Product Description

Aided by airy but sparkling production by Patrick Leonard, Jewel comforts one and all with this collection. On "Hands",she sings that if she could tell the world just one thing, "It would be that we're all OK". Outside of her multi-octave, crystalline voice, therein lies a large part of Jewel's true appeal--a seemingly boundless compassion. To the Beatles prescription "All You Need Is Love", she adds one more ingredient: "Fill your lives with love and bravery/And you shall lead a life uncommon". While much of her yearning is spiritual and utopian, Jewel is not immune to the call of the flesh. In "Do You" she wants to stay with a lover because their teeth are straight and "the sex is good".
It's not all about words however. There's a hip-hop touch in the rhythm section on "Down So Long", confirmed in the third verse when Jewel raps for about two bars. The natural sounds throughout the CD dominate the subtler synth touches. Acoustic guitar, tasteful wah-wah and spot-on harmonies make this an extremelyintimate, personal sounding release.

Track Listing

1. Deep Water
2. What's Simple Is True
3. Hands
4. Kiss The Flame
5. Down So Long
6. Innocence Maintained
7. Jupiter
8. Fat Boy
9. Enter From The East
10. Barcelona
11. Life Uncommon
12. Do You
13. Abscence Of Fear

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #9750 in Music
• Released on: 1998-11-16
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.co.uk Review
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 overanalyse 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

Customer Reviews

"We are not separate from spirit, we are in it" - Plotinus
I first bought Jewel's debut album, PIECES OF YOU when it was originally released, as I fell in love with her sinlge, "Foolish Games". However, apart from that one song, the magic she seemed to have over me fizzled out. Years later, I have returned to her music and chose SPIRIT in which to reaquaint myself. Now that I have the maturity, I now appreciate her for what she can offer.

SPIRIT is an exceptional album filled with songs that are the closet to poetry set to music than many other artists can ever hope to get. On this album, you truly are able to appreciate just how brilliant Jewel's voice is. There is a clarity to it and an innocence which few singers today can boast. If you take time to pour over the lyrics, you also discover that she is a remarkable songwriter. "What's Simple is True" is perhaps my favourite piece in regards to this. The song itself has a pure, simple beauty to it which mirrors the very words that Jewel sings. Her voice is fantastic, never going wrong. And the lyrics are simply beautiful, without sounding too trite, they could have been taken from a poem:-
"Pale on the horizon / like leaves frozen in the snow / out two shadows merge inseparably / will time stand still if it's pierced with cold".

While I could never really get into PIECES OF YOU, SPIRIT is very different. SPIRIT is something special, a piece of music that may very well feed your soul. If you love music, you need this.

Simple is true
Listening to Jewel is like gazing upon the heavens. I have every Jewel album and have been a fan of hers since she first mesmerised me on daytime TV in the 90s. Spirit tells you all you need to know in the title. Her lyrics are clever, and truly inspirational. Her warm angelic voice gently soars through your mind - it is breathtaking.

This album is beautiful in every respect. The rhythms are infectious, the musical performances skilled and superbly controlled. It is a sensitive production in harmony with Jewel, and this is one of her few albums where everything comes together exceptionally well.

Spirit washes over you, and won't fail to relax you after a long hard day. Jewel's thoughtful, romantic and selfless personality shines in these recordings. They contain gorgeous little melodies and simple memorable harmonies that you'll be humming for days afterwards.

However, although this album is outstanding when compared to the competition, Jewel has lost some of the simplicity and magic she possessed in her 1994 debut Pieces of You. She once had the power to move you to tears almost every song, but in Spirit she is a little kinder on your emotions, and only gives you a lump in your throat on a couple of occasions. But nonetheless, this is beautiful music, and I love it very much. The world would be a sorrier place without her.

A true jewel.
Jewel's 'Spirit' is a most amazing purchase. I cannot quite describe it. It feels rich, like ice cream, textured with a beautifully clear voice strummy guitar and amazing lyrics. Spirit is also quite inspriring. It dives deep beneath within the subconcious and makes you smile, makes you relax down to a hair. This was my first Jewel purchase, and in no way whatsoever was I disappointed. Her lyrics are really impressive, its not surprising her poetry book was a success. But moreso, I love that she doesnt sing simply about love. 'Fat Boy' mostly shows this. Her songs seem to be stories too, they're clever and illustrated beautifully with her warm voice. It shows amazingly how talented Jewel is.
The Ballads too are amazing, and Jewel hasn't made the mistake of blending sticky sweet pop with these like such artists as Stacie Orrico. Although her sound is unique, I can also put a number of different faces to it. Lene Marlin's soft voice and gentle guitars, Delta Goodrem's clear voice. Vanessa Carlton's clever musical skills. There's a really lovely track at the end too: called 'A Little Bird' featuring the Jewel's mother with Jewel harmonising in the background. Its a beautiful lullaby, like the rest of the album, so clearly singing talent runs in the family.
Not only that, the album is atmospheric too, beautifully narrated with vocal, and perfect to chill out to. I recommend you buy it. Like, now!