So-Called Chaos

So-Called Chaos is the sixth studio album (fourth released internationally) by Canadian singer-songwriter Alanis Morissette, released on May 18, 2004, through Maverick Records. It was preceded by the single "Everything" on April 13, which went on to become Morissette's lowest peaking song on the US Billboard Hot 100 at number 76. The album was met with mixed reviews from critics upon release, with some calling it her most accessible record since Jagged Little Pill (1995) while others criticized the project's confusing messages and felt the singer had lost what made her a cultural icon of the '90s.

So-Called Chaos
Studio album by
Alanis Morissette
ReleasedMay 18, 2004
Recorded2003–2004
Studio
GenreRock
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: March 22, 2004
  2. "Out Is Through"
    Released: July 19, 2004
  3. "Eight Easy Steps"
    Released: October 19, 2004

With 115,000 copies sold in its opening week, So-Called Chaos debuted at number five on the Billboard 200 and became Morissette's first studio album not to open atop the chart. It failed to surpass predecessor Under Rug Swept (2002), which debuted at number-one with 215,000 first week sales. Two subsequent singles, "Out Is Through" and "Eight Easy Steps", were released in July and October respectively, but neither managed to help improve album sales and both songs failed to enter the Hot 100.

Background and release

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."[1]

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.

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic56/100[2]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
Blender[4]
Entertainment WeeklyC+[5]
The Guardian[6]
PopMatters(unfavorable)[7]
Robert Christgau(3-star Honorable Mention)(3-star Honorable Mention)(3-star Honorable Mention)[8]
Rolling Stone[9]
Slant Magazine[10]
StylusF[11]
Yahoo! Music UK[12]

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]."[9]

Commercial performance

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
  • Kenny Aronoff – drums
  • Paul Bushnell – bass
  • Scott Gordon – programming, engineer, drum programming
  • Jamie Muhoberac – keyboards
  • Tim Thorney – acoustic guitar, electric guitar, bass, piano, keyboards, producer
  • Joel Shearer – acoustic guitar, bouzouki, guitar, electric guitar
  • Paul Livingstone – sitar
  • John Shanks – guitar, bass, keyboards, producer
  • Zac Rae – piano, keyboards, vibraphone
  • David Levita – acoustic guitar, electric guitar
  • Jeff Rothschild – programming, engineer
  • Jason Orme – electric guitar
  • Blair Sinta – drums, programming
Technical
  • Mark Valentine – engineer
  • Bill Lane, Kevin Mills, Errin Familia, Rich Tosi, Jason Wormer – assistant engineer
  • Chris Lord-Alge – mixing
  • Stephen Marcussen – mastering
  • Frank Maddocks – art direction, design
  • Shari Sutcliffe – project coordinator
  • Sheryl Nields – photography

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
Certifications and sales for So-Called Chaos
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Austria (IFPI Austria)[43] Gold 15,000*
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[44] Gold 50,000*
Germany (BVMI)[45] Gold 100,000^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[46] Platinum 40,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[47] Silver 60,000^
United States — 474,000[15]

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

Notes
  1. ICE Magazine | archive
  2. Metacritic score
  3. AllMusic review
  4. Blender review Archived November 22, 2005, at the Wayback Machine
  5. So-Called Chaos
  6. "CD: Alanis Morissette, So-Called Chaos". The Guardian. 2004-05-14. Archived from the original on 2022-10-30.
  7. PopMatters review
  8. Robert Christgau review
  9. "Rolling Stone review". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on April 30, 2007. Retrieved 2007-01-25.{{cite magazine}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  10. "Slant review". Slant Magazine. 7 May 2004.
  11. Stylus review Archived 2008-06-18 at the Wayback Machine
  12. "Yahoo! Music UK review". Archived from the original on June 10, 2004. Retrieved 2009-03-13.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  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. "Alanis Morissette: So-Called Chaos" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved March 11, 2020.
  25. "Lescharts.com – Alanis Morissette – So-Called Chaos". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 11, 2020.
  26. "Offiziellecharts.de – Alanis Morissette – So-Called Chaos" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved March 11, 2020.
  27. "Irish-charts.com – Discography Alanis Morissette". Hung Medien. Retrieved December 25, 2021.
  28. "Italiancharts.com – Alanis Morissette – So-Called Chaos". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 11, 2020.
  29. "ソー・コールド・カオス" (in Japanese). Oricon. Archived from the original on September 16, 2023. Retrieved September 16, 2023.
  30. "Norwegiancharts.com – Alanis Morissette – So-Called Chaos". Hung Medien. Retrieved December 25, 2021.
  31. "Portuguesecharts.com – Alanis Morissette – So-Called Chaos". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 11, 2020.
  32. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 11, 2020.
  33. Salaverrie, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (in Spanish) (1st ed.). Madrid: Fundación Autor/SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
  34. "Swedishcharts.com – Alanis Morissette – So-Called Chaos". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 11, 2020.
  35. "Swisscharts.com – Alanis Morissette – So-Called Chaos". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 11, 2020.
  36. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 11, 2020.
  37. "Alanis Morissette Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved March 11, 2020.
  38. "Jahreshitparade Alben 2004". austriancharts.at. Retrieved October 19, 2020.
  39. "Jaaroverzichten – Album 2004". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved October 19, 2020.
  40. "Top 100 Single-Jahrescharts". GfK Entertainment (in German). offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved September 8, 2016.
  41. "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 2004". hitparade.ch. Retrieved October 19, 2020.
  42. "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2004". Billboard. Retrieved January 17, 2021.
  43. "Austrian album certifications – Alanis Morissette – So-Called Chaos" (in German). IFPI Austria.
  44. "Brazilian album certifications – Alanis Morissette – So Called Chaos" (in Portuguese). Pro-Música Brasil.
  45. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Alanis Morissette; 'So-called Chaos')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
  46. "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards (Alanis Morissette; 'So Called Chaos')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien.
  47. "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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