Reynolds, inspiring many of the songs she wrote for So-Called Chaos. The album found her in a more contented and relaxed state than her previous output, and her songs were brighter and happier than her more volatile works like "You Oughta Know" and "Uninvited". One reporter asked if the song "This Grudge" was based on the same person as "You Oughta Know", and Morissette replied, "Different person, same era."[12]
The first single, "Everything", was released to US radio in the spring of 2004, and was met with mixed reaction. US Adult Top 40 radio stations gave the song good airplay, but mainstream and top 40 stations were colder in their reception, and consequently it became Morissette's lowest peaking single on the Billboard Hot 100. "Everything" was included on the Totally Hits 2004, Vol. 2 compilation, and in 2006 it was featured in the film Clerks II.
Some reviews of So-Called Chaos were positive, with many critics calling it her most accessible and mainstream record since her debut Jagged Little Pill (1995). Still, others thought she had "sold out" for the sake of sales and radio play; Rolling Stone magazine, for example, said the album "attempts to reverse the sliding record sales following [Jagged Little Pill]."[8]
The album debuted at number two on the Canadian albums chart with first week sales of 11,200,[13] and at number five on the US Billboard 200, selling 115,000 copies in its first week in the US and 287,000 that same week worldwide.[14] It spent a week in the US top ten before falling down the chart. As of March 2012, the album has sold 474,000 copies in the US.[15] The second single outside the US was "Out Is Through", which had a poor showing in the UK. The second US single was "Eight Easy Steps", which, despite being accompanied by an elaborate music video,[16] failed to chart on the Hot 100 or cause a significant increase in sales of the album, which had already fallen off the Billboard 200. "Excuses" was released as a radio single in Brazil, where it peaked outside the top 40.
Track listing
All tracks written by Alanis Morissette.
1. |
"Eight Easy Steps" |
2:52 |
2. |
"Out Is Through" |
3:52 |
3. |
"Excuses" |
3:32 |
4. |
"Doth I Protest Too Much" |
4:03 |
5. |
"Knees of My Bees" |
3:38 |
6. |
"So-Called Chaos" |
5:03 |
7. |
"Not All Me" |
3:58 |
8. |
"This Grudge" |
5:07 |
9. |
"Spineless" |
4:15 |
10. |
"Everything" |
4:36 |
11. |
"Eight Easy Steps" (live from sessions@AOL) |
|
12. |
"Excuses" (live from sessions@AOL) |
|
13. |
"This Grudge" (acoustic) |
|
14. |
"Making of So-Called Chaos" (video) |
|
Personnel
- Alanis Morissette – vocals, producer, piano, keyboards, art direction
- Eric Avery – bass
- Chris Lord-Alge – mixing
- Kenny Aronoff – drums
- Paul Bushnell – bass
- Scott Gordon – programming, engineer, drum programming
- Bill Lane – assistant engineer
- Stephen Marcussen – mastering
- Kevin Mills – assistant engineer
- Jamie Muhoberac – keyboards
- Tim Thorney – acoustic guitar, electric guitar, bass, piano, keyboards, producer
- Guy Oseary – A&R
- Joel Shearer – acoustic guitar, bouzouki, guitar, guitar (electric)
- Paul Livingstone – sitar
- John Shanks – guitar, bass, keyboards, producer
- Shari Sutcliffe – project coordinator
- Sheryl Nields – photography
- Errin Familia – assistant engineer
- Mark Valentine – engineer
- Zac Rae – piano, keyboards, vibraphone
- David Levita – acoustic guitar, electric guitar
- Jason Wormer – assistant engineer
- Jeff Rothschild – programming, engineer
- Rich Tosi – assistant engineer
- Danny Strick – A&R
- Frank Maddocks – art direction, design
- Jason Orme – electric guitar
- Blair Sinta – drums, programming
Charts
Album
Chart (2004) |
Peak position |
Australian Albums Chart[17] |
15 |
Austrian Albums Chart[17] |
1 |
Canadian Albums Chart |
2 |
Dutch Albums Chart[18] |
1 |
European Top 100 Albums[19] |
1 |
French Albums Chart[17] |
5 |
German Albums Chart[17] |
1 |
Israeli Albums Chart |
12 |
Italian Albums Chart[17] |
4 |
Swedish Albums Chart[17] |
10 |
Swiss Albums Chart[17] |
2 |
UK Albums Chart |
8 |
US Billboard 200 |
5 |
Year-end charts
Chart (2004) |
Position |
German Albums Chart[20] |
28 |
Singles
Other charts
Single |
Chart (2004) |
Peak position |
"Everything" |
Italian Singles Chart |
6 |
Austrian Singles Chart |
12 |
Norwegian Singles Chart |
17 |
Swiss Singles Chart |
22 |
|
Single |
Chart (2004) |
Peak position |
"Everything" |
Irish Singles Chart |
26 |
German Singles Chart |
29 |
French Singles Chart |
63 |
"Out Is Through" |
UK Singles Chart |
56 |
Swiss Singles Chart |
67 |
German Singles Chart |
75 |
"Eight Easy Steps" |
US Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play1 |
9 |
1 Remixes
|
Certifications
Notes
- 1 2 AllMusic review
- ↑ Metacritic score
- ↑ Blender review Archived November 22, 2005, at the Wayback Machine.
- ↑ Entertainment Weekly review
- ↑ The Guardian review
- ↑ PopMatters review
- ↑ Robert Christgau review
- 1 2 Rolling Stone review at the Wayback Machine (archived April 30, 2007)
- ↑ Stylus review
- ↑ "Slant review".
- ↑ Yahoo! Music UK review at the Wayback Machine (archived June 10, 2004)
- ↑ ICE Magazine | archive
- ↑ "Krall beats out Alanis on charts". Jam! Showbiz. May 26, 2004. Retrieved January 25, 2007.
- ↑ "Usher Album Remains On Top". Billboard. May 26, 2004. Retrieved January 25, 2007.
- ↑ Trust, Gary. "Ask Billboard: What Are the Billboard 200's Longest-Charting Albums Ever?". Billboard. December 24, 2012.
- ↑ Cohen, Jonathan. "Alanis 'Steps' Back Into The Past In New Video". Billboard. August 13, 2004. Retrieved January 25, 2007.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "australian-charts.com - Alanis Morissette - So-Called Chaos". Hung Medien. Retrieved December 24, 2014.
- ↑ Bauder, David. "Alanis Morissette's 'So-Called Chaos' Sells 887,000 Units Around the World in First Week". Associated Press. June 1, 2004. Retrieved December 1, 2006.
- ↑ Sexton, Paul. "Lavigne Returns To Top Of U.K. Album Chart". Billboard. May 31, 2004. Retrieved January 25, 2007.
- ↑ "Top 100 Single-Jahrescharts". GfK Entertainment (in German). offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved 8 September 2016.
- ↑ "Austrian album certifications – Alanis Morissette – So-Called Chaos" (in German). IFPI Austria. Enter Alanis Morissette in the field Interpret. Enter So-Called Chaos in the field Titel. Select album in the field Format. Click Suchen
- ↑ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Alanis Morissette; 'So Called-Chaos')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
- ↑ "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards (Alanis Morissette; 'So Called-Chaos')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien.
- ↑ "British album certifications – Alanis Morissette – So-Called Chaos". British Phonographic Industry. Enter So-Called Chaos in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Select Silver in the field By Award. Click Search
References
External links
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Studio albums | |
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Compilation albums | |
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Other releases | |
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Live releases | |
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Concert tours | |
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Related articles | |
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Book:Alanis Morissette |