First post dedicated to one of my favourite artists...
The first post on this soon to be mega-popular blog shall be dedicated to a girl that I love:
Jewel.
Full name: Jewel Kilcher
Raised: Alaska, since 1974
To put it simply, Jewel is one of the most ingenious and breath-takingly talented artists of her generation. She's the ONLY artist of her callibre that I can say TRULY deserves the title 'the new Joni'. Forget those wannabe types...whose names will remain unmentioned, although one has something apparently profound to say about bicycles in Beijing, although she didn't actually write that, what a surprise...
Jewel is the real deal!!!
Her debut major release was Pieces of You (1995). Recorded in Neil Young's studio, Jewel's innocently 'profound' lyrics, injected with an intense wit and sarcastic humour met with broad critical acclaim. Now multi-platinum, the album spawned the international hit You Were Meant For Me, written in the car she slept in between coffee shop tours around California in the early nineties.
Other singles from the album included the bitingly bold yet beautiful Pieces of You, in which Jewel sings of the frailties and bigotry that marrs the human race; cruelties we so often exhibit to aid our own advancement. Whilst this may sound like a depressing and irritatingly arrogant analysis that might not make an enjoyable listen, Jewel manages to infuse even her darkest and most 'political' lyrics with wit and irony. She doesn't judge, she merely comments truthfully on the complex realities of human behaviour.
Who Will Save Your Soul was a breakdown of cynicism whilst the fragile beauty of Foolish Games (also available on the Batman Forever OST) is one of Jewel's best compositions, lyrically, melodically and most definitely, vocally. N.B. The single version (from Batman) is preferable to the album one, on which Jewel has addmitted she was trying to sing 'properly' too hard, leaving a rather harsh finish to what are incredibly sensitive lyrics. This was successfully conveyed on the single version, particularly exhibited in how she sings the word 'heart' towards the song's close. In just one word and a single note, she manages to transform her voice from angry, heart-broken to innocently child-like.
Aside from the singles, I regard Near You Always as the album's hidden treasure. A 'Joni-style' song, the lyrics narrate the temptations of love and the fear of losing control through surrendering to it. The most beautiful lyric, sung in a gut-wrenching falsetto is:
' Be gentle if you please cos your hands are in my hair but my heart is in your teeth, babe
And it makes me want to make you near me always'.
The folky-sounding Morning Song is an innocently beautiful depiction of the ecstacies of being in love, whilst I'm Sensitive sounds positively childlike, if it weren't for the lyrics, such as:
'I was thinking that I might fly today
Just to disprove all the things that you say...
You always told me that it's impossible
To be respected and be a girl
Why's it gotta be so complicated?
Why you gotta tell me that I'm hated?
Please be careful with me
I'm sensitive and I'd like to stay that way'.
The masking of provocative lyrics with childlike vocals and a ridiculously simple guitar accompaniment is central to Jewel's talent.
Finally, another classic is Angel Standing By, a hauntingly beautiful lullaby simply accompanied by harmonics. Again, a staggeringly beautiful song that is likely to move you to tears!
Jewel infuses many of her songs with intelligent references to the likes of Walt Whitman, Anais Nin and various aspects of philosophy but does so without coming off as arrogant, partly due to the fact they're usually coupled with simple but beautiful melodies as opposed to overly self-important productions.
Overall, the album was a vicious, dark folk record, spattered with haunting lyrics and gut-wrenching vocals, sung with utter innocence, strength and sensuality.
I'll be back with a review of Jewel's second album, Spirit, tomorrow...
Jewel.
Full name: Jewel Kilcher
Raised: Alaska, since 1974
To put it simply, Jewel is one of the most ingenious and breath-takingly talented artists of her generation. She's the ONLY artist of her callibre that I can say TRULY deserves the title 'the new Joni'. Forget those wannabe types...whose names will remain unmentioned, although one has something apparently profound to say about bicycles in Beijing, although she didn't actually write that, what a surprise...
Jewel is the real deal!!!
Her debut major release was Pieces of You (1995). Recorded in Neil Young's studio, Jewel's innocently 'profound' lyrics, injected with an intense wit and sarcastic humour met with broad critical acclaim. Now multi-platinum, the album spawned the international hit You Were Meant For Me, written in the car she slept in between coffee shop tours around California in the early nineties.
Other singles from the album included the bitingly bold yet beautiful Pieces of You, in which Jewel sings of the frailties and bigotry that marrs the human race; cruelties we so often exhibit to aid our own advancement. Whilst this may sound like a depressing and irritatingly arrogant analysis that might not make an enjoyable listen, Jewel manages to infuse even her darkest and most 'political' lyrics with wit and irony. She doesn't judge, she merely comments truthfully on the complex realities of human behaviour.
Who Will Save Your Soul was a breakdown of cynicism whilst the fragile beauty of Foolish Games (also available on the Batman Forever OST) is one of Jewel's best compositions, lyrically, melodically and most definitely, vocally. N.B. The single version (from Batman) is preferable to the album one, on which Jewel has addmitted she was trying to sing 'properly' too hard, leaving a rather harsh finish to what are incredibly sensitive lyrics. This was successfully conveyed on the single version, particularly exhibited in how she sings the word 'heart' towards the song's close. In just one word and a single note, she manages to transform her voice from angry, heart-broken to innocently child-like.
Aside from the singles, I regard Near You Always as the album's hidden treasure. A 'Joni-style' song, the lyrics narrate the temptations of love and the fear of losing control through surrendering to it. The most beautiful lyric, sung in a gut-wrenching falsetto is:
' Be gentle if you please cos your hands are in my hair but my heart is in your teeth, babe
And it makes me want to make you near me always'.
The folky-sounding Morning Song is an innocently beautiful depiction of the ecstacies of being in love, whilst I'm Sensitive sounds positively childlike, if it weren't for the lyrics, such as:
'I was thinking that I might fly today
Just to disprove all the things that you say...
You always told me that it's impossible
To be respected and be a girl
Why's it gotta be so complicated?
Why you gotta tell me that I'm hated?
Please be careful with me
I'm sensitive and I'd like to stay that way'.
The masking of provocative lyrics with childlike vocals and a ridiculously simple guitar accompaniment is central to Jewel's talent.
Finally, another classic is Angel Standing By, a hauntingly beautiful lullaby simply accompanied by harmonics. Again, a staggeringly beautiful song that is likely to move you to tears!
Jewel infuses many of her songs with intelligent references to the likes of Walt Whitman, Anais Nin and various aspects of philosophy but does so without coming off as arrogant, partly due to the fact they're usually coupled with simple but beautiful melodies as opposed to overly self-important productions.
Overall, the album was a vicious, dark folk record, spattered with haunting lyrics and gut-wrenching vocals, sung with utter innocence, strength and sensuality.
I'll be back with a review of Jewel's second album, Spirit, tomorrow...
posted by Hannah Dudley | 11:05 PM
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