I remember seeing the video for "Everything" on VH1 and I asked, "This is Alanis Morissette?" Not that it's a bad song, but I was surprised not to hear any yelling (for lack of a better term). And there really isn't any loud singing on the album, except maybe on the song she has out now, "Eight Easy Steps". Apparently a lot of reviewers feel the same way I did, saying that the old Alanis was more entertaining than the new Alanis. Yes, if you have all of her other albums and enjoy them, you may not feel the same --at least, at first listen -- about So-Called Chaos.

This album was written in the midst of her relationship with her now fiancé, Ryan Reynolds (best known from playing the title role of National Lampoon's Van Wilder; or didn't anyone else see that movie either?). That probably explains why many of the songs on here are romantic. But these songs aren't sappy or anything. There are lovely songs like "Out Is Through" and the aforementioned "Everything". And when Alanis gets innovative with the subject matter, it's still impressive, as evidenced by "This Grudge" (some think it's a response to "You Oughta Know") and "Not All Me".

With a slim ten tracks totaling just over 40 minutes, So-Called Chaos is an album that's just right for a quick listen. The only real flaw is that I have no idea what she's talking about on "Knees of My Bees". But love Alanis' new style or hate it, you should still add this to your collection. Who knows, you might like it after a while.

Anthony Rupert

The CD, overall, does not depart from her signature styles too much. Her sound has evolved, obviously, but the most important change is the tone of her lyrics. At least 4 of the 10 tracks are love songs, and not bitter ones, like she is so good at writing. This takes away from the album slightly...but is a fine change in some ways too.

Her lyrics, yet again, are excellent. She is one of the wittiest, most ironic, and best songwriters alive. Though the album is slightly overproduced, the music is pretty good too.

Track by track:

1. Eight Easy Steps - 9/10 - An under 3-minute beginning track that just WORKS. This song reminds me most on the album of something from Jagged Little Pill. This may be the next single...the verses go from a "How to" book on be a bad person...to the chorus saying she will "teach you all this, in eight easy steps". Catchy poprock!

2. Out Is Through - 7/10 - She likes doing this...the second time in two songs that she runs the end of the verse into the beginning of the chorus. Oh well. A catchy song, with a sad tint to it. More like something from her last album, Under Rug Swept.

3. Excuses - 9/10 - The beginning of this song is just beautiful...again, a sad tint...her voice is pretty here. The chorus reflects the verse, as a good song should. Catchy! At this point, this album is seeming almost better than Jagged Little Pill!

4. Doth I Protest Too Much - 10/10 - I love this song. Period. It's about jealousy...from a woman's point of view of a guy who likes to look around *winks*. It's my favorite on the album. "I'm not jealous, I don't get moved by much...I'm not enraged, not insecure as such...and doth I protest too much?"

5. Knees Of My Bees - 9/10 - The song starts off with a Norwegian Wood-ish sitar, and goes right into a poprock love song with a WEIRD but original theme. It's refreshing to hear love songs with actual GOOD lyrics. It's a bit funny too, as suggested by the title!

6. Not All Me - 6/10 - "I don't mind helping you out, but I want you to remember my name..." this song has some good lines, but the chorus is a bit corny for Alanis, and it's a bit slow. Too normal for her. However, it's pretty, and many people might like it.

7. So-Called Chaos - 8/10 - The seventh straight song with an explosive chorus to a soft verse. Try varying it some, girl! That said, although this song doesn't have a definite good hook, it is catchy, well written, and fun to listen to.

8. This Grudge - 9/10 - The longest song on the album...a slower ballad. Very pretty, and one you can fall in love with slowly. "I want to be big and let go of this grudge that's grown old, all this time...I've not know how to rest this bygone...I want to be soft and resolved...I want to forgive for both of us"

9. Spineless - 10/10 - My other favourite song here. This one is almost a feminine speak-out song...about women who just give in to men. It's a great, catchy song.

10. Everything - 5/10 - The first single, and my least favorite track on the album. More of a corny love song, without any true Alanis in it.

OVERALL - 9/10

VERY good CD, with only two weak tracks, in my opinion. And even those tracks are quite listenable and possibly liked in the future. The best release besides Five For Fighting's new CD from this year, so far. DEFINITELY a solid album all the way through, and one to pick up or download very soon.

She's done it again. Alanis Morissette has completely blown me away with her latest album. I shouldn't really be surprised considering the amazing music she consistently releases, but "So-Called Chaos" not only confirms this further, but has made Alanis a major player in my life. I don't just listen to her music: I idolize her, her voice is the voice of God to me, she is a completely amazing and fantastically beautiful (both physically and emotionally) woman, and blows the socks off any other female singer/songwriter of the past ten years. It's an understatement to say she's changed my life. She's completely revolutionized it! I've learnt so much from her music and lyrics, from the breakthrough "Jagged Little Pill" and the underrated masterpiece "Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie," and through onto more melodic gems such as "Under Rug Swept."

I was actually rather surprised when I heard late last year that Alanis would be releasing a new album in the spring of 2004, as it was only two years since the predecessor and she usually takes a good three or fours to get another album out. I wasn't complaining though, and as soon as So-Called Chaos was released I raced out to buy it. What I found was a different Alanis - one who is definitely more relaxed and taking a more positive approach on life. It's brilliant to see Alanis finally so happy with life (and who wouldn't be with a hottie boyfriend like Ryan?!) and this definitely reflects in her music. People are comparing this album to JLP - forget that, it's nothing like it. JLP was totally singular and nothing now or in the future will come close to its genius and impact.

What So-Called Chaos has, though, is amazing vocals and stunning melodies that totally breathe new life into the music industry. The opening track, "Eight Easy Steps," is a fast-paced rocker with catchy verse and head-banging choruses! Alanis really lets go on this amazing song which incorporates Oriental and Asian influences that work a treat. This is also a recurring theme throughout the album. "Out Is Through" is a fantastic mid-tempo pop/rock gem that was totally made for radio. The lyrics are positive, Alanis' voice radiant and the melody powerful and very relatable. Many have said that "Excuses" sounds very similar to "Precious Illusions" from the last album and in a way it does, but this is much better! The beat is fantastic, the lyrics inspirational, the melody incredibly catchy and Alanis' voice absolutely mind-blowing. It almost makes me cry at the chorus and when she sings, "No one can have it all." This song is best experienced driving down a motorway!

"Doth I Protest Too Much" is a haunting, if familiar, kind of song in which Alanis exclaims that she isn't jealous that her man stares at other women, when really, she's raging with jealously and anger inside. It's her comedic take on trying to fit into a relationship, and it works a treat. "Knees Of My Bees" is an amazing song just from the title! The song itself is an extremely catchy and loved-up song that Alanis wrote about Mr. Reynolds, the man currently dominating her life, and what an impact he's made! The Oriental theme is evident here with a beautiful sitar and some superb lyrics. "So-Called Chaos," the album's title track, is a total monster. It starts off a bit shaky with stop-start vocals, but once the chorus kicks in, you know you're onto something special, especially as she screeches, "I wanna be naked, running through the streets!" Alanis-zilla hits New York City, oh yes! "Not All Me" is not instantly loveable, but definitely grows on you. It opens amazingly with a stunning synth intro and some really sweet vocals from Alanis.

"This Grudge" is the album's main ballad and what a total cracker it is! Alanis sings of a grudge that she holds, not with a past-lover, but with herself. The lyrics are powerfully honest as she sings, "But who's it hurting now? Who's the one that's stuck? Who's it torturing now, with an antique knot in her stomach?" She attacks the woman scorned from 1995, and it's as if she's finally letting go. "Spineless" is a fantastic and humorous rocker in which Alanis vows to change herself to be subservient to her new lover - to be opinionless to everything he says and does. Of course, this isn't the Alanis we know and could never imagine evolving into and therein lies (no, not 'the problem', Mr. Sympathetic Character) the comedy! The album closes superbly with the album's lead single "Everything." I actually wasn't too sure when I first heard this song a few months ago, but since then it has totally grown on me. I love the brave and brazen honesty in the lyrics and the bridge where she sings, "What I resist persists and speaks louder than I know. What I resist you love no matter how low or high I go!"

OVERALL GRADE: 10/10

I praise Alanis for standing up for what she believes in at that awards show earlier on the year - you GO GIRL! I also admire her greatly for not making music that the masses want and just making music that comes naturally to her. It is a total bonus that die-hard fans such as myself worship it, because this is truly fantastic music. It might not to be everyone's taste, but Alanis fans will adore it. The album only peaked at No.8 in the UK and No.5 in the US upon release, and should have been No.1, but it's alright: washaway Usher can keep his No.1, because releasing records of Alanis' calibre is much more worthy than a disappointing, overhyped multi-million seller! Alanis has changed my life and I realise I'm waffling now, so I'll close it up. Basically, this is the album of 2004 for me. Buy this now!

P.S. Loving the hair, Alanis!

It's hard to believe at times, but Alanis Morissette has been with us for 10 years now, allowing us to peek into her many complex thoughts and moods. This has been a joy for many of us, as its makes us feel we're not alone. At least, that's how I've felt all of these years.

A Canadian pop star who broke into the U.S. market while changing her formula, she has come a long way. Alanis is the perfect example of an artist who continues to grow and intrigue while staying true to herself. In her last outing, So Called Chaos, we see a maturity and a more calm Ms. Morissette.

To start, So Called Chaos is one of Alanis' shorter conquests. The CD is barely 45 minutes long. It may be a short journey, but it's a delightful one, from beginning to end.


Eight Easy Steps - The first song starts off the album with a frenetic pace. This ballsy rocker is a sarcastic satire of being a hypocrite. The idea is about being a leader or someone many look up to, and not living with integrity and by example.

Out is Through -- This song slows the pace a little as a mid-tempo about having the urge to look on the other side of the fence when things get rough in a relationship. The moral of the story is: the only way to make is out is to go through the difficult times.

Excuses - While it is difficult to pick favorites amongst an album brimming with standouts, this song stands out for me. The intro, which starts slow and then builds, is about exactly what the title suggests; making excuses. It explores how making these excuses keeps you small and stuck, and gives you a false sense of security in being safe.

Doth I Protest Too Much - This melodic mid-tempo rocker is about denial. Its about putting on a brave face in the relationship when feeling insecure, claiming and acting as if you're not wrestling with your jealous-monster demons.

Knees Of My Bees - The title of this song is a play on words. Musically, it has a bit of a whimsical, eastern flavor to it. It's a tribute to looking at the good and beauty in a person. You see that person's strengths, and it not only awes you but makes you "weak in the knees".

So-Called Chaos - This is the title song of the album, and probably the heaviest music-wise. This is Alanis at her most rockin'. Like a large majority of the Morissette library of lyrics, these are genius. The song is about the headaches, people-pleasing frustrations of living up to society's standards and just wanting to be free and floating above it all.

Not All Me - After the frenzy of the aforementioned title song, things wind down a bit with this song. Almost ballad-like, this song tackles the subject of not being 100% responsible for someone else's issues and guilt. The idea is that when you meet people and are relating to others, many times we cross paths with a person who acts as our "mirror". Sometimes someone pushes our buttons, but it isn't always about us; sometimes it's the baggage the other person is carrying from previous situations.

This Grudge - This is the ballad on the album. This beautifully written song is about the nemesis who has guest-starred on just about every Alanis Morissette album. It deals with holding a long-term grudge, and feeling the hurt over and over again, thus hurting yourself more than the person who hurt you. Its about letting go so you can heal, as difficult as that may be to do.

Spineless - I've know many people whom this song would describe. You know who they are - those people who resemble a jelly-fish. These people get into a relationship and totally lose themselves in the other person. They give up friends, family, and hobbies to please the other person. They don't have opinions and thoughts, and they hang onto every word the other person utters. They're afraid of "rocking the boat". Their world gets smaller and they realize they've lost who they are. This nugget of a rocker is about resisting that tendency.

Everything - This pretty mid-tempo is about unconditional love. The message is as simple as that. Having someone in your life who sees the beauty in you, but the warts as well, and still loves you and stands by you anyway.


That would be the sum of So Called Chaos in a nutshell. From beginning to end, the album glows and shines with philosophical wisdom that only our favorite brainy Canadian artist could pose so eloquently. Alanis continues her trend of never making a bad album. She continues to be innovative and relevant in today's society. She makes you feel that she is one of the gang. She's been through it, too, and when she shares her art with us, she makes us feel as though we have another friend. I can hardly wait to see what the next chapter in Alanis-land will bring.


(c)Diane Trautweiler
Written February 16, 2006

Alanis Morissette's career has gone in a direction few expected. Though her debut album certainly contained some positive and playful songs, it was anger and confrontation that made Alanis the best selling female singer of 1995. You Oughta Know, a song where she talks about sexual acts in theaters, hurls a spiteful four-letter word, and alludes to a death wish for her former boyfriend, is probably her most famous song. I think most of us were expecting her follow-up albums to be just as confrontational, angry, and accusatory. Yet every album since Jagged Little Pill has Alanis pointing the finger at herself, saying that she is the cause of her own pain. It's a surprising thing coming from a woman who once said that she hopes her ex-boyfriend feels it every time she scratches her nails down someone else's back.

At first listen, So-Called Chaos didn't resonate with me very much. I thought the lyrics to Eight Easy Steps were an amusing send-up of some of the quackery of the self-help movement, books that promise to make you a millionaire in three months, or that promise enlightenment in a week, etc., but I felt relatively indifferent to the rest of the album. So many of the songs seemed so intimate, almost like diary entries, that I felt almost like I shouldn't be listening to them. I wondered why Alanis even put out such deeply personal material. It makes me think of a comment one critic made of Anais Nin's published diaries, "The world cannot stand such nakedness."

It wasn't until a recent car trip from Oregon to California that I "got" some of the songs on this album. It was a trip I had been putting off for years, and that I thought I'd be putting off for many more. A trip to see a relative I had not seen since I was an infant.

Driving down I-5 in my wonderfully clean 2005 rental car, passing through the beautiful Shasta region, the pristine deep green forest all around, the clean and fresh air, the crystalline Shasta lake beside the car, the sky above clear and blue, I was panic stricken. This was a trip I just could not afford, the distance (over 800 miles one way) was too great, I feared I wouldn't have enough energy to stay awake for the 12-hour one-way drive, and I feared the relative who awaited me might even have mixed emotions about seeing me. Maybe it was all a mistake after all.

At that moment, the song "Excuses" came on the sound system.

I'm too far from home
It takes far too much energy
I cannot afford to
No one will ever see me

These excuses, how they've served me so well
They've kept me safe
They've kept me stuck
They've kept me locked in my own cell

"Excuses" became the instant anthem of my trip. The excuses we use, the excuses I've used, in order to keep myself from coping with situations that may be challenging but that when faced will result in greater wisdom and perspective. Like many people, I have gone through life trying to make a little cocoon for myself, ways of sheltering myself from the more difficult situations in the world, and ironically the cocoons themselves often became threatening. As Alanis says, they keep us in our cell.

As it turns out, the California trip was incredibly positive, life-changing even. The only regret I have is that I didn't make it sooner.

In the course of writing this review, something occurred to me. Earlier I said that I wonder why Alanis reveals so much about herself in her songs. Isn't it ironic that this is a question I often ask of myself regarding my reviews? I often think I put far too much personal information into my reviews, and I wonder why. It has occurred to me that Alanis and I have one thing in common that may be related to this public airing of experiences: we grew up in show business. We spent our entire childhoods and teen years having our identities defined by other people, having our images manipulated, and then projected out to an audience. For children and teenagers, who in the most usual of circumstances are usually angst-ridden in regard to establishing their identities, being in show business can be very dangerous. (How many child stars end up deeply troubled people?) Alanis has sung about having felt exploited and objectified as a child and young adult in show business ("Hands Clean," "Perfect," "Right Through You"). It is most likely very healing for her to finally control the context within which her image is projected out into the world. This may be one reason that she continues to project her image at all. Perhaps she is tired of the years of objectification. Now are the years of personalization. She is compensating for her years of powerlessness.

I now see that Jagged Little Pill was not the quintessential moment of Alanis' career and not the defining moment of her life. It was but a snapshot of that moment in her life, a life that is a continual journey of self-revelation. So-Called Chaos is the most recent snapshot.

Andrew Michael Parodi

ADDENDUM (7/29/05): I just wanted to comment on the Official Amazon "Editorial Review" at the top of the page. The reviewer apparently missed that "Doth I Protest Too Much" is a tongue-in-cheek song, and therefore it is NOT evidence of a Zen-like serenity in Alanis. "Doth I Protest Too Much" is a reference to Shakespeare's play Hamlet wherein we find the line, "The lady doth protest too much, methinks." To protest too much is to insist so strongly about something not being true that people begin to suspect maybe it is true. When Alanis says she doesn't worry about every pair of legs her boyfriend looks at, what she is really saying is that she really DOES worry about every pair of legs he looks at -- but she wants to hide that fact from her boyfriend. The whole song is about Alanis trying to hide from others how insecure she feels in this particular relationship.