...the wind light as a thief, and I kissed her goodbye, said "all beauty must die"...
...the wind light as a thief, and I kissed her goodbye, said "all beauty must die"...
Member since:26.02.2005
Reviews:15
Members who trust:5
Intro:
When I think of Jewel, I think of mellow tunes, sinking into my duvet, covers up to my chin. Old albums would be Autumn, pale, floating, white tulip petals kissing your neck... Too far? This album is different. You could say it was Summer, a new Jewel emerging, tanned and happy. There's still the same old social-commentary, she still likes her sceptical/hopeful observations. But instead of singing about Fat Boys, Deep Water and generally playing the guitar on your heart-strings, she's opted to take charge of your feet and make you dance. I really didn't like this album at first. Expectations were high and pinned to a folk type of music. Luckily, I persevered (mainly because it was a Christmas present from my little brother and I couldn't bear to leave it there all unplayed and unloved), and now there's another little lyrical space in my brain cleared especially for her words.
Content:
'Intuition' is the stand-out track, here, and if you don't like anything else, it's a fair
bet this one will go on someone's playlist. You'll have heard it on the Wilkinson Sword's Intuition Razor adverts, and if you didn't love it put your shoes back in the cupboard, you won't be going to HMV just yet. This is a great holiday track. I went to Australia recently and this happened to be on the flight's pre-recorded radio station. We took a lot of plane trips- I spent the entire time glued to the headset and cursed people out of their seats the one time I missed it.
All the lyrics are printed inside the booklet, as well as a note for fans "I loved making the record, and it's the first record I enjoy listening to. It's fun! I hope you all love it. I hope it makes you feel young and sexy and smart". Sexy, yes. Who wants a lapdance to 'Stand' or 'Intuition'? Liner Notes are also a refreshing inclusion, Jewel writes things such as "This is from the stalker's perspective" and "This song hurts when I sing it. It was a real challenge to combine a very moody folk verse with really driving, angst-filled choruses".
Track listing: 1. Stand 2. Run 2 U 3. Intuition 4. Leave The Lights On 5. 2 Find U 6. Fragile Heart 7. Doin' Fine 8. 2 Become 1 9. Haunted 10. Sweet Temptation 11. Yes U Can 12. U & Me = Love 13. America 14. Becoming (European bonus track) 15. Intuition (Todd Terry In-House Mix)
As you can see, she could be said to be pandering to the musical tastes of the illiterate masses who choose to substitute actual words for their numeral equivalent. I do this, but I'm not an established, respected artist. And I'm writing text messages, not albums. Let's give her the benefit of the doubt and chalk this mistake up to an inept marketing agent.
The middle of the album is pretty poor, reading like an ECG. I'm the patient here, and my heart thumps wildly with excitement in places, then quiets to an almost death-like thud when boredom kicks-in between decent tunes. Stand, Intuition, Leave The Lights On, Yes You Can, are the spikes of the cardiogram... If you suffer from a weak heart, I don't advise listening to the end of the album. The line goes flat. It's almost yawn-worthy.
Utterly different in style from the album Spirit, this is perhaps reflecting her change of heart from romantic and religious wonderings to a more satisfied approach to life. She says of the album "I'm just trying to be better every day, trying not to be embarrassed by myself... trying to be less tortured. I'm trying to put some levity in it – you know, not being so serious isn't such a serious thing after all. I just don't want to get to the end of my life and say, 'I missed the point.'" Fair enough, she is trying. Can't fault the girl for that. She is succeeding better than most. Running alone with a torch must get arduous occasionally.
Conclusion:
There's no question that her voice is unique, you could pick her out from the samey crud currently prevalent in the markets. Her music, though? I fear it might begin to get lost in the sewage, sinking like a giant brick. A brick studded with a couple of little gems, but a brick nonetheless.
This is worth the money for the three or four decent tracks. Those tracks carry the rest of a weak album on their backs.
As much as I'm critical about it, it's not so dire. It's happier, sweeter, shake-your-booty stuff. I just need to eat more sugar to appreciate it fully. Better than Britney, much much better. Go educate yourself!
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Mar 16th, 2005
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