So-Called Chaos

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

History

It had been two years since Morissette released her third studio album, Under Rug Swept. In that time she had met her fiancee 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 one on the United World Albums Chart, 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

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 - Guitar (Acoustic), Bouzouki, Guitar, Guitar (Electric)
• Paul Livingston - Sitar
• John Shanks - Dulcimer, Guitar (Acoustic), Bass, Guitar (Electric), Keyboards, Programming, Producer
• Shari Sutcliffe - Project Coordinator
• Sheryl Nields - Photography
• Errin Familia - Assistant Engineer
• Mark Valentine - Engineer
• Zac Rae - Piano, Keyboards, Vibraphone
• David Levita - Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric)
• Jason Wormer - Assistant Engineer
• Jeff Rothschild - Programming, Engineer
• Rich Tosi - Assistant Engineer
• Danny Strick - A&R
• Frank Maddocks - Art Direction, Design
• Jason Orme - Guitar (Electric)
• Blair Sinta - Drums, Programming

Charts

Album

Chart (2004)	Peak position
Canada Albums Chart	2
Austria Albums Chart	1
Czech Albums Chart	1
European Top 100 Albums	1
Germany Albums Chart	1
Holland Albums Chart	1
United World Albums Chart	1
Switzerland Albums Chart	2

Chart (2004)	Peak position
Italy Albums Chart	4
Brazil Albums Chart	5
France Albums Chart	5
U.S. Billboard 200	5
UK Albums Chart	8
Sweden Albums Chart	10
Israel Albums Chart	12
Australia Albums Chart	15

Singles

Year	Title	Chart positions
		CAN	U.S. Hot 100	U.S. Hot 100 Airplay	U.S. Modern Rock	U.S. Adult Top 40	U.S. Top 40/Pop	UK	AUS
2004	"Everything"	3	76	75	-	4	36	22	15
	"Out Is Through"	-	-	-	-	-	-	56	-
	"Eight Easy Steps"	-	-	-	-	27	-	-	-

Other charts

Single	Chart (2004)	Peak position
"Everything"	Italy Top 50 Singles	6
	Spain Top 20 Singles	6
	Tokio Hot 100	6
	United World Chart	10
	Austria Top 75 Singles	12
	Brasil Top 100 Singles	15
	Norway Singles Top 20	17
	Switzerland Top 100 Singles	22

Single	Chart (2004)	Peak position
"Everything"	Ireland Top 50 Singles	26
	Germany Top 100 Singles	29
	France Singles Top 100	63
"Out Is Through"	Tokio Hot 100	39
	UK Top 75 Singles	56
	Spain Los 40 Principales	32
	Switzerland Top 100 Singles	67
	Germany Top 100 Singles	75
"Eight Easy Steps"	U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play 1	9
"Excuses"	Brasil Top 100 Singles	44

¹ Remixes

Notes

References

• "Alanis Morissette - Artist Chart History" Billboard. Retrieved December 1 2006.
• "Alanis Morissette - Billboard Singles" Billboard and Allmusic. Retrieved December 1 2006.
• "Alanis Morissette" Mariah-charts.com. Retrieved December 1 2006.
• "Alanis Morissette - Everything" MusicSquare.net. Retrieved December 1 2006.
• "Alanis Morissette - Out Is Through" MusicSquare.net. Retrieved December 1 2006.