Flavors Of Entanglement

Alanis has always been one of my favorite artists since Jagged Little Pill. And her albums, for me, go right down the chronological line in terms of depth, power to move, and just pure awesomeness. And that is with very few degrees of separation between each release because they are all marvelous.

I have to disagree with the "starred reviewer" in that I felt that Flavors of Entanglment was her LEAST emotionally satisfying album. Alanis was trying too hard to keep her intelligent lyrics and flawless melodious sound intact, which results in the songs sounding false and forced.

There are some interesting elements (the music styles, beats, instrumentation), but the clever lyrics are not up to par. I still have not been able to listen to this album all the way through.

However, this release DOES prove how superior Alanis is to many of the female pop artists out there. This is her weakest effort but it is still head and shoulders above her pop peers. I just hope her next album touches me like Jagged through So Called Chaos.

Alanis Morissette always makes decent albums. "Flavors Of Entanglement", her 7th studio album (excluding the acoustic "Jagged Little Pill") continues to demonstrate her growth and maturity.

She selected Guy Sigsworth (Seal, Bjork, Imogean Heap, Madonna, Frou Frou) to produce which was a decent choice. He makes "Flavors" more of an electronica album with guitar washes and drum loops. The bottom line is that Alanis can sing around anything. Her writing is still as strong as it was when she did "Jagged Little Pill".

As far as anger and angst, I don't expect that from her, and that's better left for teenagers anyway. Alanis is 34 now, close to my age, and if and when you make it to this age, the anger usually has subsided. However, the fact that she continues to write about failed relationships is rather concerning at this point. How many more failures will she write about before figuring out what the problem is.

Thankfully, most of the songs have a more despairing, rather than angry, approach. Truly, what can you do when things fall apart? Mourn the loss and move on. That's what Morissette does here very well.

As with all Morissette albums, "Flavors" has some songs that are not as good as the others. The songs I liked (everyone has their opinion) are the first single "Underneath", "Not As We", "In Praise Of The Vulnerable Man", "Torch", "Giggling Again For No Reason" and "Incomplete". The other five tracks are okay, with "Versions Of Violence" maybe rising above the other four.

I would not say this is her best work, nor would I say it is her worst. It just scrapes by being average to get four stars from me. It would be really interesting to see what she would create if she had a very happy relationship. It could be her come back. I say that because, with each successive release, she has not come close to the success of "Jagged Little Pill" in terms of sales and popularity. In fact, it's almost like Morissette has been ignored or sidelined by the music business. It's a shame because she's an obvious vocal and artistic talent that's now underutilized.

This is a great CD. I love Alanis and her Jagged little pill is one of my all time favorites. it has been a long time since she released anything new. I really like the CD.

After all the hype surrounding the new release of Flavors, I was ecstatic to get my copy of the cd. A true Alanis fan, I was not let down. She still has it, and then some. Like many others, I was expecting the rage and angst/sadness from her recent breakup, but was surprised (in a pleasant way) that that was not the case. That being said, it's a superb album with tracks that will have you close to tear with the lyrics and bouncing in your seat, head nodding along, thumb tapping on the steering wheel. I think my fav. track was Torch, followed closely by Citizen of the Planet and Straightjacket.

I've always liked Alanis, and her rocking, rigid edge, but when I heard she would be working with Guy for this record, I got really excited. Not only does this album produce lyrics that actually make you think about life, love, and death, it has the super-synthetic pulsating vibes that interconnect and intertwine into layers and layers as they collide and compound blissfully. But it does this ever so lightly, and of course with a rock edge. Pure Genius. This album has really helped me cope with the ever changing world outside my walls. So much as happend to all of us, as humans, and Alanis shows she's just like us.

Incredible standouts would have to be the lead single, "Underneath," the eternally dark "Versions Of Violence," the beautifully blooming effort of "Not As We," the power of "Tapes" and "Torch" show another side of Alanis lingering around the thoguhts of seperation and death ... whether of life or relationship. And we can't forget how every Alanis Album starts with a BANG! "Citizen Of The Planet" does indeed deliver. But the Highlight of the album has to be "Giggling Again For No Reason." Even though we all may go through some pretty terrible times in our lives, this song is like the sunlight as it fills in every crack of the Earth. It's the light we reach at the end of the tunnel, knowing that we will be okay. (I just have a personal connection with the whole album, especially that song, and I'm sure many others do as well.) And to that, the final song, "Incomplete" leaves us with a pleasing outlook on what we all really want from this life.

This album is a Gem; it as dark and as deep as the ocean at times and other times it shines brightly into the horizon. I've never been happier with another album in my life. And for that reason, Alanis' lastest effort one of the greatest albums I've ever heard, and is the one to bet in 2008 ... if not the decade. It's so different than everything that is being played nowadays. It's worth giving it a try. I did. And I couldn't be more contented.

Thank you Alanis. For Saving My Life.