Flavors Of Entanglement
Artist: Alanis Morissette
Manufacturer: Warner Brothers
Customer Rating:
, based on 67 reviews
Lowest Price: $9.94
By Supplier: innuendo_entertainment
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Editorial Review:
Though the mainstream might have all but abandoned Alanis Morrissette since her mid-90s breakthrough as the MTV grunge generation’s Madonna, she has forged on with a handful of albums of a reasonably steely consistency, although even kindly ears would recognize her output since Jagged Little Pill as reduced strength versions of that celebrated album. Its slightly convoluted follow up, Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie, remains her most intriguing if long-winded work, and with her most recent record (2004’s So Called Chaos) more or less finding peace with itself--filing down the angsty internal dialogues and sounding almost content even at its loudest points--the future seemed to be heading on a downward spiral. But talk about an about turn. With Flavours Of Entanglement the bronco is very much bucking once more, often causing whiplash-inducing stylistic swerves. "Citizen Of The Planet" opens the album, erupting out of eastern strings and a sequenced underlay with blunt, compressed guitars and thumping beats, sweeping through desolate plains previously inhabited by nu metal fantasists Evanescence. The dark tension is upheld through the robotic techno of "Straightjacket" and dark string-laden drum ‘n’ bass of "Moratorium." Landing amid the lonely Tori Amos balladry of "Not As We," Texas-pop of "In Praise Of The Vulnerable Man," and the more typical Alanis fare of "Underneath," this is an often unsettlingly mixed bag achieving varying levels of success, but it is also probably her most emotionally satisfying work for a decade. -- James Berry
Tracks:
Her voice has matured beautifully over the years. Somehow she still has control of both rage and solitude in one breath. This is Alanis at her best for 2008.
For all the hype about its' "sonic elements" and "electronica tinged tunes", the album is pretty much a straightforward pop record with none of the guitar-soaked melodies that either "Jagged Little Pill" or "SFIJ" had. This is both a good and a bad thing. Every Alanis album of late has had some bonafide classics on it - for example "So Called Chaos" had the wonderful "Excuses" (a masterpiece) and "Under Rug Swept" had "Flinch" (another certifiable classic). "Flavors of Entanglement", even upon repeat play, has no 'one song' that stands out. Its a mish-mash of things, some songs are embarrassingly generic, but its very much a long-play record, in the old-fashioned sense of the word, where you put the record on and let it do its thing in the background. If this sort of thing is what youre after, then the album will work for you.
However, pitted against her back-catalog, the new album falters. Its ironic that the second CD of this 2-CD set is almost twice as good as the entire first CD (even more ironic that it only contains half the number of tracks that the first CD has). Despite that, the album should please longtime Alanis fans, only because some songs ("Moratorium", "Not As We", "Straitjacket") are 'different', and deal with subject matter familiar to Alanis-territory (ending of a relationship, excess baggage, self-worth).
The one thing that really frustrates though, is Alanis' lack of maturity in her songwriting. This is especially evident when you read the really mundane songwriting on tracks such as "In Praise of the Vulnerable Man". Everything here has been done before (by Alanis herself, no less), and it doesn't look like getting out of a relationship has enriched her life or outlook much. If anything, she seems like a more disinterested version of her former self - which of course is something that totally does not work for you if you've been following her work for a while.
"Flavors of Entanglement" is not a masterpiece, but once you get accustomed to it playing, you find yourself singing along, or remembering a tune there, a melody here, stuff like that. Its now a solid part of Alanis' catalog, to be sure but ironically not because the music is that good. It helps for you to invest in the album (on that level, this record is very much like "So Called Chaos", which remains infinitely superior to this one) and you might find yourself warming to it a bit more. Many people I've played this for though have found that even supposedly 'touching' songs such as "Orchid" and "Torch" come off as fake and forced - and this is the first time I've come across such feedback for an Alanis album.
Bottom line - this is not for everyone, and if you're a seasoned Alanis fan, it might worry you that her maturity hasn't quite kept pace with your own growth in life. Thats sad, but then again, shes only human. If youre looking for true introspective lyrics, look no further than "Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie". If youre looking for "light" stuff that sounds like Alanis but isn't quite up to her own lofty standards, then this is the album for you.
And do get the 2-CD Edition. The 11 Track Single-Disc Edition is virtually useless.
Though the mainstream might have all but abandoned Alanis Morrissette since her mid-90s breakthrough as the MTV grunge generation’s Madonna, she has forged on with a handful of albums of a reasonably steely consistency, although even kindly ears would recognize her output since Jagged Little Pill as reduced strength versions of that celebrated album. Its slightly convoluted follow up, Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie, remains her most intriguing if long-winded work, and with her most recent record (2004’s So Called Chaos) more or less finding peace with itself--filing down the angsty internal dialogues and sounding almost content even at its loudest points--the future seemed to be heading on a downward spiral. But talk about an about turn. With Flavours Of Entanglement the bronco is very much bucking once more, often causing whiplash-inducing stylistic swerves. "Citizen Of The Planet" opens the album, erupting out of eastern strings and a sequenced underlay with blunt, compressed guitars and thumping beats, sweeping through desolate plains previously inhabited by nu metal fantasists Evanescence. The dark tension is upheld through the robotic techno of "Straightjacket" and dark string-laden drum ‘n’ bass of "Moratorium." Landing amid the lonely Tori Amos balladry of "Not As We," Texas-pop of "In Praise Of The Vulnerable Man," and the more typical Alanis fare of "Underneath," this is an often unsettlingly mixed bag achieving varying levels of success, but it is also probably her most emotionally satisfying work for a decade. -- James Berry
Tracks:
Citizen Of The Planet Underneath Straitjacket Versions Of Violence Not As We In Praise Of The Vulnerable Man Moratorium Torch Giggling Again For No Reason Tapes Incomplete Orchid The Guy Who Leaves Madness Limbo No More On The Tequila
Customer Reviews:
Evergreen
Great Cd!!!! The bonus tracks (except for" On The Tequila ") realy worth the extra $$. 2008-10-08
Alanis at her best
I like to wait for a few months before giving an accurate review of an album like this because there is a lot of depth to it, musically and lyrically. Anyway, after seeing her perform many of these songs in concert in Philadelphia, she really has created some long lasting favorites that will be staples of her setlists for the future. Alanis has always been very challenging when deciphering her meanings to her lyrics, and these songs are no exceptions. Some are very blunt and to the point, some are very clever in their hidden meanings. Musically the entire CD has a nice flow to it, and the extra songs are a must to have.
Her voice has matured beautifully over the years. Somehow she still has control of both rage and solitude in one breath. This is Alanis at her best for 2008.
2008-10-07
Loved it!
I played this CD so often I had to give it a rest for a couple of weeks. Some of these are awesome to work out to and they're all just plain good music. This is my first Alanic CD but it won't be my last if she continues in this vein. 2008-10-05
Extreme Brilliance!
How anyone could give this less that 5 stars is crazy to me. I haven't always been a huge Alanis fan, but I am now. From start to end the album offers insightful lyrics that are easily relatable. Im listening to the album as I type, and it just fills you with emotion. I find that is so hard to find these days with the music market saturated with hip hop and "artists" like Fergie where you can write anything retarded and people seem to buy it. The musical production is also genius on this album. Every song sounds different and swells with a catchy chorus. This is the best album of 2008. Buy it! 2008-10-04
A Difficult Album : A Moderate Classic After Seven Spins
It seems Alanis is no stranger to the "Seven Spins" curse - the fact that some records need to be played seven full times through before they start sounding indispensable to your life. Vanessa Paradis' 1992 English album, and Nine Inch Nails' "The Downward Spiral" are two of these kinds of albums, for me, and Alanis' 2008 release certainly falls into this category.
For all the hype about its' "sonic elements" and "electronica tinged tunes", the album is pretty much a straightforward pop record with none of the guitar-soaked melodies that either "Jagged Little Pill" or "SFIJ" had. This is both a good and a bad thing. Every Alanis album of late has had some bonafide classics on it - for example "So Called Chaos" had the wonderful "Excuses" (a masterpiece) and "Under Rug Swept" had "Flinch" (another certifiable classic). "Flavors of Entanglement", even upon repeat play, has no 'one song' that stands out. Its a mish-mash of things, some songs are embarrassingly generic, but its very much a long-play record, in the old-fashioned sense of the word, where you put the record on and let it do its thing in the background. If this sort of thing is what youre after, then the album will work for you.
However, pitted against her back-catalog, the new album falters. Its ironic that the second CD of this 2-CD set is almost twice as good as the entire first CD (even more ironic that it only contains half the number of tracks that the first CD has). Despite that, the album should please longtime Alanis fans, only because some songs ("Moratorium", "Not As We", "Straitjacket") are 'different', and deal with subject matter familiar to Alanis-territory (ending of a relationship, excess baggage, self-worth).
The one thing that really frustrates though, is Alanis' lack of maturity in her songwriting. This is especially evident when you read the really mundane songwriting on tracks such as "In Praise of the Vulnerable Man". Everything here has been done before (by Alanis herself, no less), and it doesn't look like getting out of a relationship has enriched her life or outlook much. If anything, she seems like a more disinterested version of her former self - which of course is something that totally does not work for you if you've been following her work for a while.
"Flavors of Entanglement" is not a masterpiece, but once you get accustomed to it playing, you find yourself singing along, or remembering a tune there, a melody here, stuff like that. Its now a solid part of Alanis' catalog, to be sure but ironically not because the music is that good. It helps for you to invest in the album (on that level, this record is very much like "So Called Chaos", which remains infinitely superior to this one) and you might find yourself warming to it a bit more. Many people I've played this for though have found that even supposedly 'touching' songs such as "Orchid" and "Torch" come off as fake and forced - and this is the first time I've come across such feedback for an Alanis album.
Bottom line - this is not for everyone, and if you're a seasoned Alanis fan, it might worry you that her maturity hasn't quite kept pace with your own growth in life. Thats sad, but then again, shes only human. If youre looking for true introspective lyrics, look no further than "Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie". If youre looking for "light" stuff that sounds like Alanis but isn't quite up to her own lofty standards, then this is the album for you.
And do get the 2-CD Edition. The 11 Track Single-Disc Edition is virtually useless.
2008-09-22
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