Blah, WTH happened to Jewel?
A friend of mine gave me a couple albums by Jewel the other day (thanks, man!). Now, I remember Jewel as a folky, bluesy girl with an extremely kissable voice and pick-n-strum skills galore. I remember bits and pieces of her "Pieces of You" album with great fondness, especially "You Were Meant For Me" (it reminds me of a certain special someone that I'll never see again).
So, I fired up her new album, "0304". OMFG, what a giant pile of dookey! I don't know if it was Jewel herself or her agent or her PR manager or what, but someone seems to have said "Hey, I bet we'll sell a bunch of CDs if they sound like Jessica Simpson or Kylie Minogue or 'ArtistX' from the Disney Channel!"
Horrible music, horribly composed. Uninspired. Uninspiring. It sounds like something that one of the Olsen Twins might have released. I sure hope she made some money and still feels true to herself, because she's sure sounding fake on this CD.
[984 byte] By [
c.c.r.] at [2007-11-9 14:59:03]
# 1 Re: Blah, WTH happened to Jewel?
Yeah, but she looks good in those skimpy dresses, I wouldn't kick her out of bed for eatin' crackers......well maybe if they had peanut butter on them :)
ToddW at 2007-11-15 17:34:22 >
# 2 Re: Blah, WTH happened to Jewel?
Oh yeah, I forgot one other thing that made me sick about "0304" -- Jewel is now a chronic abuser of that inane "internet speak". Examples:
Song titles from Then:
Near You Always
Pieces of You
Do You Want To Play?
Song titles from Now:
2 Find U
Run 2 U
Yes U Can
Blah. That's just lazy and ignorant-looking. Heh, Amazon.com says that the difference in this album is "Shakira producer Lester A. Mendez" -- that'll explain it. Thanks, Lester.
c.c.r. at 2007-11-15 17:35:22 >
# 3 Re: Blah, WTH happened to Jewel?
She turned into a "sex kitten". Guess that's what sells music.
# 4 Re: Blah, WTH happened to Jewel?
Every artist has their bad album. Don't write her off totally. She probably has already heard that its junk. I expect she'll get rid of whomever recommended the changes on this album and put more effort into the next one.
Kirk at 2007-11-15 17:37:15 >
# 5 Re: Blah, WTH happened to Jewel?
she wasn't selling records so she decided to sex it up..
It backfired!!
thats what happened
# 6 Re: Blah, WTH happened to Jewel?
I think someone told me that she said she wanted to change with the times or something...give people what they wanted. I guess she didn't realize people liked her for her talent not for all the skimpy stuff she's been wearing lately.
almond at 2007-11-15 17:39:24 >
# 7 Re: Blah, WTH happened to Jewel?
I hate to admit this, but Jewl was half good before.
Now, she has gone the inevitable 'slut yourself up' approach which seems to be the only way to, for the lack of a better word, get your rear end into the market.
Adam at 2007-11-15 17:40:28 >
# 8 Re: Blah, WTH happened to Jewel?
...it's the money...
the same reason a lot of female singers are really fake. nose jobs, implants, etc.
compare jewel's pictures on her album covers. you'll see some interesting changes.
# 9 Re: Blah, WTH happened to Jewel?
Her earlier stuff was way better. For some reason for 0304, she enlisted the dude who produced the Shakira CD(s). Why? Unfortunately, her fan base has been dwindling. She wrote her earlier stuff when she was a starving artist and has probably forgotten what it's like to feel the things she sings about. At least she's still hot, not fat and chubby. :)
dcx693 at 2007-11-15 17:42:30 >
# 10 Re: Blah, WTH happened to Jewel?
there's nothing that can make me more sick than a singer selling for everything except for her singing. i'm so fed up with sex everywhere... (when i do not request it, i mean xDD)
i'm serious, it's really DISGUSTING.
# 11 Re: Blah, WTH happened to Jewel?
Yes horrible. Shes terrible now that shes all sexed up.
# 12 Re: Blah, WTH happened to Jewel?
while I agree to a certain extent that she has changed her image I don't believe she has completely sold out. Her previous 2 albums had some tracks that were starting to lean towards this newer style. There are a few songs on the latest album that when played without the backing track are pretty much the same as earlier work - that is the song writing is just as good but the drum track makes it sound like a lot of other performers. Her latest songs still sound better than Britney et al.
I saw her live in Sydney and she played 4 or 5 of her 0304 songs acoustically and they were great.
as for sexing her image - it is really only in the video for intuition. She actually shows more skin on the cover of both "Spirit" and "This Way".
Keeper at 2007-11-15 17:45:23 >
# 13 Re: Blah, WTH happened to Jewel?
Just to come to her defense she did state that this is her "pop album"
This was during her live Pepsi sponsored TV concert
# 14 Re: Blah, WTH happened to Jewel?
Jewel Pieces of You was the first cassette I ever owned. I listened to "Who Will Save Your Soul" for HOURS on repeat and didn't get bored. And, while I must say, I stopped following her musically, when I heard Inuition for the first time on the radio, and they said that it was Jewel, I remember doing a double take and thinking, "THAT was Jewel?"
Chelce at 2007-11-15 17:47:26 >
