Jewel
-------------Review I wrote on http://www.tophitsonline.com/reviews.php?songid=583#36630----------------
Jewel's new album, 0304 is so different from her previous albums that she is not even the same artist anymore. The old Jewel used to be this very romantic, earthy girl with a beautiful voice and a very innocent and sincere quality to her lyrics. Most songs were very simple; a single accoustic guitar there just to accompany her voice. In 0304, Jewel's voice is drowned by a flood of electronic sounds. Nothing about that album is unique--any female singer could take Jewel's place in those songs. 0304 might be a good album or whatever, but it is of a completely different music genre. The sort of people that used to listen to her old relaxing hippie stuff are generally not the same people that buy pop music. I think Jewel is aware of the fact that she abandoned her old audience to reinvent herself as a pop artist. So in the song 'Intuition,' she is basically telling her old audiences, 'yeah, I know I sold out, but it was my choice.' Another reviewer commented that she is smart for cashing in. Maybe so, but how long will she last now that she is competing in the world of pop? At least with folk she had a following. She was a big fish in a small pond, and now she's jumping into an ocean.
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LJ afterthought\/\/\/
Okay, so I'm a little mad at Jewel for changing on me, but to tell you the truth, I've outgrown her old albums. I think that when she was this really young singer, her lyrics were kind of pretentious. And I am not such a fan of her voice anymore. But back then, I was an overly romantic, pretentious high school kid too, so Jewel really stuck a chord with me. I think Jewel is reinventing herself because she's growing up and she really isn't the same person any more. She could continue to write songs for melodramatic 16-year-old girl audiences, but then she wouldn't be sincere. I don't think the solution is to write songs for horny grown-ups though. I think she should stick with folk, but change up her style a little--you know, just write more mature lyrics or something. I think her role model should be Ani di Franco, not Christina Aguilerra.
Jewel's new album, 0304 is so different from her previous albums that she is not even the same artist anymore. The old Jewel used to be this very romantic, earthy girl with a beautiful voice and a very innocent and sincere quality to her lyrics. Most songs were very simple; a single accoustic guitar there just to accompany her voice. In 0304, Jewel's voice is drowned by a flood of electronic sounds. Nothing about that album is unique--any female singer could take Jewel's place in those songs. 0304 might be a good album or whatever, but it is of a completely different music genre. The sort of people that used to listen to her old relaxing hippie stuff are generally not the same people that buy pop music. I think Jewel is aware of the fact that she abandoned her old audience to reinvent herself as a pop artist. So in the song 'Intuition,' she is basically telling her old audiences, 'yeah, I know I sold out, but it was my choice.' Another reviewer commented that she is smart for cashing in. Maybe so, but how long will she last now that she is competing in the world of pop? At least with folk she had a following. She was a big fish in a small pond, and now she's jumping into an ocean.
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end of review
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LJ afterthought\/\/\/
Okay, so I'm a little mad at Jewel for changing on me, but to tell you the truth, I've outgrown her old albums. I think that when she was this really young singer, her lyrics were kind of pretentious. And I am not such a fan of her voice anymore. But back then, I was an overly romantic, pretentious high school kid too, so Jewel really stuck a chord with me. I think Jewel is reinventing herself because she's growing up and she really isn't the same person any more. She could continue to write songs for melodramatic 16-year-old girl audiences, but then she wouldn't be sincere. I don't think the solution is to write songs for horny grown-ups though. I think she should stick with folk, but change up her style a little--you know, just write more mature lyrics or something. I think her role model should be Ani di Franco, not Christina Aguilerra.