So-Called Chaos

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 fiancé Ryan Reynolds, so her cheery disposition made its presence felt in many of the songs she wrote for So-Called Chaos. The album found her in a more contented and relaxed state than ever, 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."

The first single, "Everything", was released to U.S. radio in the spring of 2004, and was met with mixed reaction. U.S. 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 landmark 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]."

The album debuted at number two on the Canadian albums chart with first week sales of 11,200, and at number five on the U.S. Billboard 200, selling 115,000 copies in its first week in the U.S. and 887,000 that same week worldwide. It spent a week in the U.S. top ten before falling down the chart. As of September 2008 it has sold 470,000 copies in the U.S. The second single outside the U.S. was "Out Is Through", which had a poor showing in the UK. The second U.S. single was "Eight Easy Steps", which, despite being accompanied by an elaborate music video, 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 forty.

Track listing
All songs 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" – 3:41
 * 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) "Offer" – 4:05 (Brazil bonus track)
 * 12) "Everything" (Vancouver Sessions) – 4:36 (Japan bonus track)

Enhanced content
Audio: Video:
 * 1) "Eight Easy Steps" (live)
 * 2) "Excuses" (live)
 * 3) "This Grudge" (acoustic)
 * 1) Making of So-Called Chaos

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 – bass, piano, keyboards, producer
 * Guy Oseary – A&R
 * Joel Shearer – acoustic guitar, bouzouki, guitar, guitar (electric)
 * Paul Livingston – sitar
 * John Shanks – dulcimer, acoustic guitar, bass guitar, electric guitar, keyboards, programming, 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

Other charts
1 Remixes