Philippine Daily Inquirer
Saturday Special Section, Page F2
09 june 2001
By Dax A. Cobarrubias

Jewel Lives an Uncommon life

IN 1995, Atlantic records released Jewel's Debut album--"Pieces of You." It sold 12 million copies. In 1998 she released her second album--"Spirit." It sold four million copies.

She opened shows for Bob Dylan and Neil Young and helped launched the first "Lilith Fair Tour" with Sarah McLachlan and Sheryl Crow in 1997.

Poetry

She also published two poetry collections, A Christmas album and starred in an Ang Lee film ("Ride with The Devil"). Jewel is one of the most successful folk artists in rock music.

Years before releasing her best-selling disc, at 19 years old, Jewel had a cult following in a place called "Innerchange," a coffehouse in San Diego. Doing five hour sets a day, she wrote a total of 200 compositions to avoid repeating the same song during a performance.

It would have been easier for her if she just did cover songs in one of five sets, but she didn't because she couldn't play the guitar well. It was here that Robert Shapiro, head of Atlantic records, discovered her. Wanting to keep the atmosphere that she was creating onstage, half the sons of "Pieces Of You" were recorded live at Innerchange. While she was assigned a producer for the record, Jewel was given free rein on how her tracks would sound.

Venues

Going unnoticed when it first came out in 1995, Jewel embarked on a rigorous tour around America that would find her playing venues early in the morning, then drive to the next city and sing late at night. Some performances even included bizarre gigs like opening for Punk and Gothic bands.

But her efforts soon paid off. She would score two top 10 singles ("Who Will Save Your Soul;" "You Were Meant for Me") and "Pieces of You" would go platinum 12 times in the US alone. She landed on the cover of Time and Rolling Stone magazine thereafter.

Although hitting quadruple platinum in sales, her second album, "Spirit," was unappreciated work. Critics and fans complained about the "manufactured" sound. All the tracks of the album were created at a studio and mixed by Patrick Leonard, a man who help create the music of Madonna.

Jewel performed the tracks with a band she formed during the Lilith tour, and some tracks, such as "Down So Long," she was plugged in and played electric.

Soon, Jewel would fell detached from her audience when she would do concerts in bigarrenas to promote her new album. Taking a sabbatical releasing "Joy" (her Christmas album) a year later, she sought to gain heer balance--She felt the need to reconnect.

Roots

So, to inspire her to create material for her third album, in September 2000, she ditched her band and started retracting her roots--going back to how she started. She decided to go on a spiritual solo acoustic tour in small venues arouind America. Armed with only two acoustic guitars, it was to be her soul renewal, her rebirth.

One of the shows from the tour is available for free on the web at www.jeweljk.com on real video. Last Sept. 27, 2000, hewr 85-minute performance at mountain Winery in Saratoga, CA attested to the fact that Jewel is still one of the premier folk artists in music

Though viewers might strain their eyes watching the show from a computer monitor, which sometimes gets choppy if viewed during peak hours, fans will be delighted with the new singles she sings, reminiscent of "Pieces'"most powerful tracks.

The opening number "Does Anyone Believed in Love" has the passion of "Near You Always," and "Rosy and Mick" possesse the tune ful melody and gentle lyrics of "Morning Song." Another ballad, "Violet Eyes" is similar to the painful "Adrian," which is about a friend she lost to cancer.

Jubilant Spirit

But of the 10 new songs she intoduces, two capture Jewel's re-energized jubilant spirit: "Cold Song" is a blissful ditty about her being so in love with someone that she wants for them to get sick togeter!

And "Race car Driver" has a Beatlesque "I Wanna Hold Your Hand" tune wherein Jewel fantasizes about her dream lover--a James Dean living-on-the-edge character who's a vegetarian and quotes Oprah's wisdom verbatim. It's cool way to preview her upcoming album set for release later this year.

Even non-fans will be entertained by Jewel's stand-up comedy routine throughout the set. Her self-effacing stories on shopping, doing photo shoots, faking her weight and dress sizes are hilarious.

Her best is her story about a concerned phone-in caller when she was a guest at a radio show. The fan wanted to reach out to Jewel providing her assistance to fix the singer's crooked teeth.

Gesture

When Jewel decline the guesture, which was obviosly done in good faith, and announced to the radio listeners that she would keep her crooked teeth, one realized that having surgically-repaired incisors would be the worst thing do to herself. She self-deprecates further by reading lines from her new poetry book that even she finds trivial and kistch. Latr in the set, her friend and former lover Steve Poltz, co-wrote "You Were Meant For Me," joins her on stage. He plays guitar for the song and for "Sprit's What's simple is Tue" and they duet on two new tracks--"Silver Lining" and "I Thought I Saw You Last Night."

Budding muscians who want to overcome stage fright should follow Jewel's approached: have fun performing. She doesn't mind that she forgets the words to "Near You Always"--she asks an audience member for help--and she changes the arrangements of her songs (she plays a blues rendetion of "Who WIll Save your Soul" and ends it with an Axl Rose-like wail).

And as always, she never fails to yodel, a talent worthy to gain access as a "Figure it Out" contestant on Nickelodeon.

Essence

If Jewel transfers this blissful essence she carries on her tour to her new album, she might reclaim her spot as one of music's formidable female singer-songwriters. Though her songs might not be delectable to the Korn and Lipm Bizkit set, this is a treat for fans of folk music and lite-rock.

Even the generation whose adollescent angst was carhartically cleansed listening to grunge and alternative music of the early '90s and now listening to dave Matthews might giv Ms Kilcher a change this time.

But the main story here is still Jewel's mission to reclaim herself. Whether or not Jewel saves her soul on this journey is yet to be seen. She still continues her acoustical tour to this date.

Jewel at the Mountain Winery Saratoga, CA 9/27/00 Set List:

Does Anyone Believed in Love, Stephenville, Sometimes It Be That Way, Grey Matter, Near You Always, Until The Fall, Race Car Driver, I Thought I Saw You Last Night (w/Poltz), Silver Lining (w/Poltz), What's Simple Is True, "Who Will Save Your Soul, Too Darn Hot, Innocence Maintained, Rosy and Mick, Cold Song, Little Sister, Violet Eyes, You Were Meant For Me, Chime Bells.

(Concert available at the Calendar Section of www.jeweljk.com)