Customer Reviews

So-Called Chaos

5 star:		(128)
4 star:		(41)
3 star:		(15)
2 star:		(24)
1 star:		(13)

 

 

A short time ago she released "feast on scraps". Apparently she is still cleaning out her fridge and feeding us scraps. I love Alanis but this is just forgettable fodder. She can do much better.

Jagged Little Pill was great, but since then Alanis has just churned out three albums with nothing new to offer, little inspiration, and lyrics that aren't particularly poetic or interesting and overwhelm her music with their sheer bulk. This album is one of those three.

"You Oughta Know" was the song that introduced us to Alanis. She had four more hits from her debut (and best) album Jagged Little Pill (in order)- "Hand In My Pocket", "You Learn", "Ironic", and "Head Over Feet".

3 years later was the release of Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie, which wasn't as good as Pill but it still rocked, spawning the hits "Thank U", "Unsent", and "So Pure".

2 years ago, Alanis released Under Rug Swept, which in my opinion was her worst album. It had the singles "Hands Clean" and "Precious Illusions".

"Everything" was the first single from So-Called Chaos and it was definitely a terrible choice-- it's the worst song on the album. The best move possibly for the first single would have been "Knees Of My Bees"-- it's so catchy that everyone would love it.

So-Called Chaos opens with "Eight Easy Steps", her next US single. Eight Easy Steps is a catchy, fast-paced rocker that's produced by a sitar. It's a highlight, but definitely not a favorite.

In Europe, Alanis released "Out Is Through" as her second single, and it has a really bad video. It's just some blonde girl trying to get to an Alanis concert. If you're a fan, it's worth seeing. It's at http://www.warnermusic.de/playMediaExtern.jsp?mid=410475 and you need RealPlayer to view it. Out Is Through is a catchy pop track that was probably made for radio. It's a very simple song, yet catchy.

The third track is "Excuses" which is my second favorite from this album. I have a feeling this will be the third single, if there is one, and I have an even better name-- Precious Illusions Part II. The lyrics and the sound are very similar to Precious Illusions, and by coincidence, both are my second favorite from the album (PI follows Narcissus). However, this is a better track than Precious Illusions. This is a nice track with great lyrics (Why no one will help me, I'm too dumb, I'm too smart).

My personal favorite on the album is the next track, called "Doth I Protest Too Much". One of the reasons it's so great is because the song proves the lyrics wrong. The song is pure jealousy and the lyrics deny it. I'm humming the chorus right now (I'm not jealous, I don't get moved by much, I'm not enraged, not insecure as such, not going insane, rational stays in touch, and Doth I Protest Too Much?).

The fifth track, Knees Of My Bees, is my third favorite. Like I said before, it would have been the best choice for the first single. It's such a fun track-- the lyrics are great and the song is so catchy.

Track #6 is the title track which is perhaps the heaviest track on the album. The verses pick up very slowly and just at the end of the slow verse, the monster kicks into chorus (I wanna be naked, running through the streets, I wanna invite this so-called chaos that you think I dare not be). It is an excellent track.

The album slows down a bit with "Not All Me", a dark track. I don't have very much to say about it, just give it a spin. "This Grudge" recalls all of Alanis' angry moments (You Oughta Know, Right Through You, Front Row, Baba, Are You Still Mad, Sympathetic Character, Narcissus).

"Spineless" reminds me of 21 Things I Want In A Lover, but it's not as good. Spineless has an odd way of describing love, which begins with Alanis talking and only a guitar behind her. It's a good track, not the best, but good.

Like I said before, the final track, Everything, is the worst on the album. It's the only track I can say I can't love. Not that it's bad, it's just boring.

Overall, this is better than Under Rug Swept, but not as good as Pill or Junkie. You should buy it, it's better than mostly everything around right now. You might be surprised.

To me, some people just will never be satisfied - if Alanis was still writing songs about being jilted, everyone would talk about how she should start getting over it already, since that was almost a decade ago.

To me, Alanis' music has grown so much since Jagged Little Pill. I liked SFIJ, enjoyed URS, and simply LOVE So Called Chaos. It has received the most play time by me since Jagged Little Pill, and I just do not get tired of it.

Just because Alanis' attitude and outlook on life has changed, it doesn't mean her music is worse - it's just different. It's a growth she has gone through as an artist.

And I just don't get why anyone would say that they have heard these songs before..... The only similarity I see in "Eight Easy Steps" as compared to "21 Things" is that they both have numbers in the title. The songs are completely different, as is the entire album.

Alanis still remains one of the few artists out there that writes and sings songs with some meaning to them, and doesn't try to appeal to the mainstream just for the sake of what the mainstream wants artists to do. She still beats to her own drummer, and that's why I already can't wait for the next one.

I've played the heck out of Alanis' former CDs. This new one just doesn't have the same appeal. Alanis is happy in her personal life, and I'm happy for her, but her music was better when she was tortured.

Alanis never fails to amaze me. Since 1995 she has been making excellent albums that I love listening to. She is one of the best artists in the business and my expectations were high for this new album. Although it is not my favorite Alanis album, it is still one of the best things to come out in 2004. It may only have 10 songs, but those are 10 top-quality songs in my book.

"Eight Easy Steps" opens the album. It is one of my favorites. It is about how hypocritical people that dish out advice can be. In the age of Dr. Phil and all those other people who love to give advice, this is the right song for the right time. I think it would make a great single for Alanis. "Out Is Through" is the second song. I love the lyrics because she is very right. This song is followed by "Excuses", which I think lyrically is a lot like "Precious Illusions" off of her Under Rug Swept album. It is as good as that song and it's very honest. The next song, "Doth I Protest Too Much", is one of my favorites. It's great to see Alanis singing about a relationship completely devoid of jealousy and rage, as her past songs have been. This song is all about growth and I love it! Next is "Knees of my Bees". The title is very cool and the song itself lives up to the promise of its title. Alanis always puts her own spin on love songs and this is no exception. "So-Called Chaos" is the next song and I love it. The music to these song sounds really cool and the chorus is just amazing. "Not All Me" follows this song and although the opening of this song is a tad cheesy, it gets good really quickly and turns into a really meaningful song. "This Grudge" is the most revelatory song here and it shows Alanis moving forward from an old hurt. Her honesty is amazing and so is this song. "Spineless" is about giving up your individuality for the sake of making a relationship work. It is very clever and one of the album's highlights. "Everything" is the last song on the album and, ironically, the first single. What I love about this song is that it is the most unironic love song she's ever done. It's a declaration of love to her fiance and listening to this song makes it obvious Alanis is in a good place in her life right now and she isn't looking back.

Alanis shows artistic growth on this album and I love her for it. Every song fits together perfectly and helps make this a must-own album. I admire Alanis for letting go of the hurt and rage that has fueled many of her best songs. It is a bold leap forward for her and while it may anger fans of Jagged Little Pill, her true fans will love her for it. I'm already looking forward to her next sure-to-be excellent album!

I'm a fan of Alanis. My favorite was the much-malingned Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie. I wasn't thrilled with Under Rug Swept, but it was listenable.

This new album, though, just SUCKS. Alanis still has the chops, and the lyrics are OKAY, but the actual music... ugh. Ever listen to a four-year-old sing-song things to herself rather tunelessly? That's the sound we're talking about here.

It's terrible. Don't buy it!

Two years after Under Rug Swept Alanis is back with her new work So Called Chaos.
I was really excited when i heard the first single Everything but... hey!
I don't know why but all the songs feels just like i've hearded them a thousand times before!
They're not bad, absolutely, in fact Everything is very listenable and full of emotions.
Out Is Trough is also a good song, as spineless, this grudge and the title track, but they all are too similar to old alanis work. There's no "really" new material, only revisitations of old songs!
They could be easily placed in under rug swept or in jagged little pill.
So in conclusion So-Called Chaos is not a bad album; it's a very good album, but everything feels just exactly the same as her previous material.
In my opinion the album will have overall disappointing sales (i don't hope so, but...) and after this album we can hope that Alanis will change something in her music and will surprise us with some really original material.
If you want, buy it but don't expect anything really new.

I've read most of the other reviews that talk about
this album, and I agree with the fact that this is a
very readio frienly album...so it's good for the
audience who enjoys that type of music a lot...
The only songs I'd reccomend on this album are This Grudge,
Doth I Protest Too Mch, and So Called Chaos. Everything else
is just nausiating to listen to, in my opinion.
Alanis's better days in music are gone... if you want to hear
good music from her, check out Jagged Little Pill, Supposed
Former Infatuation Junkie, the live MTV cd, and the song
"Still".

This CD is alright...Alanis has obviously taken to the trend of glossy, polished studio recordings, with the likes of Avril Lavigne. But at least Alanis writes her own songs ( without the aid of famous songwriters ) and can carry a melody without having other vocals tracked over her ( once again, see Lavigne's first album's notes ).

Erm...and Melmoth, I hope you were joking, but the lost continent you were thinking of was "Atlantis." Maybe watch the Disney movie? It's about as mediocre as "So Called Chaos." The raw Alanis we once knew is forever lost.