Rating  - 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.
Rating  - Best from Alanis Yet
The sound on this album is different from most that Alanis has done so far, but it is also my favorite of all of her work. I love the emotion expressed in the lyrics, especially "Straightjacket", "Torch", and "Incomplete". I like that the songs move through different stages and I like that Alanis wrote in what she calls 'real time', it seems much more raw and real that way.
Rating - Outstanding
I've been waiting for Alanis to come out with a new CD for a while. She maintained her artistic vibe and deep lyrics. There is a mix of intense and softer songs. Loved it.
Rating - Flavors of Entanglement - Alanis Morissette CD
Flavors Of Entanglement
Once again....she just knows how to write and make music!
Go Alanis....go... keep going all the way.
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