Jewel Album: “0304”

Jewel goes over the top in this comedic but conscientious musical satire of superficial culture. 0304 is funny because Jewel mocks the "divas" and the "gangstas" in their own teen demographic targeted language... bubblegum and rap music. It is interesting how 0304 seperates the people who "hear" music from the people who are actually listening. What's the difference? Some people listen to the lyrics and get it and the rest don't get it because they are only looking at the surface, but either way you look at it, the album works. I am glad I fall into the "get it" category.

Talent is just a matter of technical mastery but Jewel has more than that going for her. I suspect Jewel has doctorate degrees in philosophy and literature or something. The woman is clever.

Having been a fan of Jewel for quite some time, I was excited about getting 0304. I bought it today, its day of release, and I have to say that I was not disappointed! While her earlier albums, Pieces of You and Spirit were more pure folk, This Way rocked up her style a bit. With her newest release, it's her most polished and mainstream work yet. Although Jewel's writing has not changed dramatically, the sound of her music has. This album combines R&B sounds with rock, as well as some folk.

As for the songs, they're excellent, with the stand-out tracks being the hit single Intuition along with 2 Find U, 2 Become 1, Haunted, and Sweet Temptation. Intuition is a powerful dance beat, and 2 Find U echoes material such as Standing Still. Haunted is very, well..haunting. It's set in a male stalker's perspective, it's steller. There's always the catchy songs like Yes U Can and Doin' Fine that are great fun too. Then the more introspective works such as Fragile Heart and Becoming are beautiful.

Overall, 0304 is steller. It's Jewel at her best, you won't be disappointed. If you're looking for raw folk songs, buy Pieces of You. But, if you're like me, and like more pop and R&B styles, this album is for you. Keep on rocking, Jewel!

This is a masterful mix of folk and semi-techno dance. Every song is good and her voice is amazing and sexy. Lyrics include some interesting commentary from an artist who according to many critics has "nothing to say". Can be listened to over and over.

When Steve Earle dubbed Shania Twain "America's best paid lap dancer," one wonders whether even he could have anticipated the music industry's latest conversion. As if there weren't enough "singers" on the scene turning pop music into a boozy night at Hooters, here comes Jewel, the once quasi-sincere folk artist turned "rock's sexiest poet," as the current issue of Blender Magazine tags her. Anyone unaware of the bottomless depths to which the pop music machine is willing to sink for an extra few bucks might consider that particular rag's cover, showcasing Jewel's celebrity makeover as she smirks and leans against a wall in as lascivious a pose as the Alaskan-born "songwriter" could conjure, clad from head to toe in leather and sleezy lingerie. If that isn't enough of an education, then the leather glove on her right hand exposing a few bare, tan fingers is sure to strike you as oh-so-irresistible. If you do actually pick up a copy of the magazine, don't blame yourself for expecting a story on Jewel's favorite S & M maneuvers. And, just in case you were wondering, each photo accompanying the article itself is captioned by a list of all the fancy fashion designers whose fishnets and high heels she's wearing. Some of the brand names, such as New York's "Trashy Lingerie," and L.A.'s "Retail Slut," seem hysterically appropriate.

Apparently, Jewel's 11-million selling debut album of refreshingly understated and heartfelt folk tunes, followed by a few more platinum collections of largely similar material, wasn't providing enough of a financial cushion. After all, if you think you've got problems footing that mortgage bill and car payment, try keeping up with a mansion and insatiable wardrobe. It's tough being Jewel. Really. Indeed, this is only the latest of several conspicuous leaps taken by talented artists into the surely profitable realm of pop trash and veritable prostitution, Sheryl Crow's abysmal C'mon, C'mon being the most notable example in recent years. Panicking at comparatively "weak" record sales as of late, Jewel's entourage put together a recipe for renewal. It goes something like this: extract any semblance of intelligence or tact, dumb down the lyrics because, you know, most people are just morons anyway, and, oh yeah, take her clothes off, and voila! You've got sales!

One wonders whether Jewel's billed persona as a once-homeless songwriter risen improbably to the top of the world with no more assistance than a guitar, a voice, and a few good lines, has ever really been much more than a pose. The wistful and phenomenally successful Pieces of You offered some reason to believe that Jewel was indeed representative of the proverbial starving poet gone from rags to riches, but creative efforts that followed did little to further that image. In the introduction to her million-selling book of verse, the poetically titled A Night Without Armor, Jewel cites increasingly legendary American poet, Charles Bukowski, as an influence on her own work, but is it any wonder, really, that Bukowski's name appeared misspelled? Universally panned in countless reviews, A Night Without Armor serves as poetry's equivalent to Daniel Steele and is the butt of many a joke in classrooms of MFA programs around the country. "I miss you miserably, dear / and I can't quite manage / to face this unbearably / large bed / alone," Jewel writes in one of the book's many prosaic self-indulgences. Surely, this is no Patti Smith.

Now, though, we have 0304 to consider, a fabulously mindless foray into precisely the kind of soupy production and mindlessness to which Jewel's former repute seemed the ultimate antithesis. Apparently impressed by fellow pop product Avril Lavinge's knack for clever song titles, i.e., "Sk8er Boi," Jewel serves up one hell of a track listing, with songs like "Run 2 U," "2 Find U," "Yes U Can," 2 Become 1" and the award-winning "U & Me =Love," the mathematical spelling for "sell out." To cap it off, the album's title, reminiscent of Billy Idol's 1993 bomb, Cyberpunk, is a rather less than subtle nod to the "simple girl in a digital world" (uh, Madonna, is that you?!) about whom Jewel sings throughout the album. Just as Idol attempted to capture in music the early-90's cultural phenomenon coined by William Gibson, Jewel's newfound gig is an utterly hip internet age image being sold to an exclusively teeny bopper audience. It is likely to sell far better than Idol's tragic swansong, but if it does, the success will be attributable to nothing more than keen marketing.

The writing here demonstrates no interest whatever in disputing the ill reception with which A Night Without Armor was greeted. Granted, lots of boys will be drooling for Jewel while reaching for the Vaseline jar before long, but even they are unlikely to mistake the monotonous and desperate single, "Intuition," for the work of a "poet." Lines such as "just follow your heart baby" and "If you want my love, you can try my love, you can buy my love, just take my hand" aren't exactly Shakespeare. Amid Jewel's newfound cloak of sex and glitter, attempts at political observation like the opening track, "Stand," seem as incongruous as they are stale, turning in clichés for cash. "Together we can make a stand," she reminds us. One can almost envision David Crosby heaving into his coffee. Suddenly, it seems so long ago that the charming rookie songster, Tracy Chapman, was Takin' `Bout A Revolution.

"Kate Moss can't find a job," Jewel croons on "Stand." Well, here is an "intuition" of my own: any self-respecting listener who makes it beyond the first half of this album will likely be wishing something worse than unemployment on Jewel, America's most literate lingerie model.

Right off the bat let's not split hairs here or beat around the bush, Jewel's new CD 0304, is outstanding. From start to finish, the Cd gels so well together. If we have anything to thank for this wonderful new sounding Jewel, it's "Serve The Ego", from her last album "This Way", a song that came out of nowhere, that song put Jewel into a refreshingly new sound. The first release, the ever catchy "Intuition", is just the tip of the icberg. Her look also fits the mood of the CD, loose and bold and daring. Any one of the 14 songs have hit written all over them. There is alot to choose from: there's "Yes U Can", "Haunted", "America", "Doin' Fine" just to name a few. Jewel's timing on these songs is song as well. If you want to buy an album this summer this CD is it. Just a side note I completed my Jewel collection by buying "Spirit". The grade that I would give this CD would be an A-.

Song grades:

1. Stand "B"

0304 meets and goes above my expectations. Way to go Jewel! Great CD.