Jewel - Spirit

It's time for an update of our image of Jewel, the ingenue who set the music world on fire with her 1995 debut album, Pieces of You. After all, that effort consisted primarily of songs Jewel had written several years before, some of them dating back to her days as a free- spirited waif living in a van on the beach in San Diego. Now, at 25, she's become a sort of guru for self-expression and full disclosure, revealing perhaps too much of herself in see-through dresses worn to awards shows and a critically drubbed (yet bestselling) book of poetry. Spirit makes plain why Jewel's well-intentioned yet sometimes facile lyrics strike a chord with her audience while her poetry lies flat on the page. On songs like "Deep Water," "Hands," and "Down So Long," her words are borne aloft by sparkling melodies and her soaring voice, making even the most cynical observer take a schoolgirl-notebook image such as "your heart like grape gum on the ground" or an unreassuring platitude like "If I could tell the world just one thing / It would be that we're all OK" somewhat in stride. On Pieces of You, Jewel posed the musical question "Who will save your soul?" On Spirit, it sounds like she wants to do it herself. And the truth is, if you don't overanalyze it, the album does act as a sort of balm for wounded psyches or maybe a primer for raising your own inner child. Maybe she's right and we are all OK. Who knew? --Daniel Durchholz Amazon.com

 SPIRITual
This is a collection of spiritual soft pop music. Jewel did it again with "Hands" and "Down So Long." Jewel can sing in s little girls voice and in a baritone/tenor voice as well which helps make her so talented. If you like pop music and religious references, then this album is for you. March 6, 2008

 Great Jewel Cd
This CD delivers. Jewel makes great CDs... her first CD is the best, but this one is a close second. With tracks like Hands, Down So Long, and Deep Water, Jewel is timeless.... the first 9 tracks are the best. Great purchase. January 8, 2007

 some rhythm in the madness
Jewel's voice is unmistakable.

It either draws one in with ineffable appeal, or puts one off in the way of people who try a little too hard.

This reviewer puts this down to the combination of fine skills and a twist of artistic narcissism that seems to penetrate the lady's art. Marshall McLuhan famously claimed that 'the medium is the message'. Jewel often seems to be forcing a message into an art form that is not exactly fitted to the effort.

Yet she sometimes breaks through to persuasiveness, even with a tune that is heavily laden with message ('Hands').

It may be that this artist with the stunning good looks and the almost eery voice will remain a musical enigma, the twin impulses she generates creating two distinct publics, one highly devoted to her every album, the other cynical and generative of nasty-minded anti-Jewel websites.

She has styled herself a kind of troubadour of the religion of tolerant niceness. This is all good, as far as it goes. Yet it inevitably wears thin when its definition of either religion, tolerance, or niceness bumps into others that it finds incomprehensible. An artist who stays to conventional themes runs little risk of this happening. But Jewel, like the dinner guest who brings up religion, politics, or sex at the dinner table, will doubtless continue to find herself called upon to articulate her convictions. That tends to make art messy, ideological, and short-lived.

Yet just when one begins to fear the worst, she ends an album with a hauntingly gorgeous love song like 'Absence of Fear', its gentle piano intro setting the stage for a humble, poignant, and yearning piece. Enigma indeed.

Let's hope Jewel's considerable gifts trump any dire artistic turn of events and that she continues to toss off the striking hit ever year or two. January 2, 2007

 This album is beautiful
This is the first Jewel cd that I have purchased and I think I'm offically a Jewel fan. Her voice is very addictive and calming. I love that fact that her lyrics uplift humanity. This is a great album. I want to purchase the rest of her albums now.
I recommend it to all. August 19, 2006

 Boosts my SPIRIT.
I originally got this because I began to wear out "Pieces of You" and decided to hear her other works. Now I find myself listen to it everywhere I go. All of these songs have wonderful meaning, and show a bit more of what the world needs now. The best selections in my opinion include "Deep Water", "Hands" "Life Uncommon", and "Absence of Fear", which all strike an abyss deep inside that I never would have discovered otherwise. This CD is great to hear anywhere because it gives you a sense of power that you can only find in artists of this caliber. I wish her luck on this latest album "Goodbye Alice in Wonderland". Just another stepping stone towards greatness! August 1, 2006

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