Spirit - Audio CD By Jewel - VERY GOOD
$ 3.21
Description
Spirit - Audio CD By Jewel - VERY GOOD. That naïveté was the reason whyPieces of You was charming, even with a slapdash production that left in rough edges that should have been sanded. Realizing this, Jewel abandoned any pretenses of being just a girl with her guitar on her eagerly awaited second album, Spirit. Spirit Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine The multi-platinum success of Jewel's debut album Pieces of You came as a bit of a surprise to some observers, but it shouldn't have. Alone among all the female singer/songwriters of the post-alternative '90s, Jewel appealed to sensitive female teenagers and preteen girls. Her pretty melodies, gentle folk-rock, and sweetly naive lyrics are the sound of awkwardly creative adolescence, which made sense, since she was only a teenager at the time of her debut. That naïveté was the reason why Pieces of You was charming, even with a slapdash production that left in rough edges that should have been sanded. It wasn't until Jewel re-recorded the singles "Who Will Save Your Soul" and "You Were Meant for Me" that the album took off, because it was only then that the songs were given a properly polished, alluring production. Realizing this, Jewel abandoned any pretenses of being just a girl with her guitar on her eagerly awaited second album, Spirit. Released nearly four years after Pieces of You , Spirit is a markedly different (but recognizable) album from its predecessor, due largely to Patrick Leonard's glossy, radio-ready production. There is none of the raggedness that necessitated re-recordings with Pieces of You -- layered with gentle guitars and unobtrusive keyboards, every track feels as if it could be a hit single on adult alternative pop radio. If the production has changed, the basic sentiment behind the music has not -- in essence, Spirit is the same record as Pieces of You , with the same sweet melodies and naive poetry. Even if it doesn't have any songs that stand out like "Who Will Save Your Soul," it is, song for song, a more consistent album, even if the lyrics are often startlingly naive for a woman 24 years of age, especially on the lead single "Hands." But even if Spirit is a stronger, more listenable album than its predecessor, much of the awkward charm of Pieces of You has been removed -- which means that even if she appeals to the same audience as before, some of her initial fans may find that she's now a bit too slick in her attack to truly connect.
