I'm not familiar with much of Jewel's early stuff, and I haven't heard any of her new stuff. But I can relate to how you feel.
My favorite band since I was 11 was Live. The lyrics were inspirational to me, and the members of the band play so well together. I never really got into their 3rd major album, but it was in a very similar style as the previous albums. Their fourth album, "The Distance to Here," was a slight change in sound with more digital "instruments," but still not wildly different, and it was an awesome album, in my opinion.
Then they came out with "V" (as in five because it was their fifth album). The design of the liner notes was more poppish, with many more pictures of the band members than previous liner notes. Previous liner notes were much more unique in design, not cookie-cutterish like the one for "V." Then there was the music. So many more digital/computerized sounds and manipulation. The lyrics didn't feel as sincere, and neither did Ed Kowalczyk's singing. And the use of Middle-Eastern sounds didn't boost the quality any. They had sold out...to an extent. I think they really did feel they were trying something new, but it didn't work because their next album, "Birds of Pray," returned to the older style, somewhat. I haven't actually listened to all of BoP (and I don't know if the more spiritual lyrics would appeal to me now), but it's apparent that they abandoned the "V" experiment.
The funny thing is, Live was known as "every-other-album-is-good" before "V," and after "Birds of Pray" came out, that reputation was solidified.
This is what Philip says: musicians spend years perfecting their songs and writing about life. Then they get signed on to some record label and then they get national popularity and they they tour around and then they are pressured to put out a new album within a year-- so you can see why the quality of a lot of band's music seems to fall. They just don't have the time, and their lives have changed, so they can't write about the same sort of experiences. Too bad. :(
I see the sense in that. I think I just forget why a musical group would care about how often they produce albums. Obviously, they need someone to produce their albums, and most record companies demand constant productivity. I definitely think that most musicians wouldn't be putting an album out every year if it was up to them. Live came out with it's first album (containing only 4 songs) in 1989, and has produced 6 more albums in 15 years. But I wasn't hungry for a new album from Live every single year because their previous albums were so good. They kept me satisfied.
Yeah, it's probably the greedy record managers and other non-musician people behind the production of the albums that push the most for newer work. You know what "new" stuff I'd like to see from various artists? Reflections on their own music, including what inspired certain songs. I'm not talking about a word-for-word interpretation, but I'd be interested in learning more about the motivation for selecting a particular sound.
My favorite band since I was 11 was Live. The lyrics were inspirational to me, and the members of the band play so well together. I never really got into their 3rd major album, but it was in a very similar style as the previous albums. Their fourth album, "The Distance to Here," was a slight change in sound with more digital "instruments," but still not wildly different, and it was an awesome album, in my opinion.
Then they came out with "V" (as in five because it was their fifth album). The design of the liner notes was more poppish, with many more pictures of the band members than previous liner notes. Previous liner notes were much more unique in design, not cookie-cutterish like the one for "V." Then there was the music. So many more digital/computerized sounds and manipulation. The lyrics didn't feel as sincere, and neither did Ed Kowalczyk's singing. And the use of Middle-Eastern sounds didn't boost the quality any. They had sold out...to an extent. I think they really did feel they were trying something new, but it didn't work because their next album, "Birds of Pray," returned to the older style, somewhat. I haven't actually listened to all of BoP (and I don't know if the more spiritual lyrics would appeal to me now), but it's apparent that they abandoned the "V" experiment.
The funny thing is, Live was known as "every-other-album-is-good" before "V," and after "Birds of Pray" came out, that reputation was solidified.
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Yeah, it's probably the greedy record managers and other non-musician people behind the production of the albums that push the most for newer work. You know what "new" stuff I'd like to see from various artists? Reflections on their own music, including what inspired certain songs. I'm not talking about a word-for-word interpretation, but I'd be interested in learning more about the motivation for selecting a particular sound.
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