From: owner-jewel-digest@smoe.org (jewel-digest) To: jewel-digest@smoe.org Subject: jewel-digest V6 #580 Reply-To: jewel@smoe.org Sender: owner-jewel-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-jewel-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk jewel-digest Friday, November 16 2001 Volume 06 : Number 580 * If you ever wish to unsubscribe from this digest, send an email to * jewel-digest-request@smoe.org with ONLY the word * unsubscribe in the BODY of the email * . * For the latest news on what Jewel is up to, go to * the OFFICIAL Jewel web site at http://www.jeweljk.com * and click on "calendar" * . * PLEASE :) when you reply to this digest to send a post TO the list, * change the subject to reflect what your post is about. A subject * of Re: jewel-digest V6 #xxx or the like gives fellow list readers * no clue as to what your message is about. Today's Subjects: ----------------- [EDA] t-bone...old or new? ["Karacostas, Derrick W." ] [EDA] Derrick ["Rich Long" ] Re: [EDA] 'This Way' Rocks!!!!! ["Shachar Segal" ] [EDA] THIS WAY, reviewed by: Sean Hooks [SeanHooks@aol.com] Re: [EDA] sean hooks and SIBTW!!!!! [Joe Eggleston ] Re: [EDA] sean hooks and SIBTW!!!!! ["andrea rotter" Subject: [EDA] t-bone...old or new? Does anyone know if the guy playing bass for Jewel now is the same guy who played with her at Jewelstock? I know the guy who played with her at Jewelstock was referred to as "t-bone", and it's been stated by an EDA that the guy she's playing with now also goes by "t-bone". Granted this could be only a coincidence, maybe a rather large one, but I was just curious. Assuming the information I'm hearing is correct, of course. I do that think that's Steve on keyboards though, as Charles already stated. Anyone who was AT Jewelstock may be able to verify the bass player's identity. Derrick ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 16 Nov 2001 03:15:23 -0500 From: "Rich Long" Subject: [EDA] Derrick Derrick, Just a quick question...is there a day that doesn't go by where you dont post to this list at least 4 times a day? Are you making up for lost time or do you ever shut up? Im not attacking you...Im just tired of this being the "Derrick opinion list" btw don't bother me emailing me privately...im just putting my 2 cents in. Also the only reason im posting this to the list rather than to just you is because I know of lots of people that feel the same way. Sincerley, - -Rich (acting as the voice of many EDA's) ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 16 Nov 2001 10:38:13 +0200 From: "Shachar Segal" Subject: Re: [EDA] 'This Way' Rocks!!!!! - ----- Original Message ----- From: "Padilla Donovan G SrA 727AMS/CSS" To: "Jewel Clan" Sent: Thursday, November 15, 2001 7:42 PM Subject: [EDA] 'This Way' Rocks!!!!! > Hey angels! > > I finally got my copy of 'This Way' last night after looking for it for a > couple of days. All I can say is this CD is off the hook!!! If there's > anybody that didn't like 'Spirit' because they thought it was way too > overproduced but they like 'This Way', then they need to get their head > checked! I imagine most of the people in the list fit in that category.If you think that someone who didn't like one and liked the other is mentally ill then I guess you can see some similarities between them.Could you tell us what are they? To help you weed off information we won't agree with, This Way is not overproduced. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 16 Nov 2001 00:31:29 EST From: SeanHooks@aol.com Subject: [EDA] THIS WAY, reviewed by: Sean Hooks lyrics: B+ music: C production: C- flow: C+ packaging: A- overall grade: B-/C+ First, the major complaint, the production. This sounds like a record produced by someone who's worked with Faith Hill. And that's not a good thing. Jewel thanked Daniel Lanois in the liner notes for producing a version of "The New Wild West" that DIDN'T appear on the album(how much you wanna bet it's superior to the released version?). How about letting him produce a whole album. Him, Steve Lillywhite, whoever, someone with a track record. This is the one glaring flaw that hurts this album. Though not as overproduced as Spirit, and thankfully lacking the few real "bomb" songs that sank that album(Hands, What's Simple is True), it still has a very mediocre, bland, uncreative sound in general. The lyrics are better, Jewel's writing doesn't seem to be the problem for the most part. The songs just all have a similar sound. It's a very Phil Spector wall-of-sound approach for the most part, which does not work with Jewel. You need a serious rock band to pull that off, not a converted folky and average studio musicians. That said, I do have a lot of positive things to say about this release if you'll bear with me. Let's do a quick song-by-song breakdown: SIDE ONE Standing Still: Pop single opening track, not very dynamic or adventurous, a safe pick. Two decent verses. Jesus Loves You: Not badly written, would have liked to see it stick with the funk/folk style that accompanies the song for the first two verses before the band "kicks in." Everybody Needs Somebody Sometime: Run of the mill. I like the Spivy Leeks reference. Kind of a simple, silly Jewel song. Don't mind it, well-placed on the album. Break Me: I don't like this or Serve the Ego lyrically for obvious reasons. How can the same woman who wrote RaceCar Driver, God's Gift to Women, Rocker Girl and Carnivore write these cheesy paens to subjugation? And her voice is annoying on it. Low point of the album. Do You Want To Play?: Musically slightly adventuous, especially in the base guitar line. Otherwise a fun little ditty, you can dance to it. Till We Run Out Of Road: You don't co-write songs with your boyfriend unless he's someone who can actually write a song, ie: Elliott Smith, David Gray, Ryan Adams, hell even that Steve Poltz guy. This song is ok, but I'm surprised so many people seem to like it so much. Serve the Ego: Audacious at least, musically. Tries to do something different, better than the version she did on Leno about a year ago, still too new agey but not nearly as trying-to-be-Eastern. Again, lyrically worrysome but musically adventurous. SIDE TWO This Way: For a title track it underwhelms but it's setting the mood for what I think of as side 2 of this album. Cleveland: Yay, finally a legitimately good song. For Jewel to say that people thought this was too country says a lot about her record company and their perception of what "country" is. This is hardly country. This is, as I said before, pop country in sound, a la Faith Hill and Shania Twain. Jewel is just more talented than them so this song still manages to work. If Jewel really wants to do a country album, something like Emmylou Harris's "Red Dirt Girl," I would love it. That's a true new country record. Would love to hear this song if it were truly country, but as is, a nice song. I Won't Walk Away: Above average love song. Simple and bordering on cloying, but well sung. Love Me, Just Leave Me Alone: Best song on the album hands down. Rockin' new version channels the best spirit of Melissa Etheridge. This song rocks, plain and simple. Better than the old version even. Only problem is it's too short. The New Wild West: Very adventurous, I like the staccato delivery a lot. A very political song. I always thought Jewel never really went far enough on Pieces of You, it seems that after faggot, faggot and jew, jew should have come nigger, nigger. This song contains brilliant barbs aimed at apathy in the black and urban communities. The "new wild west" allegory in itself is a little bit of a stretch for me, I believe wild west imagery is better suited for say mid-80s Bon Jovi records or the third installment of the Back to the Future movies, but again, a very ambitious song not afraid to skewer a few socio-political targets. Good thing this record had a second side. Grey Matter: Wow, doesn't Jewel sound better playing her own guitar and actually performing instead of singing words into a mic and then helping to drown it in production? A classic song from the old days, well sung. Slowly Jewel, slowly. Thank you. Jewel has to realize that pauses and silence are inherent to her more successful songs and the weaker songs, musically, on this album and Spirit, suffer from far too much impatience. She doesn't need to blurt the words out. Take your time. Use your astounding vocal delivery. This song exemplifies the difference between a good Jewel song and a bad one. Sometimes It Be That Way: One of her best written songs, it's Bob Dylan's favorite for a reason. There was no reason to cut verses, she has to stop doing that. But otherwise, great to hear good ol' folky, wordy, introspective Jewel forming interesting rhymes and using her voice as an instrument of syntax. So, as you can see, the two sides are quite different. And although side one, as I call it, has its moments(the first two verses of Jesus Loves You are solid. Everybody... and Do You Want to Play have their moments) the second side is where Jewel really comes to the fore. Couple of other notes. Like the liner notes a lot. Good, flattering black and white photography. I like the brief notes on each song, very classic rock. So overall, not a "bad" record, thank god. I think Rolling Stone was pretty accurate in giving it 3and1/2 stars out of 5. Has a lot better linear flow than Spirit, especially once you get past Break Me. There are some real gems here(Love Me Just..., New Wild West, most of Jesus, the bonus songs), Spirit only had one(Do You, sorry but I can't count the bastard versions of Deep Water and Absence of Fear). Not as badly overproduced as Spirit, not as eclectic and fresh as Pieces of You. I think that with only minor changes this could have been a truly great album. Imagine Stephenville in place of Break Me and Louisa and her Blue Guitar instead of Serve the Ego, drop the overproduction on stuff like Jesus Loves You and wow, this is a borderline A album. Oh, and Jewel needs to play things one way or the other. It's like Mr. Miyagi says in the Karate Kid. Walk left side of road, ok. Walk right side of road, ok. Walk middle of road, squish just like grape. Jewel gets squished just like grape at times. She does fine when she commits to either rock or folk. Songs like Love Me Just Leave Me Alone are rock music. Grey Matter and Sometimes It Be That Way are folk. Something like Standing Still though will never be anything special because it's too middle of the road. It's kind of rocky, it's kinda of folky in the lyrics and some delivery. But it succeeds wholy as neither. Either get a real band and rock out. Or do the folky solo acoustic chick thing or a folk/country hybrid, which is really what the best parts of Pieces of You are. Produced by Ben Keith and feauturing the Stray Gators, it's an amalgam of coffeehouse folk and country. Her early tours were like that as well. Her first band which toured in '96 either rocked hard behind songs like the revamped RaceCar Driver, WWSYS, etc, or allowed Jewel's folk stylings to dominate. Then the Tiny Lights tour featured more melodic instrumentation like the cello which, again I must emphasize, allowed Jewel to be patient, to take her time and use pauses, silence and inflections. Putting together mediocre guitars/bass/drums outfits will drown most of her music in mediocrity. Sure, every now and then a song like Love Me Just Leave Me Alone will rock out, but it's mostly just a good arrangement and Jewel letting a good rock vocal rip. Anyway, enough pontificating from me. I definitely see myself listening to this a lot more than Spirit. But less than say the new Ryan Adams or Tori Amos and of course I don't think it lives up to Jewel's older works, most of which are, sadly, unreleased. But not bad Jewel, not bad, you definitely still have the ability when you let it free instead of miring it down. And she can still write well. We'll see how the tour goes. Based on the Leno appearance I'm not all that enthused, but at least we'll get to see her live and hope for some quality nuggets thrown in their in between the appealing to the masses. Later, Sean Hooks bItbs wonderfully quiet here. Nothing seems to be going on, and nobody seems to want it to.b - -J.R.R. Tolkien ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 15 Nov 2001 23:44:21 -0800 (PST) From: Joe Eggleston Subject: Re: [EDA] sean hooks and SIBTW!!!!! Hey Jamie it's extremely cool that you got to be on the cd just for having a big mouth - all it ever got me was smacked (heh). Your grey matter website was the final straw that got me to subscribe to the list a little while ago, so thank you; if I ever learn to play more than one sour chord on the guitar I got 20 years ago I'll hit your tabs site too. :) I'm listening to it again right now. Boy, you can belt it out, too. Barnes & Noble got me for $14 for the cd but it was great because the nice lady who took my money looked and said, "ooh, that's Jewel's new album? I loved her Christmas release." I was thinking - hey lady it's your store, don't you know?? - but I told her I'd already heard a couple of the songs (Standing Still & Serve the Ego - which I love, orgasm or not) and I could practically guarantee she would love it if she bought it. She was very nice and helped me find the Dave Carter/Tracy Grammer cd Drum-Hat-Buddha, which I would recommend for any EDA who REALLY likes folky stuff. It's good......Not as good as a new Jewel cd (Slurp!), but good in a more musically rustic sense, which I like. Heard the song "When I Go" on NPR (yes, geek!) and it gave me chills. Simple, lyric driven, awesome. But, it's almost 3 am, the ghosts are walking the moonbeams in this old house as leprechauns bring me Irish coffee, and I should sleep. Well, maybe one more round; (Deep breath) NIGHT WITH ITS SHATTERED TEETH ATTEMPTS TO SPEAK ... amicolement - -Joe "So fill to me the parting glass, goodnight, and joy be with you all" --Michael Longcor - --- jamie mathews wrote: > Comeon, Sean, post. =) > > SO I just have to get all excited on the list for > you people...I"M ON > JEWEL"S CD!!! NANANANABOOBOO! =) > In the beginning of SIBTW, when she doesn't know the > lyrics, at first Erin > (I think)starts to tell her (Hey, Court, if she's > not on the list, you > should ask if that's really her, cuz as far as I > remember it is, and then I > chime in really loud. Yes, I have a big mouth, and > that got me on Jewel's > CD =) It's so clear...It's so cool. ANDREA I > ROCK!!! Find the one for you at Yahoo! Personals http://personals.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 16 Nov 2001 05:06:21 -0500 From: Mike Connell Subject: Re: [EDA] t-bone...old or new? At 03:07 AM 11/16/01, you wrote: >Does anyone know if the guy playing bass for Jewel now is the same guy who >played with her at Jewelstock? I know the guy who played with her at >Jewelstock was referred to as "t-bone", and it's been stated by an EDA that >the guy she's playing with now also goes by "t-bone". Granted this could be >only a coincidence, maybe a rather large one, but I was just curious. >Assuming the information I'm hearing is correct, of course. >I do that think that's Steve on keyboards though, as Charles already stated. >Anyone who was AT Jewelstock may be able to verify the bass player's >identity. T-Bone Wolk was the dude playing bass at Jewelstock. I haven't heard that he's back with Jewel, but his web page is always up-to-date with his goings-on (he's still with Hall & Oates, his permanent gig), or at least used to be. You can check T-Bone's official web page at http://www.sayseebone.com/ Mike ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 16 Nov 2001 06:55:14 -0500 From: "andrea rotter" Subject: Re: [EDA] sean hooks and SIBTW!!!!! actually, I heard that Jamie had to sleep with Jewel or something to get on the CD. what a slut! 'Dra "So sing it with me ladies, theres no need to be afraid. A bad attitude can brighten up your day. Some man tries to get you to hang your head in shame, just give him the boot, and reclaim the name that brought you to fame and say: hey hey, flirt with this I am certified hard core BITCH! And I do not want any shit from you, but Ill let you live and thats the only favor Im going to do" ~Jess Klein www.geocities.com/dradra154me/openingpage.html www.geocities.com/andreanjamie/suck.html >From: "jamie mathews" >To: jewel@smoe.org >Subject: [EDA] sean hooks and SIBTW!!!!! >Date: Wed, 14 Nov 2001 21:33:41 -0600 > >Comeon, Sean, post. =) > >SO I just have to get all excited on the list for you people...I"M >ON >JEWEL"S CD!!! NANANANABOOBOO! =) >In the beginning of SIBTW, when she doesn't know the lyrics, at >first Erin >(I think)starts to tell her (Hey, Court, if she's not on the list, >you >should ask if that's really her, cuz as far as I remember it is, and >then I >chime in really loud. Yes, I have a big mouth, and that got me on >Jewel's >CD =) It's so clear...It's so cool. ANDREA I ROCK!!! > >Oh, yeah, Andrea...I moved to my grandmothers so I haven't had time >to be >online for longer than 5 minutes, but I love you...I'm just super >busy and >yes, Jan. 6-13 is WONDERFUL. =) > >Jamie Mathews >http://www.geocities.com/greyjamie >http://www.geocities.com/jeweltabs > > >_________________________________________________________________ >Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at >http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com ------------------------------ End of jewel-digest V6 #580 ***************************