So-Called Chaos

So-Called Chaos is the sixth studio album (fourth released internationally) by Canadian singer-songwriter Alanis Morissette, released in May 2004.

So-Called Chaos
Studio album by
Alanis Morissette
ReleasedMay 18, 2004
Recorded2003
Studio
  • Groovemasters, Santa Monica
  • The Village Recorder, Los Angeles
  • Henson Studios, Los Angeles
  • Stage and Sound, Los Angeles
Length41:05
LabelMaverick
Producer
Alanis Morissette chronology
Feast on Scraps
(2002)		 So-Called Chaos
(2004)		 iTunes Originals – Alanis Morissette
(2004)
Alanis Morissette studio album chronology
Under Rug Swept
(2002)		 So-Called Chaos
(2004)		 Flavors of Entanglement
(2008)
Singles from So-Called Chaos
  1. "Everything"
    Released: April 13, 2004
  2. "Out Is Through"
    Released: August 17, 2004
  3. "Eight Easy Steps"
    Released: October 19, 2004
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic56/100[1]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Blender[3]
Entertainment WeeklyC+[4]
The Guardian[5]
PopMatters(unfavorable)[6]
Robert Christgau[7]
Rolling Stone[8]
Slant Magazine[9]
StylusF[10]
Yahoo! Music UK[11]

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] In the United States, So-Called Chaos became Morissette's first album to miss the number-one spot. 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 are written by Alanis Morissette.

No.TitleLength
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
Enhanced content
No.TitleLength
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) 
Brazilian edition hidden track
No.TitleLength
11."Offer"4:05

Personnel
  • Alanis Morissette – vocals, producer, piano, keyboards, art direction
  • Eric Avery – bass guitar
  • 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
  • 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
  • Frank Maddocks – art direction, design
  • Jason Orme – electric guitar
  • Blair Sinta – drums, programming

Charts

Singles
Year Title Chart positions
CAN US Hot 100 US Hot 100 Airplay US Adult Top 40 US Top 40/Pop UK AUS
2004 "Everything" 3 76 75 4 36 22 15
"Out Is Through" — — — — — 56 79
"Eight Easy Steps" — — — 27 — — —

Other charts

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Austria (IFPI Austria)[40] Gold 10,000*
Germany (BVMI)[41] Gold 100,000^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[42] Platinum 20,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[43] Silver 60,000^
Summaries

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Notes
  1. Metacritic score
  2. AllMusic review
  3. Blender review Archived November 22, 2005, at the Wayback Machine
  4. Entertainment Weekly review
  5. The Guardian review
  6. PopMatters review
  7. Robert Christgau review
  8. "Rolling Stone review". Archived from the original on April 30, 2007. Retrieved 2007-01-25.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  9. "Slant review".
  10. Stylus review Archived 2008-06-18 at the Wayback Machine
  11. "Yahoo! Music UK review". Archived from the original on June 10, 2004. Retrieved 2009-03-13.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  12. ICE Magazine | archive
  13. "Krall beats out Alanis on charts" Archived 2012-06-30 at Archive.today. Jam! Showbiz. May 26, 2004. Retrieved January 25, 2007.
  14. "Usher Album Remains On Top". Billboard. May 26, 2004. Retrieved January 25, 2007.
  15. Trust, Gary. "Ask Billboard: What Are the Billboard 200's Longest-Charting Albums Ever?". Billboard. December 24, 2012.
  16. Cohen, Jonathan. "Alanis 'Steps' Back Into The Past In New Video". Billboard. August 13, 2004. Retrieved January 25, 2007.
  17. "Australiancharts.com – Alanis Morissette – So-Called Chaos". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 11, 2020.
  18. "Austriancharts.at – Alanis Morissette – So-Called Chaos" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved March 11, 2020.
  19. "Ultratop.be – Alanis Morissette – So-Called Chaos" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved March 11, 2020.
  20. "Ultratop.be – Alanis Morissette – So-Called Chaos" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved March 11, 2020.
  21. "Alanis Morissette Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved March 11, 2020.
  22. "Danishcharts.dk – Alanis Morissette – So-Called Chaos". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 11, 2020.
  23. "Dutchcharts.nl – Alanis Morissette – So-Called Chaos" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved March 11, 2020.
  24. Sexton, Paul. "Lavigne Returns To Top Of U.K. Album Chart". Billboard. May 31, 2004. Retrieved January 25, 2007.
  25. "Alanis Morissette: So-Called Chaos" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved March 11, 2020.
  26. "Lescharts.com – Alanis Morissette – So-Called Chaos". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 11, 2020.
  27. "Offiziellecharts.de – Alanis Morissette – So-Called Chaos" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved March 11, 2020.
  28. "Italiancharts.com – Alanis Morissette – So-Called Chaos". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 11, 2020.
  29. "Portuguesecharts.com – Alanis Morissette – So-Called Chaos". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 11, 2020.
  30. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 11, 2020.
  31. "Swedishcharts.com – Alanis Morissette – So-Called Chaos". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 11, 2020.
  32. "Swisscharts.com – Alanis Morissette – So-Called Chaos". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 11, 2020.
  33. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 11, 2020.
  34. "Alanis Morissette Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved March 11, 2020.
  35. "Jahreshitparade Alben 2004". austriancharts.at. Retrieved October 19, 2020.
  36. "Jaaroverzichten – Album 2004". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved October 19, 2020.
  37. "Top 100 Single-Jahrescharts". GfK Entertainment (in German). offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved September 8, 2016.
  38. "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 2004". hitparade.ch. Retrieved October 19, 2020.
  39. "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2004". Billboard. Retrieved January 17, 2021.
  40. "Austrian album certifications – Alanis Morissette – So-Called Chaos" (in German). IFPI Austria.
  41. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Alanis Morissette; 'So Called-Chaos')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
  42. "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards (Alanis Morissette; 'So Called-Chaos')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien.
  43. "British album certifications – Alanis Morissette – So-Called Chaos". British Phonographic Industry. Select albums in the Format field. Select Silver in the Certification field. Type So-Called Chaos in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.

References
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